Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 518 - : 358

Chapter 518: 358

Josh Childress had absolute confidence in his own talent.

Although he didn’t think he was Yu Fei’s opponent, when he heard that he would win as long as he made one successful defense, he did develop a strong desire to compete.

However, having desire was one thing; fulfilling the goal was another.

Afterward, Yu Fei acted like a one-on-one basketball textbook, using a succession of moves such as pull-up jumpers, abrupt stops after dribbling, step-back jump shots after dribbling, driving layups, powerful dunks after breaking into the basket, floaters, and even backing down the opponent.

Childress’s talent was beyond question.

But like many talented men, if he could solve problems with talent, he wouldn’t handle them with skills.

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As a result, he ended up without skills.

After 11 rounds, Yu Fei didn’t miss a single shot, Childress’s afro seemed to be smoking, and his confident face had only the dim light of life’s doubt remaining.

“Josh, don’t take it to heart,” Durant consoled, “Frye played LeBron the same way.”

The media dubbed Yu Fei’s dominance over James in Las Vegas as the “King-slaying Battle.”

Moreover, since James subsequently withdrew from the national team, some outlandish rumors emerged, and the media believed their descriptions to be exaggerated enough that no one would believe them, had they not seen it with their own eyes.

But Yu’s supporters and James’s critics said, “You are too conservative.”

Now the rumors had evolved to Yu Fei dunking on James multiple times, then stepping over him, causing him to leave in embarrassment.

Childress, hearing Durant mention James, couldn’t help but ask, “Did Frye really step over LeBron?”

“Uh…” Durant didn’t know if Childress was asking if Yu Fei had stepped over James in the game or had caused similar humiliation to James.

Remembering Chris Bosh’s famous saying, Durant then said, “I think it’s not too different.”

Childress came over to Yu Fei and said, “I lost.”

“You have a big problem with your one-on-one defense,” Yu Fei said. “With your talent, your defense shouldn’t be this poor.”

Childress wanted to argue back, but recalling how he had just been trounced 11-0, what right did he have to talk tough?

“My best skill is help defense…” Childress said.

“That’s not enough,” Yu Fei responded. “If we want to win the championship, you have to get better.”

Yu Fei’s voice, like the sound of a bell, garnered everyone’s attention.

Win the championship?

The SuperSonics had finished at the bottom of the Western Conference last season, and now they were aiming for the championship this season?

“Big Fei, did I hear wrong?” Posey asked.

“You all know why I came here,” Yu Fei said. “In the long run, to ignite the passion of the fans, to awaken the market, to make Seattle hot, we must be a championship team.”

Everyone says their goal is to win the championship, but few take it seriously.

Yet if Yu Fei said it, everyone would believe he was sincere.

George Karl and Kwame Brown, who had followed Yu Fei, were not surprised by his goal.

It would be a joke if Big Fei gave up the chance to complete a three-peat in Milwaukee if he were only to save his hometown team; that cause would be too noble.

If he could win the championship with the SuperSonics, he could achieve the unique feat of winning a three-peat with a different team.

Besides, the SuperSonics were the bottom-dwellers of the last season.

In contrast, the veterans of the SuperSonics were doubting whether they really had a chance to win the title.

Rashard Lewis stayed because of Yu Fei’s decision to remain, but for him to say they would win the championship this new season seemed surreal, considering he led the team to the top draft pick last season.

For Brandon Roy, however, Yu Fei’s championship aspiration might not be so far-fetched.

If the SuperSonics had not been set on tanking, they wouldn’t have scheduled preventive surgery for him last season.

It was precisely because he was declared out for the season after playing only a few games that the SuperSonics’ record plummeted to the bottom ranks.

Now he was healed, Yu Fei had arrived, Lewis had stayed, and, in fact, the SuperSonics had three star players—practically a big three, no worse than the Celtics.

“Indeed, we have to prove we’re no worse than the Seahawks or the Mariners,” Roy naively said. “As long as we win the championship, we’ll get a new arena, and then the SuperSonics will stay!”

From the first day of training camp, the SuperSonics got on the right track.

Jack McCallum noticed Yu Fei’s concern for the young players, and the way he led the team seemed completely different from the despotic tyrant of legend.

Yu Fei wouldn’t step on his teammates’ faces to make them recognize him as the leader of the team, and unless necessary, he wouldn’t even bother to reprimand a conceited fool like Childress.

But McCallum still spotted some differences.

