When pride still matters

Chapter 530 Ascending the Throne
Judging from the data, compared to the Western Conference Finals, Yu Fei may be the player who has "regressed" the most in the Supersonics.

He averaged 47 points per game, a near triple-double, in the Western Conference Finals. Both his average points per game and his three consecutive games of 50 points were unprecedented.

In the finals, Yu Fei won without much effort because the Celtics were not competitive enough.

But this will not affect the ownership of FMVP.

Yu Fei still won his seventh FMVP trophy with a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists per game.

Just as Yu Fei was being awarded the award, the TV stations received news from Seattle.

The Supersonics' financing plan has been approved by the Seattle City Government.

This also means that the Supersonics really stayed.

In the summer of 2007, Yu Fei returned to Seattle in the name of saving the Supersonics, and today he officially completed his mission.

This will become one of the important footnotes for his pursuit of the GOAT title.

GOAT
This is the greatest significance of this championship to Fei.

Before that, his number of championships was equal to Jordan's. Although he won the championship for four consecutive years, it is hard to say that it is greater than Jordan's two three-peat championships.

And now, he has his third consecutive championship, and has won it for five consecutive years. In terms of continuity, it is seven championships in eight years.

Jordan entered the league in 1984 and ascended the throne in 1998, a span of fourteen years.

Even if you take away his baseball vacation, he played for twelve and a half years.

It took him twelve and a half years to become the first person in history. If Yu Fei took more time than him to surpass his results, it would still be questioned.

Of course, he could also market himself as the longest river, but what’s the point?
In competitive sports, the strong are the king, and everyone competes to reach the top.

It took Yu Fei nine years to surpass Jordan's honors in the NBA. Putting aside other aspects, in this regard, he is already the GOAT of modern basketball.

Therefore, when the FMVP trophy was awarded to him, the host asked: "Do you think you are the greatest basketball player of all time?"

"I would never say that."

Yu Fei held the FMVP trophy and said to the old man who has the naming rights to the trophy: "Russell has more championships than me. If you use the number of championships as a benchmark, he is the best basketball player in history."

This is Boston, and Russell is their hero.

Yu Fei ruined Boston's championship dream twice, but his speech was supported by the fans at the scene.

At this moment, they gave Yu Fei applause and cheers.

Then Yu Fei said, "But I don't mind people saying that I'm a better basketball player than No. 23."

“!@￥!@#￥”

The reaction was intense, and the host jokingly asked: "The No. 23 you mentioned shouldn't be LeBron, right?"

"Of course not, and I think No. 23 probably doesn't want to see him wearing No. 23 anymore."

And just like that, the Supersonics' coronation ceremony ended in a relatively friendly atmosphere.

Next comes “settlement time”.

Reebok will not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. With his seventh championship, Yu Fei will dispel the ghost of Chicago, officially reach the top, and become a "living GOAT."

It takes pretty strong media relations to nail that tone.

Fortunately, it’s not just Reebok that needs Yu Fei to take over.

It can be said that under this sky, every force related to professional basketball needs Yu Fei to reach the top.

Yu Fei has been the face of the league for more than five years, and Stern hopes to create another giant before he retires.

Jordan's era has gone, and the new era will be led by Fei.

So the alliance will add fuel to the fire.

The media related to Yu Fei and even the stakeholders who actively cooperate with him all feel that the time is ripe.

Then, there are those neutral people with justice in their hearts.

The positive impact of Yu Fei leading his team to defeat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals cannot be overstated.

There's a reason the Lakers are called the Evil Empire.

Even on the most unruly baseball field, amateur players all agree that those who are better at playing basketball should not be placed on the same team, but Kojan's initiative to form a team broke this tacit understanding.

Especially for the owners, they found that Gilbert was abandoned like a dog after licking James so much. Not only that, James abandoned him and made a show of this heartbreaking decision so that the whole world would know that he was going to move the capital.

Such behavior aroused widespread resentment among the capital group. They did not show it, but seeing the Lakers end up like this, everyone cheered for Yu Fei.

Therefore, these most powerful people in the NBA are also willing to let Yu Fei become the GOAT.

