Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

"Of course, no problem!"

It only took Magic a tenth of a second. He turned around, faced the camera, and began to say, "Tomorrow is the NBA All-Star game, wow wow wow, Michael Jordan is back. And there are many other super, super, super excellent players."

Then the following conversation took place.

"Thank you, Mr. Magician,"

"You can call me anytime you need,"

"Oh. How old are you now?"

"Almost 43,"

"Thank you again, Mr. Magician."

"It's a trifle."

Then, Yu Fei couldn't help but ask, "Magic, do you miss this?"

Suddenly, a look of surprise flashed across Magic's face, then his signature smile appeared: "No, fame and fortune are just passing clouds to me, and the same for you. You will understand in time; they come into your life in a hurry, then disappear without a trace."

He fought desperately to hold onto his vanishing fame and fortune, even willing to stoop to participate in the All-Star weekend's 3V3 fun competition, but then he said fame and fortune were just passing clouds to him?

The HIV virus couldn't kill Magic, but if one day no one recognizes Magic anymore, and no more spotlights fall on him, he would truly die.

The next day was the All-Star main event, and according to Yu Fei's plan, he was ready to leave.

Since the rookie event had finished, and he wasn't playing in the main event, what was there for him to do in Philadelphia?

The reason given to him by Arne Trem was, "Stay to support Michael."

Yu Fei was stunned for a few seconds before saying, "You know, I saw people on the Internet discussing who was the most graceful jumper from the World Trade Center on 9/11, but your joke is even more hellish than what I saw."

"This is no joke, Frye. Even if people are at loggerheads, they still need a facade of hypocrisy to cover themselves. You and MJ haven't reached the point of tearing each other's faces off. You must stay and support him. It's important for your image."

"Alright, alright, I'll stay. I'll be on the bench cursing for him to make a fool of himself!"

"That is your freedom."

"Hmm, I don't have the freedom to leave, but I have the freedom to curse Michael on the spot."

"Congratulations on realizing the true essence of freedom, it is a mess like this."

Despite his complaints, Yu Fei still did his duty as a teammate and showed up at the All-Star game to support Jordan.

Then, his curse on Jordan came true.

Jordan did embarrass himself in the game and performed poorly.

Although the Eastern All-Star Team's coach Byron Scott respected Jordan enough to play him for 23 minutes, Jordan had an ugly dunk slip and went 4 for 13 shooting.

On the other hand, Kobe, who was anticipated to face off against Jordan in a new vs. old superstar showdown before the game, lived up to expectations. He swept the All-Star game in his hometown and ultimately lifted the AMVP trophy.

But Yu Fei believed Kobe wouldn't be happy.

Because every time Kobe got the ball, the hometown fans didn't give him cheers symbolizing love, but rather jeers full of spite.

What's going on? What happened? Did Kobe come back from Eagle County? Did he embarrass his hometown? Even for the Lakers beating the 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals, Yu Fei thought the people of Philadelphia shouldn't hate Kobe. To be fair, based on last year's playoffs performance alone, the finals were Kobe's worst showing, so he had already given his hometown enough chances, but the hometown team just couldn't seize them, right? It doesn't make sense to hate him!

After the game, NBC's reporters interviewed Yu Fei on the spot to know his thoughts about Jordan's missed dunk.

They knew how to stir up trouble, but although Yu Fei was not afraid of trouble, he had no interest in stirring it. So he smiled and said, "It's the basket's fault."

"But that was an open dunk..."

"Yeah, so I said it's the basket's fault."

"Why?"

"Because Michael can't possibly miss an open dunk, so the basket that made Michael miss an open dunk can't be without error."

Kobe's stats before the finals averaged 31 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 49%. In the finals, he averaged 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 41%.