When pride still matters

Chapter 502 When Durant Became Durant
With a 0-2 deficit, the third game was often considered the decisive battle.

Therefore, when the Timberwolves put themselves in a 0-3 hell at home, basically no one expected them to make any progress.

In the fourth game of the first round that followed, the Supersonics did not give the Timberwolves a chance to breathe.

"They were like skilled estate workers, clearing a field of Wolves debris out of the playoffs."

After the Sonics swept the Timberwolves away, Sports Illustrated chose Yu Fei as the cover character for the Nth time.

The sentence above is exactly the title of the cover.

The Lakers also dealt with their first-round opponent as quickly as the Supersonics.

In the first round, the Lakers faced the Nuggets, who had their own ulterior motives, and averaged 126 points per game, setting an NBA first-round scoring record.

James averaged a triple-double in the series, Kobe averaged 32 points, Antawn Jamison averaged 18 points, and Richard Hamilton and Marc Gasol also averaged in double figures.

The gorgeous starting lineup made people call the Lakers starting lineup the "Lakers Star Five". This nickname naturally reminds people of the Michigan Five Tigers (Fab Five) 19 years ago.

The Big Five back then were like a hurricane that injected vitality into the NCAA in the 90s and had a profound impact on the field of popular culture. Today's five-star Lakers are as powerful as the Big Five back then, because Kobe himself is a superstar second only to Yu Fei.

Now, with three incredible helpers around them, the Lakers' momentum and the level of attention from the outside world make them the next generation dynasty of the NBA.

"Dynasty is not our goal."

Kobe wants people to remember what a great competitor he is.

"What Frye has done over the past seven years has created a whole new standard for success," Kobe said proudly. "LeBron didn't choose the Lakers for three championships. Like he said, not one, not two, and certainly not three. We want to create an empire!"

Kobe's speech was inspiring, but these things still clearly showed that although there seemed to be two factions within the Lakers, Kobe was still respected.

If you think about it carefully, this is the law of nature.

James joining the Lakers is different from joining Miami in the other timeline. Kobe is far more powerful than Wade and has a higher status in the league. Most importantly, he never seems to have the empathy that Wade has.

Wade realized after the mysterious 2011 Finals that if the Big Three wanted to succeed, James had to be the leader. The combination of Kobe and James now carries a sense of success or failure.

Imagine that Durant joined the Warriors and was defeated by James in the finals. Whether it was Curry or Durant, once this happened, the discussion about their historical status would be over, and at the same time, a loser destined to be recorded in the Joker Pantheon was born.

Moreover, two will be born at once.

"I hope the Western Conference Finals will come soon." James is as confident as Kobe.

If defeating Yu Fei was Kobe's biggest stumbling block, then for James, it was like a successful exorcism of a neurotic patient who had been haunted by vengeful spirits for years.

"I hope he can make it to the conference finals." James smiled. "Of course, I have to give some respect to San Antonio. Although I think we will meet in the conference finals, they may not be able to get past San Antonio."

So, how are the Spurs doing now?
The Spurs, ranked third in the Western Conference, faced the Rockets, ranked sixth in the Western Conference, in the first round.

They could have swept their opponents like they did with the Lakers and SuperSonics, but the Spurs were bitten back by the Rockets in Game 4 and lost unexpectedly.

Yao Ming showed all the qualities of a small ball center in this series.

The Spurs rank first in rim protection efficiency in the playoffs. At the same time, they lack a small guard who can train big men, so they can only hope that Duncan can suppress them.

But Yao Ming has now abandoned the traditional big C spirit and wants to go to the outside to show off three-pointers at every turn.

In the first four games of the first round, Yao Ming shot 40% from three-point range. In terms of efficiency alone, he is already at the level of a first-class shooter. This caused a lot of trouble for the Spurs' defense. If Harden hadn't been too immature, the suspense of the series would have been even greater.

In the fifth game of the series, Yao Ming fought for 35 minutes, scoring 33 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks from both inside and outside, but due to the overall strength of the team, defeat was inevitable.

He couldn't count how many times he had been eliminated in the first round.

Back then, Americans looked at him as if he were the alien ET. He also brought people endless yearning in his rookie season. But now, the fantasy has come to an end. He is just a star center who is better than Rick Smith, but only to a limited extent. Now, let alone dominating the game, he has to try his best just to adapt to the small ball brought by Yu Fei.

This summer, Yao Ming will become a free agent. With his successful transformation, there are many strong teams that want him to join.

