Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 423 - 282: Be Polite in Your Conduct

Chapter 423: Chapter 282: Be Polite in Your Conduct

Jason Terry never got off that shot.

The game provided Yu Fei with a rather bland experience.

He had treated the Mavericks as if they were the NBA Finals opponent, but their state tonight was simply bad, with Kwame Brown opening a huge hole in the paint right from the start, putting them 15 points behind by halftime, and the second half was even more of a rout.

At the post-game press conference, Yu Fei attacked Terry while the victory was still fresh, “It seems they’ll have a hard time surpassing the Spurs as the number one in the League anytime soon.”

“However, maybe we can inherit the ‘legacy’ of the Mavericks.”

For supporters of the Mavericks, Yu Fei’s comments were undoubtedly a stab in the lung, but having lost the game, all the dissatisfaction could only be held back.

As Mark Cuban said, “We can only hope to perform better the next time we meet.”

Could the Mavericks really beat the Spurs in the playoffs?

Yu Fei was skeptical about that.

But that was half a year away, and thinking about it now was pointless.

Defeating the Mavericks meant the Bucks could go home with a victory to celebrate Thanksgiving.

The next day, in addition to reviewing the Bucks’ big win over the Mavericks, sports journalists also noticed that Yu Fei had been named ESPN’s “Best Dressed of the Week” for a month in a row.

After the NBA introduced a dress code, ESPN followed suit with a fun little column, picking the best-dressed person of the week based on the attire of all the players at formal events.

Since the start of the new season, Yu Fei had been selected four times in a row.

Defeating the Mavericks put the Bucks’ record at the top of the Eastern Conference, second in the League, and Yu Fei’s average triple-doubles were also highly promoted by the League.

Now, Yu Fei was also showing enthusiasm in related policy areas, with a trend of leading the League’s fashion.

More and more data indicated that Yu Fei was becoming the most influential active player, whether for good influence or bad (the second contract extension), no one was more talked about than him, unless someone did something even more outrageous than what Kobe did in Eagle County.

As for being named “Best Dressed of the Week” for four consecutive weeks, Yu Fei publicly thanked his stylist, Dean Morris, and then took Christina to Washington for Thanksgiving.

Yu Fei didn’t care if he could lead the NBA’s fashion trend, nor was he concerned about how many sponsors his trendy identity had attracted for him; what he was most proud of was that his mother had made the Chinese restaurant chain in D.C. successful and popular.

Earlier this year, Yu Fenglin felt that the reputation of her son had suddenly become very bad, and she worried that it might cause trouble at her restaurant. However, the worse Yu Fei’s reputation seemed to get, the busier her restaurant became.

This was a proof that the fourth estate could only superficially sway public opinion.

The notion that Yu Fei had a bad reputation was a very superficial thing; among fans, especially in the Asian community, he was a hero to many people—this reached a peak when he single-handedly took revenge against the Detroit Pistons last season and carried the Bucks to the Eastern Conference Finals.

As a result, Yu Fenglin’s business flourished even more, and she became a well-known entrepreneur in D.C.

“Fulai, why do these journalists keep writing bad things about you in the newspapers?”

Yu Fenglin held a tabloid with curiosity as she looked at her son.

Yu Fei glanced at it, the tabloid thought he was narrow-minded—Jason Terry had just made a little joke before the game, yet he wouldn’t let it go.

“Tabloids… they just like to sensationalize stuff,” Yu Fei optimistically said, “I’m actually one of the better cases, they just think I have character issues. What if they accused me of being a pedophile just because of an unintentional affectionate gesture I made while taking photos with young fans? Where would I go to reason with that?”

Yu Fenglin said discontentedly, “Don’t talk like that, you’re not Michael Jackson.”

“Mom, MJ might also be innocent.”

“The children he molested are the innocent ones.”

Well, discussing this might be pointless. Yu Fei was just using the King of Pop as an example, not expecting his mother to have been successfully branded by the media with the idea that “MJ was a pedophile.”

That evening, Yu Fei had dinner with Christina and Yu Fenglin.

Although Yu Fei kept trying to find topics of conversation, the two women didn’t have much to say to each other.

Yu Fei could tell that his mother wasn’t satisfied with Christina.

That wasn’t surprising, after all, Christina was several years older than Yu Fei.

The next day, before leaving, Yu Fei was pulled aside by his mother and asked, “Do you really have to go back today?”

Yu Fei said, “Not necessarily, I can wait until tomorrow and go directly to the away game to join the team.”

“Then stay for one more day,” Yu Fenglin said mysteriously, “There’s an event here in D.C. that needs your participation.”

Yu Fei had no choice but to ask the team for a leave.

The event that Yu Fenglin prepared was as ordinary as the social events the team usually arranged for him…

It involved a joint effort between the Chinese restaurant chain and the Washington police department, as there had been frequent cases of drunk driving in D.C. recently, with a drunk driver causing a large-scale car accident that killed or injured dozens just a while ago.

