Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 448 - 302: Who Cares About AMVP

Chapter 448: Chapter 302: Who Cares About AMVP

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The Eastern All-Star team defeated the Western All-Star Team in Houston and won this year’s All-Star Game.

The competition for the AMVP had lost suspense quite early on.

Yu Fei lifted his personal second AMVP trophy with a stat line of 50+15+10.

“Honestly, I don’t care about the AMVP,” Yu Fei said, “When I retire, do you think people will care how many times I’ve won the AMVP? It’s not important at all.”

“So what is important?”

“Competition.”

The reporters from ABC struggled to control their expressions.

If someone is talking about competition at an All-Star game with no defensive intensity, either you’re crazy or he’s crazy.

But Yu Fei was serious.

“Before the game started, there were quite a few guys on our team who wanted the AMVP. For me, it was funny; the AMVP isn’t important, winning this competition is what matters most,” Yu Fei chuckled, “I’m glad I won tonight.”

Kevin Martin was waiting in the corridor for Yu Fei.

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“Congratulations, AMVP,” Martin said, “Did you feel like you were different tonight?”

Yu Fei asked, “Different how?”

“How should I put this…” Martin thought for a moment, “Tonight, you were more like a King than LeBron.”

“Speaking of LeBron…” Yu Fei hadn’t seen Little Bron after the interview, “Did you see him?”

Martin forced a smile: “I don’t know, a guy like him, even without much to show, still probably has a bunch of reporters wanting to interview him, right? What do you want with him?”

“Of course, to give him the AMVP trophy I worked so hard for,” Yu Fei’s understanding of “brotherhood” evidently had a certain twist, “I stole his spotlight tonight and prevented him from completing that bald guy’s mission; he might feel he lost face. If I give him the AMVP trophy, it can be a testament to our friendship and also send a message to the old bald guy – LeBron and I are together.”

Martin had witnessed James being all smiles before the game, silent during it but never imagined the post-game nonsensical talk would come from Yu Fei.

Could this trophy really become a testament to their friendship?

Why did he feel like if Yu Fei went through with this, James would break off their friendship?

“Are you sure you want to give the trophy to him?” Martin asked.

Yu Fei said, “This is a trophy I bought with a 50-point triple-double. Do you think he will refuse it?”

“I don’t think so,” Martin answered.

But he felt that James would remember this trophy as a “brand” of shame that Yu Fei left on him.

Like every year, after all the All-Star weekend events, the NBA officially holds a party.

Yu Fei and his entourage went to the party after finishing the events up front.

Lawson was also carrying the AMVP trophy that Yu Fei had just won.

It seemed Yu Fei really did want to give the trophy to James.

But LeBron did not attend that party; he was at another party.

More precisely, a “card” face-off.

A group of wealthy black men were playing cards.

Leading them was Michael Jordan, who had been publicly humiliated by Yu Fei at the All-Star Game in Houston.

The others were Gilbert Arenas from the Wizards, Allen Iverson from the 76ers, and LeBron James and Damon Jones from the Cavaliers.

“Heard that Frye is now carrying the trophy around the world looking for Bron,” Iverson said teasingly to James, “He wants to give you that trophy.”

Upon hearing this, Randy Mims beside James could barely contain his anger: “That bastard, he’s trying to humiliate Bron!”

James was glad he hadn’t gone to the NBA’s official party; otherwise, he would have had to accept that damned trophy in full view of everyone.

“Why would Frye do that?” Arenas asked.

Thinking of that strangely acting young brother, Iverson rolled his eyes: “Who knows? Can you imagine someone getting a 50-point triple-double for a broken AMVP at the All-Star game? Only a madman does that!”

As the organizer of the card game, Jordan did not want to hear that name anymore.

“Listen, either play cards or stop saying that person’s name!” Jordan commanded.

Seeing Jordan a little reactive, Iverson tried to say a few words in favor of Yu Fei, “Mike, actually Frye…”

“Shut up, AI!”

“Alright then…” Iverson, rebuffed, focused on the game.

Unfortunately, he, along with Jordan and Damon Jones, ended up as the losers of the night.

Among them, Jones lost the most; by the end, he had no cash left and owed a lot of money, with Arenas being his largest creditor.

“Enough! No more playing!” Jones complained, “If we keep going, I’ll have to rob a bank to repay the money!”

The card game thus came to an end, and Iverson, with no cards left to play or words left to say, took his leave first.

Arenas left with Damon Jones’s IOU.

Soon after, only Jordan, James, and the few people he brought were left.

“You were in great form tonight,” Jordan said, “but the East didn’t give you the space to perform.”

“It doesn’t matter.” James had already forgotten how helpless he felt at the Toyota Center, “Who cares about the All-Star game? I just came to have fun.”

Mims’s lips quivered as he wanted to say something, but the intimidating brown eyes of Jordan rendered him speechless.

Jordan picked up a cigar and lit it.

“I care,” he said, and that line floated in the air, never dissipating. “That guy cares too,” Jordan added, “I didn’t expect you to not care. Why not?”

“Why should you care? Does this have anything to do with you?”

That was what James was thinking, but as a star who had learned how to disguise his true feelings, he knew what to say.

“Why would Frye care?” James retorted.

“Because I’m here,” Jordan said assertively, his words laced with absolute confidence and a discomforting arrogance. “Because I publicly stated I hope you get the AMVP. That’s why he cares. It’s quite simple, his desire for revenge is just a superficial reason, the real motive is he wants to completely take my place.”

