When pride still matters

Chapter 448 The Only God

At the end of January, the All-Star voting results were announced.

Yu Fei was elected as the vote king with 480 million votes, leading Dwight Howard, "the best hope of American center", by a huge margin.

In addition, both Roy and Durant were selected to the All-Stars for the first time in their careers as substitutes.

However, the vote for Western Conference center has generated some controversy.

Center was once the greatest position in the NBA, but now it is the weakest.

In the Eastern Conference, Howard is there to support the scene, and then there is O'Neal, who is only famous.

The Western Conference is even more bleak. Except for Yao Wei, the other centers cannot stand the scrutiny and do not look like All-Stars.

Kwame Brown received 50 votes, ranking third in the Western Conference in the final week of voting.

Just when Brown thought the All-Star Game was finally about to usher in his debut as the league's No. 1 big man, Lakers rookie Marc Gasol killed him in the last few days.

Changes in youth training concepts and changes in talent selection often take longer.

That night, the SuperSonics tightened their restrictions on Kobe and forced him to give up opportunities to his teammates.

The last game before the All-Star weekend is the SuperSonics' second game against the Lakers at home.

Especially George Karl who wouldn't let Kobe do whatever he wanted.

The decline of centers will only intensify over the next five years.

However, the Lakers' lineup problems were exposed in their second meeting with the SuperSonics.

Artest hit one after another like a bulldozer.

This flaw has become the Lakers' Achilles heel.

Facing the Sonics' pick-and-roll offense, the Lakers' twin towers often can only stand inside the free throw line and direct traffic.

The media in Seattle strongly questioned the fairness of the vote because Gasol, a Spanish rookie who had just arrived in the United States, could not be so popular.

After losing the draft, Brown looked a little depressed.

With the changes in rules and the popularity of carnival basketball, the league has no place for traditional centers to survive.

Without O'Neill, the twin towers of Bynum and Xiaojia are problematic in terms of mobility and sweeping ability.

If there is an inside story about this matter, it can only be because the league does not want to see an insider who averages 7 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block per game be selected as an All-Star.

But 60 points is not so easy to get.

That's why NBA fans saw a world where DeAndre Jordan briefly became the league's No. 1 center.

"This is not your loss." Yu Fei said, "This is the loss of the All-Star Weekend."

The problem is that from the AAU youth training in the United States to the entire training system in Europe, they are still accustomed to cultivating traditional centers who play standing.

In last year's Christmas game, Kobe scored 50 points and lost. After the game, he told Fei that he would score 60 points next time they meet.

The man who claimed to be the number one insider suddenly realized the reality.

"Da Fei, it seems that I will never have the chance to play in the All-Star Game in this life."

Yu Fei, Roy and Durant cooperated back and forth in pick-and-roll, and the three of them formed an army with fierce firepower.

Kobe Bryant's outburst on Christmas Day masked the Lakers' problems, but tonight, no problems can be hidden.

The Sonics took advantage of the Lakers' weaknesses and fought to the end, ultimately defeating their second-place rival in the Western Conference 125-101.

After this campaign, the league will usher in the All-Star Weekend.

The Sonics' record is 44 wins and 6 losses.

This brilliant and dazzling record will only set off comparisons between them and the 96 Bulls over and over again.

"The 1996 Bulls' record before the All-Star break was 42 wins and 5 losses. Due to the difference in schedule, the SuperSonics played more games than the Bulls during the same period, so it is difficult for us to argue which team is better. "It was the better team during this period," Hubie Brown said intriguingly, "However, if Frye wants to surpass Michael in 1996, he and the Sonics can only lose 31 games in the remaining 4 games."

The comparison between the 09 SuperSonics and the 96 Bulls is essentially a continuation of "44 or 23".

Kobe thought that after he recovered, he could regroup and have a real decisive battle with Yu Fei.

But he thought too much.

The Lakers may be 10% stronger than last season, but the SuperSonics are on another level compared to last season.

It's hard to tell whether Yu Fei's transformation is too successful, or whether Roy and Durant are progressing too fast.

Perhaps, both.

Because of Yu Fei's transformation, Roy can play his role in the comfort zone. There are two giants in front of Durant to attract firepower. They bear the third defensive pressure in every game. For a fast-growing supernova, Said, this growing environment is great.

