Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

He answered excitedly, "You can see the difference between us and the Lakers Team, they have too many arrogant and conceited players, you can't see any team spirit in them! But you can see team spirit in every single one of us! We know we can rely on each other, everyone's goal is the same, and most importantly, we don't have any privileged ones, we don't have any assholes lording it over others, you won't see Frye asserting over and over again that the Bucks are 'his' team, he would never stand in front of you and say that, absolutely not. That's why we can defend our championship!"

Almost everyone accepted interviews, only Yu Fei sat on the side, refusing interviews with these journalists who rashly entered the locker room.

When Yu Fei saw Sprewell plunge his legs into an ice bath the moment he entered the locker room, his body covered in "souvenirs" left by Kobe, he poured champagne on the other's legs.

"Sprewell, it was all worth it," Yu Fei said.

Sprewell responded with a faint smile, "Yeah, it was so worth it, I hope we can do it another year!"

Another year? Yu Fei didn't know what the next year would bring, he just wanted to enjoy the moment.

Just as Yu Fei decided he wouldn't accept anybody's interview, he saw Marc Stein in the crowd, the writer who publicly claimed he was likely to become the Greatest of All Time, full of anticipation to become the first lucky one to interview Frye.

Yu Fei nodded with a smile, "Marc, you can ask a few questions."

"I know you've been asked this many times, but I need to ask again, about playing for the Dream Team, have you changed your mind?"

Yu Fei answered decisively, "I will not play for Larry Brown."

Stein brought up one of his earlier articles.

"I had said before that if the Bucks win back-to-back championships, you would become a candidate for the Greatest of All Time. Considering you are not even 22 yet, it's really crazy, what do you think about that?"

Yu Fei really wanted to win that title, but crowning the Greatest of All Time has always been about legitimacy. If you just call yourself the Greatest of All Time, or like Paul George said that there are many Greatest of All Times, wouldn't it be a mess? Today a Greatest of All Time of living, tomorrow a Greatest of All Time of changing teams, the day after a Greatest of All Time of record-breaking, where do so many Greatest of All Times come from?

"I will not talk about this until I win six championships," he said.

At that point, Stein really didn't know whether Yu Fei was a braggart or just pretending to be one. With such a hot topic, he actually gave the least eye-catching answer.

After that, Stein asked some pre-prepared questions, to which Yu Fei responded, although the answers weren't what Stein wanted to hear.

By then, Stein figured dear Big Fei was probably in sage mode due to winning the championship again, becoming more introspective. Today really wasn't a good day to ask questions.

Just as the interview was about to end, as Stein was pondering what kind of question to end with, he saw Ray Allen coming over with champagne, which sparked an idea.

"Frye, do you think the Bucks are your team?"

"Of course," Yu Fei looked strangely at Stein. "Why do you ask?"

In front of Ray Allen, Stein said, "I've always thought you're not the type to stand in front of someone and say 'look, this is my team.'

Ray Allen's expression changed; he certainly knew these were his own words just spoken.

At least, Ray Allen had one thing right.

Yu Fei was not standing in front of Stein; he was lounging there, quietly uttering the sentence some assumed he'd never say.

"This is my team," Yu Fei said. "It has to be."

(1) 23 years ago, an underdog story was the Houston Rockets shattering the reigning champion Lakers in the first round, and Jabbar embarked on the path toward becoming malcontent like Moses Malone.

(2) In the 2004 Finals, the free throw comparison between the Lakers and the Detroit Pistons was 111 to 171.

PS: Today, there is only one chapter.