Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 424 - 283 Your Next Move

Chapter 424: Chapter 283 Your Next Move

When the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the surging Milwaukee Bucks at home, Jerry West was sitting in his usual spot, which was in a corporate suite at the Pyramid Arena, high above the court.

In every home game of the Grizzlies, he sat there alone, where no one could see his agony or hear his string of curses. Tonight, the all-hands-on-deck Grizzlies unexpectedly held a significant lead over the Bucks. If someone looked closely in the suite, just by the light in the suite, they could see a smile on West’s face.

But this is the NBA, a place where miracles happen.

The Grizzlies could hold a large lead over the Bucks, and the Bucks could also show why they were so formidable. The controversial superstar Frye played like a god, steadily eroding the Grizzlies’ lead.

Even when his team was at its best, West was the most anxious person, watching the strength of the team being overshadowed by individual heroism. He quietly walked out of the room, bowed his head, walked through the corridor to a corner where the hoi polloi wouldn’t approach, and gazed at the city’s night view through the window.

Just when he thought the Grizzlies would collapse as usual, somehow, his team won the game by a narrow margin, the holy light of the team shining in Memphis.

One cannot win alone, and West deeply believed this.

Whether it was tonight’s Frye, Wilt Chamberlain who had been called back by God, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the top player in the ’70s, these powerful individuals repeatedly proved that basketball is not a one-man game.

No one could imagine West’s life in Memphis because he had worked in Los Angeles for 44 years.

But for West, he found the vigor of life here.

For a man prone to self-destruction, nothing could be more important.

“Mr. Logo, you’ve just won the game, why don’t you look too happy?”

West snapped out of his intense mental struggle, returning to the dim reality, and glanced at the young man who had disturbed his “reflection.”

“Because we almost lost,” he replied.

Losing to the Bucks would not have been unacceptable.

Winning was the surprise.

Yu Fei began to feel that his charm was not enough. West did not greet him with a smile like other legends did.

In fact, this might have been their first face-to-face conversation.

“If we played ten games under normal circumstances, Memphis would win at most tonight’s game,” said Yu Fei. “I think you should be pleased with this victory.”

No positive emotion could be seen on West’s face.

Normal circumstances?

Under normal circumstances, he should have won at least five championship rings during his playing career, but the reality was, he just won one.

These so-called normal circumstances were nothing more than the psychological expectations that self-absorbed professionals in sports set for themselves. What’s the reality? There’s never such a thing as normal circumstances, a teammate who normally never misses might blow an unguarded shot in a Game 7, an invincible Goliath might exit mid-game due to a minor foot injury in Game 7 of the Finals, and a seemingly harmless cripple just needs to hobble onto the court in Game 7 of the Finals to inspire his teammates to win it all.

What are normal circumstances? West didn’t really know.

“So you think tonight was an abnormal situation because your teammates didn’t perform well. Do you believe your performance was enough to win?”

Yu Fei was left speechless by West.

The Bucks had only two players scoring in double figures that night, with Yu Fei dropping 50+10+7. Such a performance anywhere deserved a “Shu’s fall, not the fault of the General,” yet from West’s mouth, it seemed like he hadn’t done enough?

Yu Fei asked, “What else do you think I could have done?”

“If someone concentrates the ball in their hands, then winning is their duty,” West said coldly. “To carry the ball is to carry the duty of winning as well.”

Usually, Yu Fei would be defensive against preaching because those critics would only nitpick, saying he didn’t do this well, didn’t do that right.

But West’s view on this matter surprised him.

A 50+10+7 should mean, if you lose, it’s your fault. Why? Because you’re the main ball-handler.

To Yu Fei’s own surprise, he found himself somewhat agreeing with West.

The essence of the main ball-handler was either to lead the whole team when flourishing or to drag them when struggling.

The success of the main ball-handler not only depends on his own strength but also on the dedication and sacrifice of his teammates. Tonight Yu Fei’s individual ability reached its peak, but it didn’t inspire his teammates.

That was what West meant.

You’re supposed to play well, but if you can’t get your teammates going, that’s the original sin of being the main ball-handler. If you can’t lead your teammates, what kind of main player are you?

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“You have a point,” said Yu Fei.

Yu Fei’s unsuspected response took West by surprise.

West did not expect Yu Fei to understand what he said, nor was he interested in enlightening him; he just spoke offhand.

Besides, Yu Fei didn’t look like he agreed at all.

How could a young superstar with a 50+10+7 in a single game believe it was his fault they lost?