Yu Fei treated Durant noticeably differently from everyone else.

Yu Fei adopted an aggressive style when dealing with Durant.

Whenever Karl organized group training, Yu Fei was always opposite Durant.

If Durant’s shooting wasn’t as good as his own, he would talk trash.

“Isn’t shooting supposed to be your strength? What happened to you?”

“Kevin, maybe you should change your shoes. Wearing Nike too much might make you unable to learn how to shoot, just like LeBron.”

Such was the intensity Yu Fei applied to Durant, far beyond what others did—it was an intense examination.

Sometimes Durant felt at a loss, sometimes a bit panicked, but most of the time, he was able to adjust his mindset.

Kwame Brown confided to McCallum, “I don’t know what Big Fei’s goal is, but he does remind me of my time in D.C. Luckily, the one playing me is KD.”

Every day, Yu Fei would challenge Durant to one-on-one.

Durant never won.

He occasionally scored a few baskets, occasionally made the score close, but as soon as Yu Fei exerted himself, any suspense would vanish.

“You can’t seriously be unable to bench press even the lightest weight, can you?” Yu Fei asked. “If that’s true, I think you need to get stronger in addition to improving your shooting. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how you’d survive in front of someone like Ron Artest.”

Durant answered naively, “I’m taller than him; I can just shoot.”

“Shoot my ass!” Yu Fei cursed crudely. “Before you even shoot, he’ll already have knocked you down!”

The current Yu Fei was starting to resemble that legendary figure.

If onlookers paid close attention, they could catch a glimpse of dissatisfaction and anger flashing across Durant’s face. Those emotions were fleeting, and soon after, Durant sat under the basket. His gentle eyes focused on Yu Fei.

Yu Fei didn’t look at him, just repeatedly practiced close-range hook shots.

Every one of Yu Fei’s moves was like copy and paste.

Muscle memory had deeply embedded itself in his mind.

Jack Sikma, returned to coaching the post players, said, “Your turnaround hook shot seems flawless in my opinion.”

“How about this one?” Yu Fei switched to his left hand and did another hook shot.

Sikma honestly replied, “It’s much less proficient. Needs improvement.”

Durant didn’t understand why Yu Fei was practicing post moves. It wasn’t that he couldn’t practice them, but as an outside player like him, shouldn’t he practice post moves in the style of Jordan and Kobe?

McCallum, who seemed omnipresent, walked over. Durant knew he was the writer who hung around Yu Fei all the time.

“Did Frye upset you?”

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McCallum was straightforward.

“Will my answer end up in your book?” Durant asked.

McCallum laughed a little, “Maybe. Do you think your response won’t fit into my book?”

“I admit I’m very angry.” Durant glanced at McCallum with his non-aggressive eyes—almost the complete opposite of Yu Fei’s—”But I sat down and thought, ‘Why am I so angry?’ Because Frye is passionate, and I hate to fail. Hating failure is a good thing. This isn’t personal animosity. Frye is trying to make me better, and I hate being stagnant. But I know I need time, so I must channel my emotions in the right way.”

If Yu Fei’s career so far has been an impeccable history of a superstar’s growth, then recording Durant’s rookie season holds a special significance for McCallum.

Just like Kobe in his early years, Durant was lucky enough to debut in his freshman year alongside one of the league’s best.

If Shaquille O’Neal wasn’t a good role model, then Yu Fei certainly was the best role model Durant could have.

Keep in mind, Durant’s turnaround to become the number one pick was largely because his prototype was set by scouts as Yu Fei.

A supernova, modeled after Yu Fei, came to play by his side. Could there be a more dream-like start to a career?

Yu Fei’s drive to push Durant continued.

Durant’s life seemed incredibly hard because Yu Fei would not give him any slack for being a rookie. He was as harsh as those deranged parents who ended up in jail for abusing their children.

On media day, some reporters who had heard about Durant’s hardships couldn’t help but ask Yu Fei why he was so tough on Durant.

To everyone’s surprise, Yu Fei’s answer wasn’t the cliché “I want to make him better” but something closer to mystic philosophy, “I want to remove Kevin’s mask and let everyone see what the real him is like.”

“Have you done it?”

“Not yet.”

“Why don’t you think the Kevin you see is the real Kevin?”

“Because he’s a good guy,” Yu Fei said with a light smile. “But in my eyes, except for my mother, there’s no such thing as a purely good person in this world.”