It was a unity of force, a resonance of the universe, and Jordan had felt it in 1998, when he thought his Bulls would dominate until Jerry Reinsdorf decided to let them end it.

So he retired.

That was the most perfect ending a superstar could have, but the reason why this ending was perfect was because Jordan himself did not want to retire.

So he will make a comeback in DC.

Jordan never expected that he would become a bridge to build the next generation in DC, and Yu Fei, who was traded by him personally, would replace his position in the arena eight years later.

Thus, the build-up of the god-ascending movement began.

Time magazine selected Yu Fei as one of the 20 most influential people of our time.

Yu Fei is the only person from the sports world who was selected.

David Brooks, a conservative critic for The New York Times, wrote in his "Semi-Annual Review" column: "Stanford senior guard Jeremy Lin said 'Frye is their Ali, Jackie and MJ.' In the past, Asians have never been the protagonists of the sports world. But today, the protagonist of our era is an Asian. But this era began five years ago, but we only realized how far it has come today. The sooner you realize who this era belongs to, the more you can enjoy it."

The Washington Post began to review Yu Fei's rookie season in DC.

They were "surprised" to find that Yu Fei's greatness had been foreshadowed long ago.

It's just that at that time, no one could realize it.

"Frye could have led DC to seven championships. How long will it take us to recover from this loss?"

Sports Illustrated was the most direct media. They chose Yu Fei as the cover character of the last issue of the magazine in June, and wrote in capital letters on the cover: The Greatest of All Time.

In addition, they also sent Gary Smith, who made Yu Fei famous with the article "The Chosen One", to write a special article for Yu Fei again nine years later.

For this purpose, Smith contacted Yu Fei and wanted to conduct an exclusive interview.

Yu Fei readily agreed.

Along the way, many people helped Yu Fei, Smith was one of them. If it weren't for the hype he created for him, he would never have been able to enter the scouts' field of vision with just one year of explosiveness and enter the top ten in the draft. Various publicity and public opinion officially put Yu Fei on the highest throne.

On the official website of the NBA, among Yu Fei's nicknames, "GOAT" ranks before "The Chosen One", becoming his biggest label.

Although some of Jordan's loyal fans tried to defend Jordan's divinity, Yu Fei's rise was based on his all-round transcendence of Jordan.

Yu Fei surpassed Jordan in the number of championships and various MVP awards.

Although Jordan has more scoring titles, Yu Fei holds the record for most points in a single playoff game, and recently completed the feat of scoring 50 points in each of three consecutive games in the Western Conference Finals.

In fact, the scoring title is the only advantage that Jordan's supporters can bring out. In terms of comprehensiveness, Yu Fei not only leads in rebounds and assists, but also has three seasons with triple-doubles.

In the playoffs, Yu Fei's average points, rebounds and assists per game completely surpassed Jordan. In terms of records, from the 71 points in a single game against James to the recent performance of scoring 50 points in three consecutive games in the Western Conference Finals, Yu Fei far surpassed Jordan.

In terms of impact on the game, Jordan at most changed people's perception of shooting guards, while the "space basketball" brought by Yu Fei changed the way basketball games are played and the logic.

The revolution in the way basketball is played has been gradual since its birth. The winning logic in the Jordan era is not much different from the winning logic in the George Mikan era, but in the era of flying, space and speed will determine everything.

Then as mentioned earlier, Yu Fei reached a higher altitude in less time.

This is a standard way to surpass Michael Jordan, leaving everyone speechless.

Yu Fei surpassed Jordan in every indicator on the basketball court.

Even when it comes to the cultural influence that Joe's fans are so proud of, it's hard to say who has greater influence.

Because the black people represented by Jordan have super sports stars in every era, while the yellow people, or Asians, represented by Yu Fei, have always been a disadvantaged group in the sports world in the United States.

It was from such a vulnerable group that a giant god emerged.

In just a few days, Yu Fei has been confirmed as the new GOAT.

What about Jordan, the former GOAT?
He wanted to keep a low profile, but he couldn't.

Because of the grudge between him and Yu Fei, the more successful Yu Fei became, the more he would become a clown in public opinion.