It was even a good sign he didn’t head back to the locker room to vent his anger at his teammates.

“There are some aspects I didn’t do well in, but I think there are some games that are unwinnable, no matter how well I play, we will inevitably lose some games, don’t you think?”

West stared at Yu Fei and maintained his own viewpoint against the unequivocal words, “In games where the point difference is within five, there’s no such thing as an inevitable loss; it must be that the core players didn’t do enough.”

Alright, Yu Fei gave up.

Yu Fei had only intended to greet West, and didn’t come to receive criticism from a mean old man in person.

But since West had started talking, Yu Fei couldn’t help but want to discuss the topic further with him.

“Where do you think I could do better?”

Yu Fei believed he needed to hear advice from a third party since within the Milwaukee Bucks, there was only praise for him.

His teammates basically had no complaints against him, and George Karl, who earlier might have had some suggestions, had come to accept his dominant style of play, believing it to be the future trend of basketball. Thus, even if he noticed some issues in the process, it was a necessary error in the development of a new method of play.

West seemed to be a legend in basketball, who is incredibly critical of himself yet profound in his insight into the game, and Yu Fei wanted to know what he thought.

Yu Fei’s perception of West was correct.

Since his retirement, West had been a benchmark for other sports executives, not just in the NBA. He had a sharp eye for a player’s talent, a firm intuition for a player’s competitive resolve. He negotiated honestly, almost never coming off as insincere.

However, despite being a very shrewd manager, deep down West had struck an unfair deal with himself. The terms were: if the team won, he would attribute all success to the coach, players, and his staff; he would even refuse to attend the championship parade. On the other hand, if the team lost, the entire burden fell on him. After all, West was the designer of the team. If there was a flaw in the infrastructure, shouldn’t he be blamed?

This habit had formed during his playing days; if he went 14 for 15 in a game, he wouldn’t be happy about the 14 baskets he made, and would repeatedly question himself about that one missed shot.

The pursuit of perfection became West’s biggest curse.

Upon hearing Yu Fei’s question, a sneer arose in his heart.

He hadn’t expected a young star like Yu Fei to actually be interested in his opinion, but why should he give advice to a damn Chinese player, just because he was the renowned Frye?

So what if he was? The man had already been spoiled, not only breaking the unspoken rules that had developed over many years in professional basketball but also disregarding the social responsibilities he bore, completely lacking the self-awareness that a celebrity should have.

West could not forgive someone like Yu Fei for declining the national team’s call-up for a vacation, for to his generation, joining the national team was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the highest honor, and yet Yu Fei easily rejected the chance to fight for his country.

“You don’t need my advice, I’ve got nothing to say to you,” West said coldly, as if he were Yu Fei’s enemy.

The atmosphere suddenly changed.

“Then… goodbye,” Yu Fei said politely, “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

Yu Fei was not upset by West’s mood swings; after all, it was just an old man’s temperament, and what was the point of holding a grudge against someone like that?

Just as Yu Fei was about to leave with Lawson, West said another sentence, “Did you try posting up tonight?”

Yu Fei remembered he had not.

“No,” Yu Fei replied truthfully.

It took less than half a minute for West to transform from an indifferent old man to one with wisdom: “That’s your next step.”

“My next step?”

West, unwilling to explain further, turned and walked away.

Lawson came over and asked, “Mr. Logo seems quite tough to talk to, huh?”

“At first it was all right, and then suddenly he seemed to have an issue with me,” Yu Fei said helplessly, “I suspect he’s a Gemini.”

Big Fei’s clueless demeanor about his reputation made Lawson chuckle.

A stubborn old guy like Mr. Logo having an issue with him was quite normal.

Yu Fei and Lawson arrived outside the arena, hailed a taxi, and prepared to go to a nearby Michelin restaurant for a late-night meal.

All along the way, West’s last piece of advice echoed in Yu Fei’s mind.

Posting up was his next step.

For the Bucks, keeping Yu Fei out of the physical battles in the post was a basic strategy for the game, but for tonight, if Yu Fei could have been a threat in the post against Memphis’s interior, it might have changed the game’s complexion.

But it was just one game’s sample, was it really necessary to change for that?

The season was still long, and Yu Fei was eager to try.

He wasn’t Lebron with that kind of all-around historic talent, so he had to make himself flawless technically. If posting up was his main issue right now, then it was time to get to work.

PS: Only one chapter today. Adjusting the update schedule, today’s second update will be moved to tomorrow, so there will be three chapters tomorrow.

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