Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 447 - 301: A World with Only Frye

Chapter 447: Chapter 301: A World with Only Frye

LeBron James was the first starter to be subbed out for a rest, as he was the only one from the Eastern All-Star Team who still cared about saving face. He was the sole player who maintained even the pretense of humility, while the others played like wild beasts, shooting the instant they got the ball and driving without a second glance at their teammates.

Especially Iverson, it wasn’t easy to get him to stick to training, but when it came to hogging the ball, he was a natural.

Tonight, Iverson did something even Yu Fei hadn’t managed to do – zero passes in a single quarter.

Yu Fei might hog the ball, but he did it with artistry.

Looking at the stats, Yu Fei and Iverson both attempted seven shots in a single quarter, but Iverson made 3 out of 7 with no assists, while Yu Fei made 5 out of 7 and had 2 assists.

Both might have been ball hogs, but Yu Fei’s two assists made him much better than Iverson.

As a result of the guards hogging the ball, Shaquille O’Neal, who usually likes to show off in All-Star games, had no chance to handle the ball except for picking up offensive rebounds.

It wasn’t until Wade replaced Iverson that someone on the court started treating O’Neal like a human being (and not a dog).

James kept his eyes on Yu Fei, and now, with individual battles prevalent, the Eastern All-Star Team maintained their lead with a higher shooting percentage, as the star amongst stars, Yu Fei, racked up 14 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists for the quarter.

At a glance, he was the most likely candidate from the Eastern All-Star Team for the AMVP title.

Everyone said Big Fei was great, but was he really that far behind?

In his third year, James had already entered the ranks of the league’s top players, managing games with 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists (with two such games already under his belt), and held many “youngest ever” titles. Moreover, between the ages of 19 to 20, he was the holder of various “youngest to achieve” records.

He wanted to add another title to his name—AMVP.

However, in the first five minutes of the game, he didn’t get a chance to show his skills, he didn’t pick up any rebounds, and he barely touched the ball. The stats he left behind were 0+0+0.

Just by looking at James’s stats, one could understand the extent to which the Eastern stars were fighting over control of the ball.

James loved stats, but he always played by the rules. He had his principles, but tonight, the battle for the ball followed the law of the jungle, shifting from who scored more to who had a louder voice to who had deeper seniority… When Yu Fei came back on the court, he and Iverson were both demanding that Chris Bosh pass them the ball.

“I’ve been in the league since 1996, Big Fei can’t compare with me!” Iverson shouted loudly.

Yu Fei replied, “I have two championships; you know who should get the ball!”

In a manner that even he couldn’t have imagined, James became the underdog of the Eastern All-Star Team.

That disappointed Michael Jordan, who had been looking forward to seeing him shine tonight.

Watching James sitting on the bench and biting his nails like an idiot, he commented, “It must have been that damn mutt who told George to keep LeBron off the court, it must have been him!”

The spontaneously fierce competition from the Eastern All-Star Team forced the Western All-Star Team to bring out an equal amount of energy to match them.

Oddly enough, both teams showed great intensity on offense, but when it came to defense, they both knew that it’s an All-Star game, and anyone who takes defense seriously is a clown.

Thus, they accidentally triggered the most delightful feature of the All-Star game.

With earnest offense meeting half-hearted defense, everyone could play well.

Yu Fei loved to challenge Yao Ming’s defense the most.

As the co-host, Yao Ming, unlike McGrady, didn’t get much support from others after the game started, as traditional centers often struggle to stand out in exhibition games.

The only thing Yao Ming could really do in an All-Star game was to shoot pull-up three-pointers from the outside.

Although that might amuse people, its novelty wears off quickly if used too often.

Seeing how happy Little O and he were playing, why wouldn’t the Western guys set up plays for Yao?

Master Yu, kind-hearted as always, couldn’t stand to see a fellow countryman being neglected, so he began calling out Yao Ming in a variety of ways.

Moreover, his calling out was not meant to embarrass Yao, but to cleverly make him the center of attention.

Time and again, the audience saw Yao Ming defending Yu Fei on the perimeter, while Yu Fei looked like he was facing insurmountable odds as he drove past Yao, maneuvering around his hands and executing all sorts of difficult floaters.

“Can you not pick on someone else?” Yao Ming jokingly said, “Why compete with someone who’s just supposed to run back and forth on the court?”

Yu Fei replied wisely, “I don’t believe your teammates won’t pass you the ball after seeing you get bullied like this by me.”

Indeed, after Yu Fei targeted Yao Ming three times and saw how Yao struggled on defense yet couldn’t escape being exploded on, the Western All-Stars were moved by compassion and began passing the ball to the neglected big man.

McGrady made a pass, Kobe made a pass, and then Nash with his overly showy no-look pass, which was too much for Yao to handle, and he lost his grip on the ball.

Yu Fei picked up the loose ball and then raced to the frontcourt, delivering an assist for a floor-bouncing alley-oop that allowed the following Bosh to catch the ball and slam it home.

Bosh roared with saliva flying, just like Yu Fei remembered, pounding his chest and then having the following conversation with Yu Fei during the transition back on defense.

Yu Fei, “Feel good?”

Bosh, “Great!”

