When pride still matters

Chapter 412 They won’t lose
When the Lakers were eliminated, only 1/3 of the audience was left.

Hollywood celebrities have long since left. They are not pure fans. If the Lakers can't create a miracle, for them, this is a farce wasting time.

Players from both sides greeted each other.

Kobe seems to be the most injured. This year was supposed to be the year of revival for the Lakers, but it turned out that he failed miserably.

The Lakers in recent years have been like an attractive soap opera. When Kobe averaged 36 points per game, they stopped in the first round. Then Kobe couldn't stand it anymore and demanded a trade unless the Lakers reinforced him. Kidd's arrival alleviates some of the problem, but not all. The trade of O'Brien seemed to give Kobe the qualification to compete for hegemony, but in the end, his injuries and his still not solid lineup led to the defeat in the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe didn't win the MVP, and now he's lost the series.

In one season, he lost every competition he could.

"I won't bless you," Kobe said to Fly, "but I will bless Seattle."

Yu Fei simply responded: "Thank you."

Without showing too much emotion, Kobe maintained a superficial coolness.

Therefore, this year's failure will not defeat Kobe. He will recover from the injury quickly, then resume training and catch up with the Beijing Olympics.

"That's good. Also, tell that bastard." Xiao O still hasn't forgotten Brown, he "loves" him so much. "I averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds per game in the Western Conference Finals, and all the statistics were twice his. He is no match for me at all. He'd better shut his mouth!"

Yu Fei understands the reason, but why did Xiao Ao emphasize the past seven years instead of the past eight years? Is it because if he said eight years, he would not be the only one?

Yu Fei couldn't laugh or cry.

Yu Fei could probably guess what he was going to say.

Coupled with his extremely sullen face and twitchy tone, it was enough to cause additional damage to the opponent.

"Even if I don't agree, Seattle will agree to you." Yu Fei said, "We have a reason to win."

Yu Fei still remembers everyone's reaction.

Kwame Brown said with lingering fear: "Fortunately I didn't go to the Lakers. This guy is a freak."

Others in the Sonics don't have such a peaceful attitude as Yu Fei.

"You know, I'm the only one who has beaten you in the playoffs in the past seven years," O'Brien said. "I hope this record stays."

"Da Fei, promise me something."

In his opinion, only Xiao Ao's blessing is the most sincere.

"You said."

Yu Fei began to accept blessings from other members of the Lakers team.

"Sorry, I win again this time!"

He remembered that during the training camp in Las Vegas last year, he often went to nightclubs with Anthony and the others. One day, he saw Kobe in the elevator in the middle of the night wearing a jersey with a solemn face.

Every time he beats the Lakers, what George Karl looks forward to most is the handshake with the opponent's coach after the game.

Anthony asked him what he was going to do, and Kobe just replied coldly: "Train."

This is Carl’s favorite saying in recent years.

This is the person in Yu Fei's memory.

The happiest moment for Karl was when he said this to Phil Jackson.

It can be clearly seen that the Zen master’s many years of Zen practice can’t calm his mind.

Tonight, Karl was still like this, with a proud look on his face and a smile on his face as he came to the sidelines: "Oh, Phil, I'm sorry, although you are very good, there is always someone better. This year I still win."

Jackson couldn't even say a polite blessing to such a bastard who took advantage of others' power.

He rarely gets angry anymore, but Karl can break the defense accurately every time.

There is no other reason. In the eyes of the Zen master, Karl was once just an ordinary person who liked to have fun. He claimed to be his old enemy, but he was not in his eyes at all.

Old enemy? Is he worthy? Is it because he led the SuperSonics and played the most stress-free finals in his career?

Then, for some reason, Karl suddenly turned around in the summer of 2001 and suddenly received a gift from a North Carolina junior. He traded the second-best rookie in the history of the Wizards, indirectly creating a dynasty team that won four championships in five years.

Yu Fei surpassed all active players in a short period of time, and Karl also turned into a phoenix. He began to challenge himself all day long, preaching everywhere that "Although coaches are useful, if Phil doesn't have MJ and OK, he will be like me before." Nothing was accomplished."

"Laugh, George." Jackson suppressed his anger and said to Karl. "When you get to the Finals, you will find that your young players are as weak as lambs in front of the Celtics. So just laugh now, because You soon stopped laughing."

"Thank you for your blessings, Phil." Karl actually smiled even more happily, "This sounds much better than those 'good luck' bullshit!"

The Sonics went home with the Western Conference championship.

This is their fourth Western Conference championship in franchise history.

However, the 1996 Western Conference championship won by Payton and Kemp was overlooked because they were overshadowed by the 72-win Bulls.

It's just that the blood on the tip of the bull's horn is part of the opponent's glorious deeds.

In the eyes of true Sonics fans, the 1978 and 1979 Western Conference championships are important. That was the key to the Sonics going from being a disrespected garbage team to having a solid local fan base.