James felt the whole idea was both absurd and infuriating.

Why would Frye want to replace an old man? Even if you are the greatest of all time, you’ve already retired, you can’t play basketball anymore, whatever happens on the court has nothing to do with you.

The more nonsensical the logic, the angrier James became.

It was due to such nonsensical reasoning that he had endured a tough night, playing the most disgusting game of his career.

“I am not a tool for your mutual rivalry.”

James stated coldly.

Jordan took a puff of his cigar; deep down, he didn’t like the young man before him.

There were many young men whose thoughts he could read at a glance.

Just like Yu Fei in the past.

Even when their relationship hadn’t deteriorated to such an extent, Jordan had seen the ambition in Yu Fei’s eyes.

He knew Yu Fei wanted to surpass him, but he hadn’t expected him to be in such a rush.

But what about James?

Just by looking into his eyes, Jordan couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

He looked as if he understood everything, but his mind was crammed with a myriad of thoughts. These distractions would undoubtedly devour his self, hindering his every step.

“Of course not,” Jordan exhaled a cloud of cigar smoke, “at least in my eyes, you’re not a tool. But unfortunately, that man who claims to be your ‘big brother’, he has regarded you as a tool from the beginning to the end. Do you know what you are? You are his ‘little brother’.”

“You are his backdrop.”

“When he needs the AMVP, you’re irrelevant.”

“When he needs to use you to strike at me, he’s willing to give you the AMVP trophy, earned with his own blood and sweat, just to make you draw a clear line between you and me.”

“Does he care about your feelings? No, LeBron, he just needs you to submit to him like a lowly king, but even in the presence of The Chosen One, a king is just a peasant.”

Mims, by James’s side, flushed with anger and wanted nothing more than to grab a knife and fight Yu Fei to the death.

MJ was MJ, he put it perfectly! It was as if he was the mouthpiece for all the lackeys who fussed over LeBron!

For a few seconds, James felt himself teetering on the edge of turning dark, but he quickly thought of Jordan and Yu Fei’s vendetta and instinctively became wary, “You just want to use me as your tool against Frye.”

“I won’t deny that I’ve had that thought,” Jordan said indifferently, “haven’t you ever felt like confronting him? Do you want to be his little brother forever? Or, do you think it’s a good life to submit meekly by his side like you did tonight? If you really think so, I guess I don’t need to waste any more time with you.”

James prided himself on his strong principles, but even the firmest resolve couldn’t withstand the Basketball God’s mesmerizing sweet talk. He wanted to get to the truth before he got completely dazzled by it.

“Michael, what are you trying to say exactly?”

“Have you watched ‘The Last Dance’?”

“Not yet.”

“The last sentence I say in it is ‘there will be players better than me in the future.’” Jordan’s brown eyes once again met with James’s, “That person isn’t your ‘big brother,’ isn’t Kobe, nor anyone else in the League. That person is seated right in front of me. I hope I’m right. I want to hear him say to my face, ‘I want to surpass you and become the greatest player of all time.’ But he’s worried that just having this thought will anger the damn Frye!”

Jordan asked like a devil: “LeBron, what are you afraid of?”

※※※

Yu Fei couldn’t find Little Bron, and couldn’t get through to him by phone. It seemed he really did go too far tonight.

At that moment, he realized that if Little Bron cared so much about tonight’s game, giving him the trophy might backfire.

So he turned to Maria Sharapova sitting opposite him, “I know you’re not short of trophies, but I feel that such a beautiful trophy matches a lady like you the most.”

“Don’t underestimate me, Frye!” Sharapova said casually, “I’m no lady; such a beautiful trophy doesn’t suit me.”

Is this the trophy I earned with 50+15+10? And now, nobody even wants it for free?

Yu Fei, unable to hide a wry smile, handed it to Lawson, “Deal with this for me, would you?”

“Frye, this is the AMVP trophy!” Lawson exclaimed.

“Who cares about the AMVP?” Frye dismissed.

Yu Fei then turned to Sharapova with a mischievous tone: “Maria, do you want to find a quiet place where we can talk about why you’re not a lady?”

Sharapova feigned surprise: “You’ve got some nerve! With so many people here, if we sneak off, tomorrow’s headlines will be all about you and me and how we… you know!”

“Alright, I wanted to show you my tattoo, but since you’re so timid, never mind,” Yu Fei said with mock regret.

“Tattoo?” Sharapova inquired, “The one that says you’re The Chosen One?”

“Want to see it?”

“A little.”

“Follow me; I know where we can be alone.”

After Yu Fei and Sharapova left, Martin asked, “Do they need a private place to see a tattoo? Could they be planning to do something else in secret?”

Lawson chuckled and asked, “What do you think the odds are that a handsome man and a beautiful woman like Frye and Maria, who have a mutual interest in each other and are alone in a room, won’t do something more?”

Martin pondered seriously. “Although I trust Frye’s character a lot, I think it’s zero.”

“Bingo!” Lawson put the AMVP trophy in front of Martin, “This is your reward for answering correctly, I’m giving it to you.”

“But this is the AMVP!”

Deciding to just find somewhere to spend his night, Lawson heard Martin’s remark and called out sarcastically, “Who the hell cares about the AMVP?”

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