Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

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On October 30, 2001, the Washington Wizards departed from D.C. to New York to participate in the 2001-02 NBA season's opening game.

Because of Jordan's involvement, the Wizards suddenly became one of the main teams in the NBA, and it was only natural that they were scheduled to play in the opening game.

Yu Fei sat numbly on the plane, and even here, he could still hear some news.

Unfortunately, whether in the newspapers or on the television, everyone was talking about the United States' war on terror launched at the beginning of the month as a response to the 9/11 events; the world's only superpower had stepped into the "graveyard of empires." TV commentators tirelessly narrated frontline stories; no one talked about Jordan's second comeback, and even Barry Bonds' record-breaking home runs were overshadowed by the national tragedy.

At this time, the influence of any sports star was diminished, whether it was the resurrected god (Jordan) or the living god (Woods), the only sports narrative that received mainstream attention was about the New York Yankees. As a team, the Yankees' impact had transcended the usual confines of a sports team and, as a cultural symbol, could even be seen as synonymous with Americans. In the United States, the Yankees are usually hated and despised because they symbolize arrogance and crushing victories with no mercy for the opponents.

What the Yankees symbolized was exactly what Americans wanted to see in the war in Afghanistan; they hoped the U.S. military would be as unstoppable as the Yankees.

As the only person in the world who knew this war would last 20 years, Yu Fei waited numbly for the plane's announcement.

New York, they had arrived.

The moment Yu Fei stepped off the plane with his backpack, the airport broadcast began playing Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."

Everything depends on you, New York, New York...

(It's up to you New York, New York)

Yu Fei sang silently to himself.

As Yu Fei arrived outside the airport, he found not only dozens of media outlets had gathered but also thousands of fans chanting "MJ" as well as the tightest security he had ever seen.

Yu Fei understood their thoughts; if terrorists were looking for a target, what could be more conspicuous than Jordan, and who could attract larger crowds than Jordan?

The journey from the airport to the hotel by bus and later from the hotel to Madison Square Garden left Yu Fei witnessing the most rigorous security measures he had ever seen in his life.

One could say that New York was protecting Jordan like they would protect the president.

The most exaggerated part was when a reporter, who had not passed the security check promptly and didn't want to miss the chance to interview Jordan, attempted to bypass security and was knocked down by the guards using authentic martial arts techniques. Instantly, several people surrounded him and subdued him, and no matter how much he cursed, they first took him away from the scene.

After a simple court walkthrough, Yu Fei returned to the locker room an hour before the game started.

He was equally nervous.

As a lottery pick, he was about to face his first professional NBA game.

He needed his private little space.

But damn David Stern had mandated in the 1990s that NBA locker rooms must be open to all media with press credentials 45 minutes before the game starts. Although hard to obtain, press credentials were still accessible to many reporters, especially some well-connected foreign journalists.

Jordan was resting with his eyes closed, and Grover was giving him a simple massage; two muscle-bound men stood by his side, his bodyguards.

Then, an impetuous foreign reporter burst in, raising his microphone to Jordan's face, "Michael, would you like to say something to the Spanish fans?"

Jordan didn't even glance at him, "I don't give interviews before games."

"Can I take a photo?"

"No photos allowed," said a security guard.

The Spanish reporter was not satisfied; this was the first game where Jordan would wear a Wizards jersey. Once it became a reality, it would be a historic moment of Jordan separating from the Chicago Bulls.

"Just one photo..."

"No photos allowed, don't make me say it a third time!"

"Hey, you can take a picture of me," Yu Fei offered.

The Spanish reporter reluctantly approached Yu Fei, "What would you like to say to the Spanish fans?"

"Please don't forget that amazing, kind person," Yu Fei said, "That person is me."

The reporter said helplessly, "Are you sure the fans know what you're talking about?"

"As long as you know," Yu Fei shrugged, "If you're really grateful, please don't let me see you before the game starts in the future."

After the reporter left, Jordan remarked sarcastically, "Is annoying people your nature?"

"No, I just know that Spaniards won't buy my sneakers, so I don't care what they think of me," Yu Fei retorted, "But I believe some people might lose some Spanish fans because of their arrogance."

Tonight, Madison Square Garden was packed.

The welcome ceremony for Jordan was grand; Stern appeared again, along with New York's mayor, then the current President of the United States spoke about the significance of Jordan's return to society ... then, tributes to the military, tributes to firefighters, tributes to American spirit... If they continued paying tributes, Yu Fei was going to be sick.

Luckily, they knew it was the regular season, and the game itself was the most important thing; the tributes were brief. What good were elaborate tributes in a game with an average attendance if nobody watched?

Soon after, the starting lineups for both teams were announced.

The Wizards' starting lineup was beyond lackluster: Chris Whitney, Richard Hamilton, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Jahidi White.

Apart from Hamilton, who averaged 18 points last season, only White was a starter from the previous season. Laettner and Whitney had been in the league for many years, and their abilities were set in stone; if they weren't starters last season, why were they starters this season?

Because Jordan thought Yu Fei wasn't "trying hard enough," so Collins believed starting a greenhorn like Yu Fei at the small forward position and letting him alternate at point guard with Jordan was a high-risk decision.

