Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 924 924 555 As the Sovereign Commands Heaven

?Chapter 924: Chapter 555: As the Sovereign Commands, Heaven Bestows; As the Sovereign Commands, Heaven Takes Away_3 Chapter 924: Chapter 555: As the Sovereign Commands, Heaven Bestows; As the Sovereign Commands, Heaven Takes Away_3 However, today’s defeat allowed Westbrook to glimpse his future.

For the next four seasons, they might still make it to the playoffs, and then opponents would send them home in roughly the same manner.

He wouldn’t have a chance to contend for a championship, but the team made a killing selling high-priced playoff tickets, the owner actively marketed his image in Minnesota, and everyone had their own business to attend to.

“Frye, what would you do if you were me?”

Yu Fei had a decent private relationship with Westbrook outside of their love for trash-talking each other.

Because Westbrook was also one of Reebok’s basketball stars.

Yu Fei knew what pained Westbrook, but honestly, with his style, it was very difficult to build a championship-contending team around him as the core.

A ball-dominant core with poor mid-to-long-range shooting—how luxurious a roster would be needed to win a championship?

Yu Fei couldn’t imagine.

Some stars are just not destined to be winners at their peak, but may have a chance to turn into a valuable bench player as they age.

But Westbrook’s trouble was that even when older, he couldn’t provide stable assistance as a substitute.

Yu Fei had no answer, only saying, “I’d go home, sleep on it, and then pray things turn in a good direction.”

Westbrook just felt like Yu Fei had spewed a winner’s trash talk.

He didn’t think it over.

Because he was young, he didn’t know time is not a universal excuse.

Less than a week later, the first round of the playoff series had all ended.

There were no upsets.

The higher-seeded teams easily defeated the lower-seeded teams.

In the Western Conference, the Spurs and Mavericks met in the semifinals.

The SuperSonics’ battle with the Lakers Empire 2.0 arrived as scheduled.

But this time, the outside world’s expectations and attention could not compare to those of 2010.

The “Evil Empire” was left with only a shell, especially after James rejected the Lakers Team’s early renewal offer, everyone knew “The Decision 2” was imminent.

“The Decision 1” turned James into a laughingstock around the world, a living clown; he was the butt of jokes on every talk show and comedy program, delighting audiences.

This also made James’s actions predictable.

In short, James had to succeed. Only success could shut the world up, regardless of how it was achieved.

The Lakers Team had exhausted their future in the 2009-2010 season, and by now they were a ship always on the verge of sinking.

Kobe might still be the league’s leading Point Guard, but beyond that, the Lakers had little left.

Marc Gasol was good, but this talented young man was exactly the SuperSonics’ breakthrough point.

Looking around, all that was left for the Lakers was despair.

In the first game of the semifinals with the Lakers, both sides battled into overtime.

In the first four minutes of overtime, the situation remained unclear, with both sides hot on each other’s heels.

Durant couldn’t find his touch during overtime and, after missing two shots, he suddenly gave up shooting and instead focused on defense.

At the crucial moment, Yu Fei hit a turnaround jump shot over James and an instantaneous assist to Chris Bosh after grabbing an offensive rebound, helping the SuperSonics win the game.

They celebrated wildly, as all the chaos from the season became irrelevant.

Watching Yu Fei bask in the spotlight, waves rippled through the hearts of James and Durant.

It was something they couldn’t have at that moment.

In the following second game, James couldn’t find his range from outside, and his drives to the basket were thwarted by the SuperSonics’ rim protection; Kobe entered blacksmith mode, and without depth in the lineup, the Lakers Team had no chance with their stars contained.

The SuperSonics secured a resounding victory.

Although it was an away game, the two defeats had already highlighted the gap between the Lakers and the SuperSonics.

The SuperSonics had a clear advantage in their lineup, while the Lakers needed Kobe to perform above his level to have a chance of winning. If anyone performed below average, defeat was unavoidable.

For those who had already turned their attention to the offseason, the game felt like a waste of time.

Surpass oneself? Challenge the limits?

Those who are too calculating don’t entertain such notions. If you see them surpassing their limits on the court, beyond those limits there must be something even more important at stake.

The semifinals returned to the Lakers’ home court, and Kobe was determined to win tonight’s game.

Before the game, he told the coaching staff that he wanted to play the full 48 minutes.

So, James made the same declaration.

The entire Lakers team was unified in their goal, and the game heated up from the start.

Richard Hamilton committed a flagrant foul on Roy, and then Fei immediately knocked Kobe away with a foul block in mid-air.

The faded hatred between the two teams due to the lockout began to rekindle, and Kobe was the first to act up. He fired shots from the outside, but this did not intimidate his opponents.

Roy and Durant responded with threes of their own.

The matchup between Fei and James was also under intense scrutiny.

But clearly, James didn’t see the game as a do-or-die for the season like Kobe did. He had only one goal—to perform well. Even if the Lakers lost, no one could blame him.

With this mentality, his head-to-head with Fei in the third quarter sent the tension skyrocketing.

At the start of the fourth quarter, Kobe fired away again, attempting to extend James’s offensive push.

On the SuperSonics’ end, Durant gave a strong reply to Kobe. Amidst the piercing “trumpet boy” jeers from the Staples Center crowd, he repeatedly stifled the momentum Kobe tried to build.

It was James who disrupted Durant’s rhythm.

As the game entered its final five minutes, Durant shook off his defender and prepared to drive to the basket when James, voted third for DPOY this season, sprinted over and delivered a thunderous block.

James roared, wanting to prove he was Nike’s premier endorser.

Durant turned around, only to see the ball he had been blocked slapped into Fei’s hands. He rose high, perfectly straddling James’s head. A king can defend his kingdom, but destiny is inescapable. It is granted by heaven’s decree, taken by heaven’s command.

“BOOMMMMMM!!!!!”

This would be James’s great humiliation—two seconds after delivering the season’s best block, Fei completed the season’s best dunk over his head.

“!#?#@!?”
It was a perfect moment that embodied everything NBA stands for.

The majesty of a king, the power of a rebel, the energy of a newcomer—everyone’s pride and self-respect converged at this instant.

Since 2007, for five whole years, Durant had complained too much, felt aggrieved too long, waited too much. He knew he was wasting time, clearly understood that Seattle would never treat him like they did Fei, and he could never become someone like Fei. This fact had long been evident.

To confirm it, he took five years. His desires and ambitions grew day by day, but the gap between him and Fei never closed.

After five years, it was time to make a decision.

But before that, he had to win a fourth consecutive championship for Fei.

In these five years, Fei, as a leader, had shown him the way, truly living up to the title of leader.

So, he was not going to hold back at a key point in the push for a history-making fourth consecutive championship. It was the only thing he could do in return.

Durant rushed to Fei after he landed, pushing him hard, celebrating like a child.

Teammates also gathered around.

The referee timely gave James a defensive foul, giving the SuperSonics enough time to celebrate.

Once the emotions had subsided, Fei’s focus narrowed to Durant alone.

Durant said, “Frye, I’m not jealous of you anymore.”

“Idiot!” Fei retorted with a laugh, “Do you know how jealous LeBron is of you? Three championships, he’ll never get in his lifetime!”