But for him, the Rockets always come first. Chinese people have the concept of being loyal to one job. Even if it is just a job, if the treatment is similar, there is no need to change jobs.

However, as a competitor, there is really no hope for me to stay with the Rockets.

"Congratulations on your first-round exit, and good luck in the World Championships."

Yao Ming received a text message from Yu Fei after the game.

Happy days are always short-lived. Yao Ming was not recruited to play in the Asian Championships last summer. It was mainly because the Chinese players were too arrogant. They thought they were in the top eight of the Olympics. It would be easy to win the Asian Championships without Yao Ming. But they turned over a big car at home and lost to the Iranians.

As a person, Yao Ming is very happy that the national team has proved his worth in such a special way.

But he couldn't be happy, because it meant that from now on, the national team would no longer underestimate the enemy. The Asian Championships were not challenging? They had to come back to play, because it was about the dominance of Asia.

"Playing basketball is really boring. I can't win many games and I have to be treated like a donkey. I want to retire."

Yao Ming emoted and sent another text message to Yu Fei.

"What do you mean? You don't want the last big contract of your career?"

Yao Ming is a regular on the All-NBA Team and has Bird Rights. If he stays with the Rockets, he can activate most of his free-flying clause and sign a huge contract.

Thinking about this money, Yao Ming felt that life was still bright.

"It suddenly occurred to me that it was a good thing to be able to play at my age."

Who says he isn't? In another timeline, he would have to seriously consider retirement.

Then, Yu Fei got tired of texting each other and called directly.

The two of them immediately started chatting.

Yao Ming asked Yu Fei if he would participate in this summer's World Championships, but Yu Fei had no interest in it.

"You know, winning the world championship once is enough."

Then, Yao Ming mentioned his plan.

His old CBA club encountered financial problems and the owner wanted to sell the team, so he planned to buy it.

Yu Fei knew what happened next, and he approved of Yao Ming's plan.

"What are you going to do with those people who made things difficult for you when you were traveling to the United States?" Yu Fei asked with a malicious look.

Yao Ming's words revealed a rare murderous intent: "Just do what needs to be done."

As far as Yu Fei knew, everyone from the management to Li Qiuping (Yao Ming's mentor) was purged.

Otherwise, how could Yu Fei and Yao Ming get along so well? They have the same method of dealing with those who have caused them unhappiness.

Finally, Yao Ming turned the topic back to the playoffs: "You have to do me a favor."

"What's the deal?"

"Kill the Spurs." "I would have killed them even if you didn't tell me." Yu Fei said, "We can't let those two people in Los Angeles make a fool of themselves."

Despite some twists and turns, the first round of the playoffs ended one after another.

In the Western Conference, the Lakers, SuperSonics, Spurs, and Mavericks advanced, while in the Eastern Conference, the Celtics, Heat, Magic, and Knicks advanced.

The Bucks, once the dominant force in the Eastern Conference, have been plagued by injuries this season.

Kevin Martin and Danny Granger were both out for the season, and the team barely made it to the playoffs but was eliminated by the Heat 4-1.

Before the semifinals began, the league announced the winners of major regular season awards.

For Fei, this is a great season.

Not only did he once again achieve the feat of averaging a triple-double, but he also became the first player since "Elf" Archibald to win both the scoring title and the assists title, and was selected to the first team and first defense.

However, even with such a luxurious honor, he is unlikely to win the regular season Most Valuable Player award this year.

It's no longer a question of whether he's worthy or not, but that the judges are tired of voting for the same person year after year.

"Aesthetic fatigue" is a real problem.

Moreover, they can find many excuses. Yu Fei has averaged a triple-double before, so this is nothing special. Although he lost his second-in-command and the coach he had been with for many years, he only led the team to win 66 games this season, and they won 73 games last season, which was a big step backwards; the most important plus point is that he won the scoring and assists titles.

However, due to well-known reasons, the collaboration between Kojan and Jan automatically made them lose the qualifications to compete for the top spot in various statistical data. Therefore, Yu Fei faced very little competition.

No matter how you look at it, this season's Yu Fei is not any different from previous Yu Fei, so it's time to give others a chance.

然后，72胜的湖人队便脱颖而出，场均25分5篮板4助攻的科比和场均24分7篮板74助攻的詹姆斯都是理想人选。

With sufficient qualifications and status in the team, Kobe has topped the MVP prediction list for many consecutive times.

This has foreshadowed the final outcome.