Yu Fei and Brown sat side by side, exchanging glances.

"Seeing you on the bench as well makes me feel a lot better," Brown joked, "How is it that a player who performs top three on the practice court isn't starting?"

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Yu Fei suppressed the urge to curse at Michael Jordan's mother and said emotionlessly, "Even though I practice three times a day, it's still not enough effort to earn the 'boss's' approval."

"It's terrifying, he's not human," Brown had been influenced by Yu Fei and blasphemy had become an indispensable entertainment in his life.

Yu Fei snorted coldly, "You're already flattering him by expecting him to meet human standards."

"Cough cough..." Coach Lu sat uncomfortably, "Can you say less?"

Yu Fei felt that he still hadn't said enough and should say more.

On the court, Richard Hamilton and Allan Houston were like mirrors of each other.

Whenever Hamilton scored, Houston would respond in the same fashion.

And it looked completely natural.

Jordan's performance let the fans in attendance down, starting with an overpowered pull-up jumper from the free throw line, then a bizarrely rhythmic drive and low push shot to save face, followed by more misses, continuing to miss, shooting 1 for 5 in the first quarter.

When New Yorkers realized this wasn't the Jordan who toyed with them as one would a plaything, they couldn't help but mock the rusting deity.

"Wizards' Dan is so much worse than Bulls' Dan!" Spike Lee mumbled, "Just retire already, Michael, this is not the man I remember!"

Seeing Jordan struggle with the pace of an official game, Collins chose to substitute him out at the seven-minute mark of the first quarter.

"Frye!" Collins called out, "You're taking Michael out."

Yu Fei asked, "What about Kwame?"

Collins looked displeased at Yu Fei, was this rookie trying to teach me how to manage rotations?

"Kwame and I have good chemistry..." Yu Fei said.

Collins replied sternly, "That's not for you to worry about."

It really wasn't Yu Fei trying to help Brown out as a friend, it was in the best interest of the Wizards for Yu Fei and Brown to be on the court at the same time.

There were enough internal training samples to prove that Brown played best when paired with Yu Fei.

If Collins wanted Brown to develop smoothly, he should have done that.

But Collins refused.

With no reasonable explanation, Brown's situation was different from Yu Fei's; although he had lost the status within the team that a number one draft pick should have, he had no conflict with Jordan, unlike Yu Fei's clear-cut "Anti-Mike" stance.

Brown performing well was beneficial for Jordan; who would want to carry the blame of poor judgment?

Yu Fei spread his hands towards Brown, signaling buddy, I tried my best, this coach is too much, you figure it out.

Behind him, Brown started cursing Collins's mother with an F-bomb.

As Yu Fei took over from Jordan, the boss jokingly said, "If you make a mistake, I'll take you out."

To this day, Jordan still intended to tame Yu Fei.

But Yu Fei didn't want to compromise with Jordan. If Jordan were ten years younger, he wouldn't mind acknowledging him as the leader, but at 38, coming on court and shooting 1 for 5, how was he to be the big brother? Did he think that The Chosen One had no face to lose?

"Suit yourself, I can handle it."

With that, Yu Fei didn't even look Jordan in the eye and waved to demand the ball from Chris Whitney, "I'll control the ball."

Whitney said irritably, "You should know that your opponent is Latrell Sprewell."

"Oh, will he choke me?" Yu Fei asked.

"Not likely, but you'd better keep your mouth shut in front of him."

"Got it," Yu Fei said impatiently, stretching out his hand, "Ball!"

Whitney passed the ball and sure enough, Sprewell wanted to give Yu Fei a shocking welcome, directly going for one-on-one full-court pressure.

Yu Fei didn't underestimate Sprewell's defense, it's just that the current NBA had strict regulations against body movement, and defenders were not allowed to handcheck outside the three-point line in the frontcourt.

In such a case, as long as you can handle physical confrontations, even someone as aggressive as Sprewell would have a hard time forcing a turnover.

After successfully gaining weight in the summer, Yu Fei had become just about adequate for playing the three position. Sprewell's attempts at aggressive steals not only failed but also left big openings.

With a swift turn and dribble, Yu Fei used the defender's momentum against him, shaking off The Madman by a step, sending the noise at Madison Square Garden into overdrive.

Jeff Van Gundy watched the skilled ball-handling from Yu Fei and fell into deep thought.

The coordination was astonishing, and the speed of his preferred hand turn and dribble was not something a 208 cm player should have.

In the blink of an eye, Yu Fei had broken inside the three-point line.

The Knicks' help defense had already positioned itself, but he stopped at the free-throw line, starting with his left foot, faking with his right, and then taking off with one foot to power through a visually stunning tomahawk dunk over the Knicks' temporary starting center Felton Spencer's head.

In the moment the dunk was completed, Yu Fei roared out loud, aggressively pulling on the rim to taunt his opponents and even stole Russell Westbrook's rocking the cradle move, stomping on the floor with a swagger.

No lyrics were more fitting for the scene than those of "New York, New York."

If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere; it's up to you, New York, New York!