Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1092 - 613 Yao Saint_2

Chapter 1092: Chapter 613 Yao Saint_2 Chapter 1092: Chapter 613 Yao Saint_2 “`

Objectively speaking, for a veteran experiencing a decline, embracing a substitute role is indeed the best choice.

He can maximize his output while sitting on the bench.

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The opportunity for staggered playing time is not available to everyone. Yao Ming has already savored this benefit in the finals.

Once he becomes a substitute, his playing time will be strictly controlled, which will greatly reduce the probability of injury due to over-exertion.

As for the damage caused by being a substitute… for a player who does not pursue historical status, playing as a substitute in his later years won’t cause any harm to his historical position.

To this day, Yao Ming’s historical status is unquestionable.

He will undoubtedly become one of the future NBA top 75 superstars. Not only because he is a bridge between the NBA and Asia, especially China, he is also considered the last dominant traditional center and the top center of the NBA for the first half of the 2010s.

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For veterans, the future often becomes their obsession. They tend to care too much about their future achievements, and only by letting go of these obsessions can they make key decisions.

If accepting a substitute role can help Yao Ming stay healthy and not affect his historical status, then what else could stop him?

The answer is, nothing. He is very rational, and the only potential obstacle is economic interest. But Yao Ming has already signed a max contract, and by the time the contract expires, he will be 38 years old. This means that this is the last big contract of his career, already secured, with no worries for the future.

Therefore, the only thing that might stop him from accepting a sub role is the pride and conceit from a superstar’s self-awareness.

However, it is now 2015.

Once, the NBA was like “Mecca” to Yao Ming, a sacred place. To step into this land of his dreams, he even dared to threaten retirement to get his old club to let go. Eventually, he not only realized his dream but rapidly became one of China’s iconic faces to the world. Thirteen years later, the NBA is no longer the most important thing in his life, what matters most is “leaving a legacy”.

A week later, time moves to October 30th, 2015-16 season opener.

The defending champion Clippers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers.

James watched from afar as the Clippers were crowned at their home court, and watching NBA Commissioner Adam Silver personally present Yu Fei with the championship ring, a strange feeling surged in his heart.

He has seen this scene. It had already been played out in his dreams.

Indeed, James’s first game in the NBA was against Yu Fei’s Bucks, when Yu Fei was just starting his first defending season.

At that time, James, equally full of promise, albeit without any achievements, could already be termed as the “dual heroes” alongside Yu Fei. Now, a dozen years later, this statement seems like a joke.

Yet, in James’s dreams, the scene of him winning the championship over Yu Fei’s head appeared repeatedly, where he stood in front of Yu Fei, accepting the ring.

Watching Yu Fei receive his ninth championship ring with an indifferent expression, as if it were just a trivial matter, James felt a sudden displeasure.

No matter how dissatisfied he felt inside, James could only endure it, because he and Yu Fei were no longer on the same track.

His rival was ahead by nine championships.

What does this mean? If James wants to bridge this gap, he would need to win consecutively from this year until 2024.

This is obviously not going to happen.

But even so, James does not want to end his career as a ringless failure.

Even if he is now regarded as the contemporary Clyde Drexler, he still aspires to win his own ring like Drexler.

But, is it possible for him to achieve this with the Cavaliers?

Before the game began, Yu Fei and Chris Bosh greeted each other.

Last season, Chris Bosh was declared out for the season due to blood clots in his body, with sports medicine professionals deeming his career possibly over.

Instead, he decided to make a strong comeback at the start of the season.

This might be the only consoling event for the string of disappointments for the Cavaliers.

After the game started, people noticed that Yao Ming was not in the Clippers’ starting lineup.

The official explanation from the Clippers was that Yao Ming had just been through a tiring summer and needed to recover gradually.

But internally, everyone knew this was a request initiated by Yao Ming.

Yao Ming believed that Jokić played well with Yu Fei and Antetokounmpo in the number five position, and the team could try letting the former start while he accepts the role of a substitute.

Rivers tried to persuade him earnestly for a while, but finding it impossible to change his mind, could only accept the suggestion.

For Clippers fans, this was an unexpected surprise; they had no idea that this was a turning point for the next ten years of the Clippers’ development.

Throughout the game, Antetokounmpo played power forward, Yu Fei moved back to small forward, and though Jokić didn’t show clear superiority over Yao Ming in statistics, scoring 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, those five assists reminded fans of the games Jokić started last season.

Tonight, Jokić played much more maturely than during his rookie season.

By stretching the floor with a five-out lineup, Jokić orchestrated plays from the arc, and with dominant rebounding, much like Team USA in international competitions, executed numerous fast breaks, scoring 136 points in total, and the Cavaliers were helpless.