Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Chapter 992 992 578 Trust the Process_3

?Chapter 992: Chapter 578: Trust the Process_3 Chapter 992: Chapter 578: Trust the Process_3 Yu Fei was well aware that his strength did not lie in dunking. Dunking was just an embellishment for him; in his youth, he used it to attract fans, but now there was no need.

After all, he had reached a level where, even if he performed ordinarily, his mere presence could attract fans.

After defeating the Lakers, the Clippers won against the Trail Blazers at home but then suffered their first loss of the season on the road.

The team that defeated them was another California team, the Golden State Warriors.

After the accumulation of last season, there were signs of an explosion of the Warriors’ long-accumulated talent.

Joe Johnson was their key player, and Lillard, as an early-blooming second-year player, had already displayed All-Star-level combativeness. Kawhi Leonard was gradually becoming a stronger offensive player like Ron Artest, and Klay Thompson’s top-tier 3D qualities were also beginning to emerge.

The only problem for the Warriors now was how to handle Tyreke Evans’s situation.

Evans’s performance was phenomenal from the start, reminding people of LeBron James in the point guard position. However, as the league fully entered the era of space basketball, Evans’s problems gradually became apparent. As a point guard, his physical advantage was clear, but his shooting abilities had hardly improved over the years, and his offensive end was limited to a right-hand threat. The Warriors initially believed he could develop his left-hand skills and hence gave him an early maximum salary contract, but the results were not satisfactory.

Lillard’s rise made Evans’s position awkward. He couldn’t compete with Lillard at the point guard position, nor could he match Thompson and Leonard at the shooting guard and small forward positions. Additionally, he was burdened with an overpriced maximum salary contract. Thus, trading Evans had become the most urgent task for the Warriors.

However, this had nothing to do with tonight’s game.

Tonight, the young Warriors team began to show its promise, thriving on multiple fronts, winning with an offensive that the Clippers couldn’t resist.

“They are a team ready to break out,” Yu Fei said, “and they will get better.”

At that time, the reigning power in the Western was still the Spurs. As for the future of the Warriors, no one could predict.

The Clippers didn’t have time to dwell on this defeat; the season must go on.

However, Pachulia, who had long been a backup in Milwaukee, seemed to have a reaction to his starting treatment in Los Angeles, and pulled a thigh muscle in the next away game against the Kings, forcing the Clippers to let Kwame Brown take his place.

Yu Fei was unaffected by these changes and maintained high-intensity performance throughout, completely controlling the pace of the game. Griffin frequently took flight, performing spectacular dunks, and the underpowered King’s team ultimately couldn’t use their interior advantage to turn the situation around.

The only Clippers player in poor form was Giannis Antetokounmpo. This “Greek Freak” was the only player from the disastrous 2013 draft class who was guaranteed a starting position.

In the first game of the new season against the Lakers, he performed well, and in the following games, he occasionally had moments of brilliance. But against the Kings, the tough physical play confused him.

Yu Fei noticed this. Since Antetokounmpo only started receiving formal basketball training at 13, his fundamentals were not solid, which meant that although he had coordination with the ball, he could not execute extensive in-front-of-body dribbling maneuvers like Durant could. That’s why Yu Fei sighed and said, “What a pity,” when he first heard that Antetokounmpo started playing basketball at 13.

With insufficient fundamentals, to increase his ball-handling threat, he could only use his physical condition to play in a more open and shutting manner. The Greek Freak excelled in using his height and wingspan to shorten the distance across the court—what others might need three dribbles to achieve, he could do in one.

This style of play not only masked his lack of fundamentals but also leveraged his physical talents to advantage. However, as a rookie, Antetokounmpo was like a tall, skinny Spider-Man, collapsing at the slightest contact. He often managed to execute a move, only to have it all fall apart when he was bumped by an opponent.

The Kings Team was the first team that made him feel frustrated. Due to his poor performance, Rivers only let him play for 20 minutes. Antetokounmpo scored only 4 points and grabbed 2 rebounds throughout the game. He watched Yu Fei achieve an impressive stat line of 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists, and he couldn’t help but wonder how the GOAT managed to do it.

“Frye, I want to be like you,” the Greek said to the GOAT after the game.

The GOAT glanced at him, “Do you really?”

The Greek wanted to say he dreamed of it, but not knowing how to express it, he simply nodded vigorously.

Yu Fei chuckled playfully and said nothing more.

The next day, the Clippers returned to Los Angeles.

The training session that day was unremarkable, the only special event happened after the session ended.

Rivers had Antetokounmpo stand on the free-throw line while his teammates—including Yu Fei, Griffin, Pierce, and Barnes, each holding a ball—began, at Rivers’s signal, to take turns driving at Antetokounmpo’s defense, starting with Yu Fei.

The Greek was knocked down time and again, as if he were hollow.

Every time Pierce knocked down Antetokounmpo, he would taunt, “Haven’t you trained your strength?”

Yu Fei was the most ruthless, knocking Antetokounmpo down to the floor on his first try.

But the Greek showed no fear, he got up again and again.

“You want to be like me?” Yu Fei said, “Then first endure the unbearable pressure like a man!”

In this besieged situation, one could see a person’s ability to handle pressure. Antetokounmpo fell countless times, but never showed discouragement; he resisted his teammates’ attacks desperately every time. Although it was not highly effective, he never backed down.

Rivers was convinced once again that GOAT was absolutely right. This kid was destined to be something special.

This was a moment of satisfaction for Rivers. It was strange because the Clippers’ chances of winning the championship that year were not high, but Rivers cherished these times immensely. Because he knew, years later, when Giannis really became like Frye, he would feel immensely satisfied. But more importantly, before he fully blossomed, every sparkling moment sparked limitless imagination. The beauty of such a process could only be truly understood by those who experienced it.

That day, the last person Antetokounmpo defended against was Pierce.

This time, Pierce didn’t go hard, and the Greek dodged him. The result was very unfavorable for him. His old, cold legs had lost their explosiveness, and he could not make a layup in front of Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo gave him a fierce block.

“Ubuntu! Ubuntu!” Antetokounmpo shouted excitedly, chanting the team slogan taught by Rivers, “Ubuntu!”

The embodiment of “Ubuntu” stood on the sidelines, witnessing this scene.