However, the MVP candidate has not yet been announced, and the controversy over the best lineup suddenly woke up Durant, who had been calm for a while.

Durant, who won the scoring title and was selected to the first team in the same period in his previous life, averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season and was not selected to the lineup.

However, Durant's teammate, Bosh, who averaged 20 points and 7 rebounds per game, was selected to the third team.

This has sparked heated discussions outside.

"Has Kevin Durant regressed in his third year?"

Durant knew what was going on.

Just before Karl was laid off, his scoring average was close to flying, and if that continued, he would have a chance to average 25 points per game as a junior.

However, after the young Tyronn Lue took over, the direction of the Supersonics was completely different from what Durant had imagined.

He resisted, but was then suppressed by Yu Fei.

After that, he was depressed for a while.

It was during that time that his averages dropped significantly, which is the direct result of him now not even making the third team.

The series of impacts caused by this incident is that Durant looks back and sees what his sacrifice has brought him.

Understanding? Support? Encouragement? No, the outside world is discussing why he regressed.

And what about his teammates? Yu Fei completed his second season of averaging a triple-double, and won both the scoring and assists titles, which can be said to be the ultimate in statistics.

Bosh, this outsider who sucks up to others, can actually make the best team just because he grabs a few more rebounds in every game?
Durant used "everything for victory" to convince himself, but the criticism of experts, the belittling of public opinion and the ridicule of fans disturbed his heart. He opened a trumpet to defend himself online, but no matter how he explained, the decline in data was a fact, and it was also a fact that he lacked motivation at the end of the season.

The final pressure that drove Durant crazy came from Nike.

The man Durant called uncle, Lynn Memmett, called.

"Kevin, do you know why No. 44 and No. 23 are at odds with each other?"

When Yu Fei and Jordan fell out, Durant was still an innocent boy in the suburbs of DC. He believed the story told by the media - the young and arrogant Frye was unwilling to accept Michael's leadership and they could not get along, so the Wizards traded Frye.

At that time, Durant did not try to think from another perspective - what was the point of a team trading a promising 39-year-old player in order to keep a 20-year-old player?
At this moment, Durant still didn't understand.

"Why?" he asked just as Mehmet had hoped.

Mehmet said, "Because Frye is the hungriest bitch in the league! He wants everything, but it's Michael's team!"

"As in, Seattle belongs to Frye?" Durant asked.

But what he was thinking was, if I ask for too much, will I be traded?

He had a bolder idea: What's wrong with this?

"This is different!" Mehmet said. "Michael is old, and trading Frye seemed to be a permanent solution to the dispute. Now Frye is in his prime, but that doesn't mean you have to be the one to make sacrifices. You have sacrificed enough, but what have you gained? No one loves you, and no one recognizes you. Everyone will remember that Chris Bosh was selected to the All-NBA Team, and then question why you regressed in your third season. It's time to grow up, Kevin, because the good guys are always the first unlucky ones to die in the jungle!"

The nice-guy image Nike has created for Durant has made him a singular presence. But the NBA has long been home to people with eccentric personalities, those with the ability to take a certain kind of improvisational freedom in the heat of competition, at a disproportionate level. The sport celebrates and markets these special individual creators, elevating them above the team. At the same time, teams still operate according to the principles of a paramilitary athlete culture in which everyone else must adapt and keep a low profile. So there’s a natural tension between the concept of a team and the reality of a team, which is bound by the decisions of one particular individual.

In their twenties, a man in great power can become more of a brand than a person, trapped in an environment that is different from and beyond the teammates he depends on. This rare sense of alienation creates a different person. The NBA superstar is often a puzzling presence whose power just offsets his eccentricities.

Fans often say that he is successful because of who he is.

This justified Jordan's gambling addiction and pathological competitiveness.

Now, Yu Fei has become another symbol that is above the collective. He is the master of the empire, and the empire does not need a second spokesperson. Except for him, everyone else is unnecessary.

However, there is also Kevin Durant in his empire, whom Nike will never allow to remain unknown.

"how should I do?"

Durant asked.

"Go fight, go grab, you have to let No. 44 know that you will never be his Richard Hamilton!"

Something is changing.

After Durant hung up the phone, he called his contact on the team.

"JD," Durant said, "tell the ESPN guys I'll be available for a pregame interview tomorrow night before the game."

"Interview? About what?"

"Responsibility," Durant said. "I'm going to talk about how I'm going to fulfill my responsibility as a star player."

PS: I’m stuck. It’s so stuck.

(End of this chapter)