The police department wanted to initiate a campaign, but they needed an ambassador for publicity and anti-drunk driving.

Yu Fenglin thought this was at least an opportunity to improve her son’s public image within Washington.

Yu Fei bitterly smiled as he accepted the task.

This matter proved that his decision to sever all ties with his agent regarding various rights was correct, Arne Trem was a professional agent, but aspects such as off-court marketing and public opinion control were already beyond his capabilities.

If it weren’t for his mother personally stepping in, Yu Fei wouldn’t have had any idea just how bad his public image was.

Now he knew.

Especially when he was leaving, his mother’s words to him were explosive, “Fulai, you’re a big star now, you need to think about the consequences of what you say and do, you can’t act like a child anymore.”

“Mm, I will.”

“You need to cherish your reputation, that way you won’t have to date women who are ten years older than you.”

The day after Thanksgiving, Yu Fei met up with the team in Memphis.

The Grizzlies were a mediocre team, capable of making the playoffs but not going far. Moreover, Jerry West, as an NBA team GM, seemed to have his spirit crushed by the Lakers and the 2003 lottery draft.

The loss by the Lakers was understandable, after all, your competitor is willing to sleep with the boss’s daughter to win, against such a person, West stood no chance.

The 2003 lottery was purely a disaster due to human error.

At that time, all the Grizzlies needed was to land the first pick to retain their draft rights, meaning “Either I get LeBron James, or I get nothing.” And then, the Grizzlies truly missed out on James at the very last moment.

This definitely harmed Jerry West’s confidence, to the point where he made no notable moves over the two years, performing like a mediocrity. Not only was the draft a mess, but also in terms of trades, he didn’t shine. In a trade that could have changed the competitiveness of the Grizzlies, between two problematic players who might have improved in a different environment, West chose Bonzi Wells over Vince Carter.

Before the game began, Yu Fei greeted Battier and then went all out.

Just two days of rest, and Yu Fei’s game condition hadn’t slipped at all.

The Grizzlies Team tried various zone defenses to limit Yu Fei’s breakthroughs, but the result was the same as for those who tried to contend with Yu Fei in the same manner.

Yu Fei overwhelmed the Grizzlies with his shooting alone.

Grizzlies president Jerry West had scouted Yu Fei during the previous ABCD Camp.

He knew Yu Fei’s shooting wasn’t that stable back then.

But now, Yu Fei’s shooting ability surprised West.

Outside the three-point line, long two-pointers one step inside the three, free-throw line jump shots, catch-and-shoot, pull-up threes after a fake dribble, dribble-threes after calling for a screen.

“In just four years, his shooting has become flawless,” West said to someone beside him. “He’s no longer the young man who only knew how to charge forward mindlessly.”

Listening to West’s description, it was as if he was talking about James.

And that was exactly the impression Yu Fei had given West back then.

West remembered saying that Yu Fei was the biggest uncertainty since 1979, because Yu Fei’s unique height and skill set gave him an enormous potential for growth and a limitless ceiling. But, to truly develop, to touch the sky, one had to unlock their potential with technique.

If one skill wasn’t mastered, a part of that potential would remain locked away.

Once the opportunity passed, the potential would be wasted.

Sadly, Yu Fei’s remarkable individual performance didn’t receive the support it deserved from his teammates.

Two days of holiday had left his teammates in poor condition, with Yu Fei being the only one scoring from beyond the arc, apart from the inside players.

Yet, the Grizzlies had the home court advantage. Big Jah let Pau Gasol dominate Kwame Brown, with Battier and others each exerting their strength. Although no one could match Yu Fei head-on, with ten men rotating, their collective effort in team basketball incredibly overcame Yu Fei, who furiously scored 52 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists that night.

“The D.C. ambassador against drunk driving might need to find a bar for a few drinks tonight,” joked ABC’s commentator.

52 points was Yu Fei’s season-high score, but losing the game despite reaching a personal best was undeniably aggravating.

After the post-game activities, Yu Fei returned to the arena for extra shooting practice.

Hearing that Yu Fei was going to practice more, those teammates who had previously planned to go back to the hotel to sleep also followed to the gym for additional practice.

After shooting a few hundred balls, Yu Fei felt it was enough and prepared to find a place to eat with Lawson.

Just as they reached the corridor outside the arena, Lawson pointed to the old man standing at the window staring into the night, “Isn’t that the Logo man over there?”

“You really lack manners,” Yu Fei glanced at him, “The man has a name.”

Lawson asked, “Should we greet him?”

“Nonsense!” Yu Fei snapped, “Do you think I’m as rude as you?”

Yu Fei didn’t know that Jerry West had observed him at the ABCD Camp, nor had he had any interaction with him before. His main impression of the old man was still from various legends in his past life.

Even from a distance, West looked like a tough old man to deal with, but Yu Fei was confident in his own charm.

If I can conquer an elder sister who’s seven years older than me, how can I not handle you, a mere old man who’s only 44 years my senior?

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