Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 955 955 566 The Final Suspense_2

?Chapter 955: Chapter 566: The Final Suspense_2 Chapter 955: Chapter 566: The Final Suspense_2 However, this media person unsurprisingly faced criticism from justice advocates.

Since there was no evidence to suggest that James had orchestrated the trade, they listed news reports of James publicly supporting Wall, detailed game analysis, and slammed the media person’s professional ethics for exploiting LeBron’s tragic childhood for story material, which directly sparked public outrage.

James, gradually regaining popularity under the banner of “coming home,” is truly a top influencer, demonstrating his power with minimal effort.

The situation of The Celtics, another team that was a focal point as the deadline approached, was much simpler.

From the day they sent Garnett to the Cavaliers, their rebuild had begun.

After letting go of Garnett, Ainge started to offload Rondo.

Once Rondo was dealt with, Pierce would be next.

The Celtics were the most trade-oriented of the three teams in the spotlight, already aimed at rebuilding; holding onto these players was pointless.

Rondo was the point guard the Knicks had long coveted.

Since the All-Star break, the two sides had negotiated multiple times, but each time talks fell through due to Ainge’s outrageous demands.

Now that the Cavaliers were also looking to trade Wall, the Knicks, in dire need of a playmaker, had another option.

Amidst media scrutiny, Stoudemire kept a positive attitude every day.

The toughest thing for a star player is to admit they are no longer special.

But upon his return, Stoudemire fully accepted his decline.

History shows it’s inevitable.

Greats like George Mikan, wasn’t he rendered mediocre by a simple rule change? Chamberlain, averaging 50 points in his prime, wasn’t he battered by the shorter Willis Reed in his old age? What about Jabbar at age 42, facing the peak Bad Boys Pistons with a Lakers team full of injuries in 1989? And then there’s Jordan…

To this day, Stoudemire remembers how in his rookie season, Yu Fei gave Jordan his retirement ceremony for the last time he returned to D.C.

It was surely the most embarrassing farewell any superstar in sports could have.

Now, Stoudemire’s mantra was contentment.

He was still playing basketball, earning a max contract that would last until next summer, averaging 12 points and 6 rebounds—a far cry from his peak performance, but if he could maintain this level, he would receive a decent retirement contract once this one was over.

On the practice court, Yu Fei suddenly called for a pick and roll with Stoudemire.

Years of pick and roll cutting made Stoudemire acutely aware of the sweet timing of this opportunity.

Yu Fei used his body to shield the ball and lobbed it into the air.

Stoudemire excitedly slammed the ball into the basket.

This shot’s strength, angle, and timing were impeccable, almost on par with Steve Nash.

Thinking of Nash…

Stoudemire hoped he could still be playing in the NBA at Nash’s age.

“Nice dunk, Amar’e!”

Yu Fei shouted.

Stoudemire nodded vigorously, then couldn’t help but wonder, what would Frye’s ending be like?

With Yu Fei’s status today, there were only two possible outcomes for him.

Either go out in glory like Jordan in 1998 or end disgracefully like Jordan in 2003.

Yu Fei had already set his own finish line.

At 30, he was at the peak of his physicality, technique, experience, and mental game—the pinnacle for any athlete, after which they all face regression, fast or slow.

So, this was not the end.

But it was certainly the beginning of the end.

The SuperSonics gradually faded from the discussions of the trade deadline, as Presti had no interest in trading Stoudemire.

Many teams had tried and failed.

The closest attempt was when Danny Ainge tried to swap Pierce for Stoudemire, but demanded additional draft picks from the SuperSonics.

Presti considered for only a few minutes before rejecting him.

A Pierce five years younger might have been a consideration, but this aging version, aside from scoring a few points and clutch play, was already unable to meet the starting small forward’s requirements for a championship-contending team.

By the end of February, the Miami Heat from the Eastern Conference became the center of attention.

They had been on a winning streak since mid-January, maintaining their momentum through the All-Star break. Their form was undiminished by the holiday, and as their winning streak surpassed 20 games, they began making history, with each subsequent game being featured on national broadcast by major TV networks.

Entering March, the Heat’s winning streak started to have a wide-reaching impact, and even the various gossip and rumors of the trade deadline couldn’t shift the public’s focus.

On March 7, the Heat with a 26-game winning streak went head-to-head with the Western number one Spurs.

This match was touted as a Finals preview.

The Spurs’ switch defending and oppressive defense successfully held the Heat’s scoring in check, and the two teams were tied at 76 with five minutes left at the end.

The atmosphere of the match was extremely tense, with Spurs fans continuously chanting “Big Clumsy Yao,” a nickname evolved from “Yao the Dummy,” perhaps the least creative taunt in modern League history.

Most importantly, this mockery triggered a series of events to follow.

Yao Ming scored a three-pointer, followed by another three after a pick and roll, then blocked Paul George, and then scored another three-pointer.

Duncan’s eyes widened in confusion at everything happening tonight.

Since entering the League in 1997, he had lived through the Jordan era, the Shaq and Kobe duo, and the still ongoing Yu Fei era.