Outside the Seattle airport, a large number of fans came outside to pick them up.

The SuperSonics, which successfully advanced to the finals, has won the attention of the city. Now not only Seattle, but the entire state of Washington has turned its attention here.

They became the epicenter of Northwest sports.

At this time, the Celtics' first six games with the Bucks were tied 3-3. The two sides have not lost a home game, but the Celtics, who have home court advantage, can play Game at North Shore Garden.

The Sonics have advanced and they need to wait for the results in the Eastern Conference.

The wait is hard, but Seattle has waited long enough.

The SuperSonics coaching staff expects that their opponent in the finals will be the Celtics, so all arrangements so far are aimed at the Green Army.

The flow of people at the Furtado Center, the Sonics' training base, is getting bigger and bigger.

Recently, the staff here can always see their boss Clay Bennett walking around as if the wind is blowing at his feet.

Bennett has plenty of reason to be excited.

Before the community-oriented financing plan for the new arena began, his phone was buzzing with calls.

He doesn't need to look for investment with shame. Because he is so popular, his current worry is, who should he give the investment opportunity to?

Buffett and Ballmer have already taken the lion's share, and the remaining investment shares need to be properly utilized.

Then, there is the Sonics' recent record.

The regular season has allowed the Sonics to reach the revenue standard of a large market - earning US$100 million. But playoff revenue is another story.

As the hype escalated, the gimmicks increased and the attention continued to grow, the Sonics, with the league's top stars and a great story to tell, became the darling of sponsors.

Bennett gets excited just looking at the financial reports every day.

Today, he walked into the arena and found team president Lenny Wilkens watching the players training with a serious face, so he went over and said hello: "Lanny, why are you looking so sad?"

"Mr. Bennett," Wilkens has everything the boss likes, tough, silent, smart and capable. But he also has a shortcoming, that is, he speaks his mind. “We’ve won four conference championships, but we only have this year’s conference championship banner at the Furtado Center.”

This is a "change of plans".

Originally, the Sonics were going to move, so those elements that evoked nostalgia should not continue to exist, so Bennett had all the things that showed the history of the Sonics removed.

"You're right, Lanny." Bennett said dissatisfiedly, "This is Sam's problem. He didn't think well. Our SuperSonics are a team with a glorious team history. The last flag would have made people think we had no history, or even that we were a long-cursed team like the Clippers!”

It's hilarious to hear a lifelong Oklahoman say, "We're Sonics."

But Wilkens held back.

He is not a person who shows his emotions easily.

"You're right, boss." Wilkens decided to agree.

Bennett nodded happily, "Lanny, you go ahead and get busy, I have something else to do."

Bennett was gone, but not far away. He was looking around like a king returning to his palace, pointing out the shortcomings of the Furtado Center and proposing to redecorate the arena in the summer.

For him, it doesn't matter whether the Sonics win the championship. As a businessman, he has made a lot of money this year.

After training, Yu Fei came to the sidelines and received a massage from his personal trainer Tim Grover.

Wilkens was standing nearby.

"Lanny, I heard that Clay has been here?" Yu Fei asked.

Wilkens replied succinctly: "He should be back in the office by now."

"Oh, I have to find a chance to tell him that the cabinet in our locker room is too old." Yu Fei smiled, "Did you know? I heard that Cleveland made a special cabinet for LeBron with a TV and stereo in it. , snacks and books.”

Wilkens didn't answer. He didn't know the use of having so many things in the closet. Isn’t a wardrobe just a wardrobe?
At this time, Yu Fei's buddy Lawson asked: "Lanny, I've been hearing people say this year is like 1978. You must know what this means, right?"

"I just knew the basics," Wilkens said. "There were 22 teams in the league that year, and the Sonics were ranked 21st before the season started."

"That's right!" Lawson said, "There are 30 teams now, and the Sonics were ranked 29th before the season."

Wilkens added: "We made it to the Finals that year."

"That's right!" Lawson said with a smile, "We also reached the finals."

Wilkens, who had never known humor, added: "Unfortunately we lost."

"Forehead"

Yu Feipi said with a smile: "It's time to end this discussion. We are nothing like the SuperSonics in 1978, because we will win."

Hearing this, Wilkens actually laughed.

It was one of the rarest things to happen to him.

He is laughing at the passage of time, he is laughing at Yu Fei's youth and vigour, but he is also laughing at the stories and people that can no longer be returned. Thirty years have passed, and few people remember how the supersonic miracle happened. How a dilapidated football team went from being a city's trash to being a city totem. Not all failures are complete failures, some failures are meaningful.

But Wilkens knew Frye Yu would never understand this.

Because he rarely loses.

This is a person who regards victory as a necessity in life. He is here for victory, so he will never consider losing, let alone imagine the beauty of failure, and will never try to succeed after repeated failures. Sweet, this may be the luck of contemporary Seattleites.

They won't lose.

Wilkens thought.

(End of this chapter)