The only flaw is that he does not have a lot of shooting opportunities to hone his skills. However, he is willing to give in. Compared with growing up with unlimited shooting rights in a bad team, Yu Fei accepts the encouragement from his side and quickly adapts to the winner's style through a healthy environment. Identity may not be a better road to heaven.

What makes Kobe angry is that Yu Fei is surrounded by Roy and Durant, who are only second- and third-year players.

Where is his side?
Kawhi is good, but Bynum is clearly unable to hold himself up. Jason Kidd? He's okay, but unfortunately, this isn't Kidd's day anymore.

Yu Fei advanced the popularity of small ball by 15 years. Kidd is one of the best passers in the league, and few players can compare with him in counterattack ability. This season, he averaged 10 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds per game. From a statistical point of view, he is still among the top in the league. organizer. This is because the Lakers' game tendencies and habits are still more traditional, but the Lakers' overall offensive efficiency is not among the top ten in the league.

Kidd can pass the ball to Kobe for comfortable singles, can find teammates who are cutting, and can spot opportunities one second in advance, but he cannot destroy the opponent's defense.

The revolution in game concepts triggered by Yu Fei has brought each team's requirements for ball holders to an unprecedented level. As a point guard, you should organize the offense, and the ball handler needs to not only find open teammates, but also create opportunities through individual offense.

"Just like Fry."

This is a basic requirement for core defenders.

However, if you want to choose a team where "the number of assists is much higher than the chances you create", Kidd must be the starter for that team.

This is why the Lakers are becoming increasingly weak in front of the Sonics.

The days of pure point guards are over.

The answer has become a big-core point guard who can serve as the core to initiate offense.

That's why Stephen Curry, who might have had a hard time making the lottery a decade ago, has the potential to unseat Blake Griffin for the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

Kobe knew what the problem was, but he wouldn't say it.

He didn't want to blame his teammate in this situation because he didn't play well tonight either.

And, could he ask the Lakers to do more?

In addition to raising Bynum like O'Neal, the Lakers management has done its best in operation in recent years.

However, no matter how hard you try, you may not be able to compare with those who are destined for you in the end.

Yu Fei's move from the Bucks to the SuperSonics should have been a choice that seriously affected his historical status.

Going from the top two-peat team to the second-to-last worst team in the Western Conference seems like a crazy choice to anyone who cares about historical status.

But who would have thought? Roy is so good, Durant is real gold, and Yu Fei led the SuperSonics to complete the biggest reversal in NBA history - from the bottom team to the championship.

With this fairy tale-like legendary move, Yu Fei raised the reputation of GOAT to an unprecedented height, fundamentally changing the ecology and public opinion narrative of the basketball world.

The media is no longer reluctant to compare Yu Fei with current players.

That's a derogation of him.

In history, there is only one person left who is qualified to compete with Yu Fei.

To compete is to compete with the strongest one.

"Kobe, what do you say tonight?"

Yu Fei is here.

He has a good memory for certain things.

The last time Kobe Bryant said he would score 60 points in the next meeting, he also told the media that he had not lost.

Kobe, who was worried, glanced at Yu Fei.

He never dreamed that the boy who asked him questions at the ABCD training camp eight years ago would grow to this point in such a short period of time.

"You know," Kobe said, "I didn't lose, it's just that the game time is over."

Yu Fei smiled slightly and resisted the urge to perform an impromptu "Kobe Bryant kisses my ass" Felstyle.

"See you in Phoenix."

Yu Fei said that and left directly.

This year's All-Star Weekend is held in Phoenix.

Before setting off, Yu Fei made a lot of preparations.

In addition to participating in the All-Star Weekend this time, I also have to have preliminary communication with Reebok about contract renewal.

Therefore, his agent Arne Traim will also be traveling with him.

Trem knew what was at stake, so he made a lot of preparations.

The contract extension between Yu Fei and Reebok will never be negotiated in one day.

In the past six years, although Yu Fei has held the largest endorsement contract in the basketball world, the benefits he has created for Reebok are dozens of times greater than this contract.

Six years ago, Yu Fei was an amazing boy who rose up in a bitter cold land and ruined Jordan's reputation. Now, he is the only god in the basketball world.

After Jordan retired, Duncan and O'Neal competed successively, and the one-god pattern that lasted for an era seemed to be broken.

But now, Yu Fei has restored the pattern created by Jordan with five championships in six years.

This negotiation is not only related to the future of Reebok, but also will determine the future pattern of sports products in the basketball world.

For Fei, he wants more than just numbers.

(End of this chapter)