Jordan has to speak for himself.

Moreover, he couldn't be too deliberate.

In mid-June, Jordan "accidentally" accepted an interview with a local TV station while attending a golf celebrity tournament in the Charlotte area.

He talked about many things.

"For me, the most important thing is to be successful as a boss," Jordan said. "But first, we have to create a healthy operating environment."

Afterwards, he briefly mentioned the topic of GOAT.

"I don't like this word." Jordan seemed very disgusted when he mentioned "GOAT". "It embarrasses me. Because I have never played against some outstanding predecessors, such as Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. I will not let people call me 'GOAT' in this situation."

"And if you're going to be the 'GOAT,' I think that definitely requires some metrics."

"For example, in my era, I and other outstanding players of the same era increased the average salary of players tenfold in ten years. That was a great era." Jordan said proudly, "I think the real 'GOAT' should do something similar, not only personal success, but also drive the entire industry to success."

Finally, the reporter asked: "What do you think of Frye saying after winning the FMVP that he doesn't mind others saying he is better than No. 23?"

"I don't mind either." Jordan sold his little brother very straightforwardly, "He is indeed better than LeBron."

Jordan's response caused some waves in the GOAT debate.

But the result will not change.

Those who are die-hard fans of Jordan will never admit that Yu Fei is the GOAT. The most important thing is what neutral parties think.

But the reality is that neutral people also think Yu Fei is the GOAT.

So, the debate is over.

From now on, there will be no debate about who is the GOAT between Yu Fei and Jordan, there will only be topics about how Yu Fei, the GOAT, is.

When the outside world was in turmoil, Yu Fei was on vacation.

He wants to rest for a few days.

The Sonics' management didn't have much time to celebrate their three consecutive championships and the approval of their financing plan.

Sam Presti began preparing for this year's draft as soon as the season ended.

One of the main problems exposed by the SuperSonics in the playoffs this year was the lack of shooters.

But the Lakers' failure made Presti realize that pure shooters are too easy to lose their accuracy in high-end games, and 3D may be the answer to space basketball.

Therefore, the Sonics' goal is to add 3D players in the draft, followed by shooters, and then the number one substitute.

However, it is not easy to strengthen the team, because the Supersonics only have the 29th pick in the first round and the 29th pick in the second round. It takes luck to select a promising talent in a draft that is obviously too big for the big and too small for the small.

While the management of each team is focusing on the draft, undercurrents are surging behind the league.

The conflict between labor and management has become extremely acute during the All-Star Weekend.

At that time, the two sides did not reach any consensus.

The investors wanted to wait until the new television broadcast agreement came into effect next season before breaking up, but the SuperSonics' $5 million financing plan and post-season financial report shocked the small-market teams that were losing money.

According to the financial report, after putting aside basic expenses and a hefty luxury tax, the Supersonics earned the most money in the league in the playoffs, with a net profit of $1.4 million in one season.

You know, these profits don't need to be shared with other teams.

Under such circumstances, the owner of the Supersonics, Clay Bennett, actually advocated on behalf of the big-market teams to cut spending during the All-Star Weekend and take money out of the labor pocket?

Yu Fei received a call from the trade union while on vacation.

"Frye!" said union president Derek Fisher urgently, "We have to prepare for the worst!"

Yu Fei asked: "What is the worst-case scenario?"

"When necessary, we must have the determination and belief to stop the game," Fisher said. "This is the biggest card we have."

"I understand." Yu Fei said, "Do what you should do."

In Yu Fei's memory, the NBA did have a lockout in the 2010s, but he doesn't remember the exact time because he was only 6 years old when the lockout occurred in his previous life.

Therefore, he only had a vague impression. He didn't know how the lockout started and ended, and he didn't know that because of his existence, the NBA's timeline had completely changed. The Supersonics did not move away, the league signed an expected larger television broadcast contract last year, and the existence of nouveau riche like Bennett greatly stimulated the conflict between labor and management.

This is a brewing storm.

Above the water, everyone was doing their best as if nothing had happened, and were preparing in an orderly manner for the upcoming 2010 NBA Draft.

(End of this chapter)