Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

This was Yu Fei's first time in Los Angeles.

Unlike the politically charged atmosphere of Washington D.C., Los Angeles felt to him like a world of glitz in the literal sense.

For a country bumpkin who had grown up in Kent, Los Angeles gave him a sense of alienation, as if "I don't belong here."

Yu Fei followed the team bus into the hotel, watched TV for a while, and saw the tough talk laid down by Shaquille O'Neal.

It seemed that the question Yu Fei had initially posed to Kobe at ABCD Camp had irked Shaquille O'Neal.

Would he really be angry at Yu Fei, who hadn't even entered the NBA at that time?

As far as Yu Fei knew, Shaquille O'Neal would.

Although he possessed one of the most imposing physiques in NBA history, his pettiness was also among the most notable in the history of the League.

Yu Fei wasn't worried about tonight's game, "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass." That was all there was to it.

Two hours before the game started, guest player Yu Fei, as usual, went early to the opponent's home court to get a feel for the place.

Here, Yu Fei didn't see the legendary training maniac Kobe, but a Lakers player named Devean George.

The first impression he gave Yu Fei was ugly.

In terms of ugliness, he could be mentioned in the same breath as Yu Fei's teammate Popeye Jones.

If Jones, with the eyes that shocked past and present, could forcefully elevate his face to a rank it didn't belong, then George represented a three-dimensional ugliness—his eyes, nose, sausage lips, all normal African American features when seen separately, combined to create an indescribably unique aura.

However, due to a chance encounter, Yu Fei found his character, much like Popeye's, quite mismatched with his appearance.

During practice, George accidentally sent the ball into Yu Fei's half of the court.

George came over cautiously, uncharacteristically restrained for an African American: "Sorry, can you pass me the ball?"

Having had a season-long noisy feud with Jordan, Yu Fei's reputation within the League was not exactly sterling; although George had been in the NBA for two more years than Yu Fei, he dared not show the slightest veteran air in front of this formidable rookie.

Yu Fei said nothing and simply picked up the ball and tossed it to him.

Cold, merciless.

That was George's first impression of Yu Fei, and it seemed to fit the man who dared to speak ill of Shaquille O'Neal before entering the NBA and who had a big row with Jordan in D.C.

After that, George had no more interaction with Yu Fei, and Yu Fei had no interest in this Lakers bench player.

As the game time approached, the atmosphere in the Staples Center visibly changed.

Yu Fei not only saw the Staples Center in game mode but also the legendary venue's celebrity fans.

Jack Nicholson, Will Smith, JAY-Z, Gwyneth Paltrow, and one of Yu Fei's favorite actresses, Kate Winslet.

When Yu Fei spotted Winslet at the Staples Center, his excitement far exceeded that of seeing all the other celebrities combined.

That was the first time Kwame Brown realized Yu Fei had an interest in women.

"Honestly, that's a relief," Brown said. "I had always thought you were... uh..."

Yu Fei, catching Brown's insinuation, replied irritably, "You're about to go head-to-head with Shaquille O'Neal, and here you are making snide comments."

Brown looked carefree: "The person who blabbered and pissed off Shaq before the draft wasn't me. Besides, I'm a power forward; I'm not matching up against Shaq."

Yu Fei noticed that since Jordan's season-ending injury, Brown had become like a young lion regaining his confidence, more and more exuberant.

"Keep talking nonsense, and I'll tell Doug to have you play center!" Yu Fei threatened.

With Jordan not around, and Collins entirely deferential to Yu Fei, Brown's face paled: "My bad, Fulai, don't make me match up against Shaq. I really can't handle him right now."

"Got spirit," Yu Fei noted. "You said, 'I can't handle him right now,' not 'I can never handle him.'"

Collins was pacing back and forth on the sidelines.

It was just the pre-game warm-up, yet sweat on his face made it look as though he had just coached a full game.

Only a few people knew how important the game against the Lakers was to him.

The problem was, the Wizards had a tough time beating the Lakers.

Yet, for a Wizards team intent on making the playoffs, defeating the Lakers was a shortcut back to postseason play; if they could take down this toughest bone to chew, it would help the subsequent games as well.

That was the need on the official side; what about personally? Collins always believed that Phil Jackson was the mastermind behind his being fired at lightning speed after leading his team to the Eastern Conference finals.

What made Collins hold a grudge, even more, was that Jackson had Jordan's love and respect.

Jordan would threaten retirement to keep Jackson with the Bulls. Would Jordan do the same for Collins in the next hundred years?

Now that Jordan wasn't there, nor was Hamilton, and the Wizards only had Yu Fei, while the Lakers, aiming for a three-peat, had a special habit of rapidly finding their game rhythm as playoffs approached.

If the Wizards could defeat the Lakers tonight, Collins was sure that it would be the most memorable night of his year.

However, looking at the Wizards players on the court, Collins' ambitions withered by more than half.

In the end, Collins' gaze turned toward Yu Fei.

Magically, at this moment, Collins' resolve aligned with that of Yu Fei's high school coach.

All hopes lay with Yu Fei!