Yu Fei, “So, who will you pass to?”

Bosh, “Only to you!”

Yu Fei, “What if LeBron and I ask for the ball at the same time?”

Bosh, “I’m not close with LeBron.”

Yu Fei felt he was one step closer to the AMVP.

Apart from O’Neal, who just played the clown for laughs on the court, and Rasheed Wallace, who didn’t fit with the All-Star game atmosphere, practically all of the Eastern All-Star Team’s big men were willing to pass the ball to him.

And he only needed to reciprocate appropriately to maintain a cooperative relationship.

What reason did the others have to compete with him for the ball?

Hmph, even as a Kobe fan, he absolutely couldn’t be like Kobe, acting like a tumor in opposition to the entire world. Now, with the inside lane and the coach on his side, what reason did anyone else have to compete with him for AMVP?

By halftime, Yu Fei had scored the highest in the game with 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists from 11 out of 17 shots, leading the Eastern All-Star Team to a 12-point lead over the Western All-Star Team with 74 to 62.

“AMVP? Who cares about AMVP?” Yu Fei responded to some speculations that he was so determined to grab the AMVP, “You know, I just want to win.”

The reporter then asked, “MJ said before the game that he hoped LeBron would win the AMVP. Did that motivate your performance tonight?”

“What did you say? That’s not the case, LeBron said he’s not familiar with that person.”

“Not familiar? Did LeBron tell you that himself?”

“No, LeBron only said that he hadn’t discussed this matter with that person,” Yu Fei said, “If they were close, shouldn’t they meet and talk it over? But they haven’t met; you’re just conveying messages on their behalf. So I think, they’re not familiar.”

The reporter was at a loss for words.

If he continued to talk about this, Yu Fei would only have to bring up LeBron’s halftime stats to corroborate his point.

If LeBron wanted the AMVP, shouldn’t he have taken more shots? But in 14 minutes, he only attempted 6 shots and scored 6 points with 4 rebounds. Where does it look like he’s trying for AMVP?

No matter how you look at it, these people were deliberately stirring up trouble to sabotage their relationship.

In the second half, Yu Fei shot even more unscrupulously.

After all, this was an All-Star game, and the majority of the defense was just for show, so whether the ball went in or not all depended on Yu Fei himself.

In three consecutive possessions, Yu Fei took pull-up threes, drove to the hoop for powerful dunks, and then caused a frantic Western All-Star team to trap him.

In the midst of chaos, Yu Fei passed the ball, assisting Little O in scoring with a dunk.

As the person with the longest ball-handling time tonight, the most points scored, and the most highlight contributions, Yu Fei was considered the AMVP when there was still a quarter and a half to play.

He shot a lot and hit a lot.

You say he’s selfish, but his assists are the highest in the game.

You call him a tumor, yet he led the Eastern All-Star Team to a substantial lead.

He selfishly controlled the ball, every action declaring that grabbing AMVP was not just empty talk.

And those who claimed they would compete with him for the AMVP had already given up the idea.

Iverson said, “I’m getting old, can’t fight for it.”

Wade belonged to those quietly suppressed by Karl using the privilege of a coach, because he could team up with Shaquille O’Neal. If he performed well, he might steal the AMVP, so Karl reduced his playing time and staggered his and O’Neal’s appearances.

Wade was being suppressed and had no support, which directly knocked him out of contention.

Because those dog-like Eastern All-Stars raised the issue of ball dominance to one of status, honor, and résumé, James, despite his keen desire, ended up like an outsider from start to finish, watching Yu Fei explode, witnessing others’ disappointments, and observing the Eastern All-Star Team moving towards victory in the hands of someone who claimed from the start to grab the AMVP.

What kind of experience was that?

With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, LeBron was substituted out.

Tonight, he played 23 minutes, shot 11 of 7 to score 16 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and contributed 3 assists; a reasonable performance, but without any hope for AMVP.

When LeBron left the court, no one spoke to him, and no one even cared where he sat, because everyone’s attention was taken by Yu Fei.

There was still one suspense left for the night.

That was whether Yu Fei, who had already scored 45 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists, could achieve a triple-double with 50 points.

Yu Fei grabbed a defensive rebound, bringing his total to 15, then charged to the frontcourt and nailed an ultra-long chase-down three-pointer, bringing his individual score to 48 points.

“This is Frye’s domain!”

After that, Yu Fei played defense on Kobe, causing him to miss a shot, then caught a pass from a teammate and charged forward.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

“This is Frye’s kingdom!”

Mike Breen’s distinctive voice echoed through the air as if welcoming the arrival of the emperor, bringing everyone into that moment.

Yu Fei leaped with all his might, unleashed a huge, round windmill dunk, and ferociously slammed it into the hoop.

“Western All-Star Team calls for a timeout!”

“50 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, this is undoubtedly the greatest performance in All-Star Game history!” Breen exclaimed, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, welcome to Frye’s kingdom!”

The people in the Toyota Center were like LeBron, unable to escape from Frye’s shadow.

A strong feeling of aversion stirred in LeBron’s heart. He wanted to flee, but there was nowhere to go. No matter where he went, there was Frye.

Because, this is Frye’s domain.

This is Frye’s kingdom.

This is Frye’s world.

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