Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

When people discovered that the Supersonics' record matched that of the '96 Bulls at the same time, the pursuit of historical records became a common aspiration. After all, it's been 13 years since the '96 Bulls. One could say fans have changed more than just one generation. Apart from Bulls fans, few look back on the '96 Bulls' games; everyone knows this history, but history exists to propel people forward. Focusing solely on history itself is destined to be boring. Fans want to witness brand-new history. This gave the Supersonics a burden—the world's expectation was that, even if they couldn't break the '96 Bulls' record, they should at least match it. However, what people didn't realize was that the competitive environment the Supersonics faced was much more intense than that of the '96 Bulls. The '96 Bulls' Eastern Conference had only themselves and the 60-win Magic; beyond that was the 52-win Pacers, with the rest all under 50 wins. This was a severe case of top-heavy imbalance, whereas the West that the Supersonics were in had not only them leading the way, but also the Lakers with a 60-win caliber and Spurs, Mavericks, Suns, Hornets, Jazz, and Nuggets all with 50-win potentials. This was a rare case of divisional internal competition. To equal the '96 Bulls' record amidst the siege from these teams was undoubtedly difficult. But that was the goal the Supersonics had set. Or rather, it was Yu Fei's own goal. If he wanted to beat "Big Fei has already won too many MVPs, let's vote for someone else" type of aesthetic fatigue, he had to take the team to match or surpass the best historical record to heighten the numbed senses of the media who were already indifferent to his spectacular performances. Entering March, a major challenge that the Supersonics faced was the three-game battle with the Lakers. This time, the Lakers were at full strength, with Little O back in action. However, the trade deadline rumors had severely hit Little O's fighting spirit. Before that, re-signing with the Lakers was his prime objective. Now, he was no longer sure. In the game against the Supersonics, after seeing Kwame Brown, Little O, who had already been sulking, suddenly surged back to life, scoring 25 points and grabbing 7 rebounds. "Are you okay, first option in the post?" As Brown fouled out, Little O's mockery became a highlight at the scene. "Impudent!" Brown looked down on Little O like someone in a superior position, "Even if you score 50 points, what does it matter? The Lakers are still going to trade you." That sentence truly hit a sore spot for Little O. After that, Little O started to slack off. But the Supersonics' three perimeter stars were calling the shots, unleashing a 36-18 offensive surge in the fourth quarter, dealing the Lakers a fatal blow and achieving a three-game sweep over their opponents. Kobe scored 40 points tonight, 5 more than Yu Fei, the highest from the entire Supersonics team. But Kobe couldn't stand up to Yu Fei's surrounding rebounds and assists data, and with Roy and Durant both shooting well, the Lakers couldn't match up with just Kobe's outside shooting. That night, Kobe did not make any jokes about losing the game but not the battle. In the three regular-season games against the Supersonics, the first game was actually the closest. "Kobe, did you lose tonight?" The Seattle media asked after the game. Kobe said, "Of course, we lost." Those familiar with Kobe knew how difficult it was to get this man to admit defeat. But tonight, he really did give in. In the players' tunnel, Little O was strolling leisurely. He didn't think he was responsible for the loss since he had put up 25 points and 7 rebounds, ranking second in scoring on the team. Position-wise, he had overwhelmed the Supersonics' posts, and Kwame Brown's fouling out was exactly due to him. But his biggest issue was that after taking Brown out of the game, he lost his drive. Because Brown had poked at his heartache. He suddenly felt that no matter how hard he tried, in the Lakers' eyes, he was just an item that could be discarded at any time. If that was the case, why should he pour his heart out? A performance like tonight's, excellent but not sustained until the end, was the most ideal. No one could blame him for the loss—if they had to blame anyone, it would be Kobe for not being strong enough, Kidd for being ineffective, and Phil Jackson for being senile. And him? Ever since he appeared countless times in trade rumors at the trade deadline, he had earned the right to be immune to criticism. Just as Little O was about to head back to the visiting team's locker room, at the crossroads, he ran into Yu Fei and Brown on their way to the media interview room. Brown and Little O locked eyes intensely, with a charged atmosphere between them. "Jermaine, you played really well tonight," Yu Fei stated honestly. "Our inside line couldn't stop you." "What's the use?" Brown retorted. "Isn't he still going to be traded by the Lakers' team!" Yu Fei tried to put a spin on Brown's words: "The trade didn't happen, right? The Lakers still showed Jermaine respect." "Respect?" Brown rolled his eyes. However, he could see that Yu Fei did not want him to start arguing with Little O here, so he said no more. Once outside the court, Little O wasn't so easily provoked anymore. In his eyes, Kwame Brown was like a mirror. A mirror about choices. Even if your skill ranks at the bottom among the NBA's starting interior players, as long as you side with the right people, you can win championships, and even outshine a host of good players to be selected for the Dream Team—with nobody saying a word against you. For the world, the biggest reason why Dream Eight isn't as revered as Dream Team I is the presence of Kwame Brown. This is a classic case of someone who shouldn't have been chosen for the Dream Team but was, because of Yu Fei's strong influence, forcing the coaching staff to let him join. Why didn't Big Fei ever care when Kwame Brown claimed to be the best player in the world? Because everyone knew Brown was just coasting on borrowed power. He could stand in that position and say those things only because he had Big Fei's support behind him. Little O and the others all saw through this. "Big Fei, do you know how many times I've reviewed the 2005 Eastern Conference Finals?" That was the only time in seven years that Yu Fei had been defeated. Yu Fei asked with a smile, "How many times?" "I can't remember," said Little O. "Whenever things don't go my way, I would watch the recordings of that series. At first, I was smug. Because I defeated you, that proved I was the better player that year. Then I realized it wasn't me who defeated you; it was the Pacers, at their peak, that did. The proof is, even though I defeated you, I stood no chance in front of Tim Duncan." Yu Fei listened with great interest, "That's right, the Spurs were the best team that year." Brown was irritated, Little O, as if intentionally, disregarded his bluster and started talking about leading a team—a topic that was never his to discuss. "That's what I thought at the time. Duncan defeated me only because he had a better team," said Little O, before suddenly changing tack, "but in these two years in Los Angeles, I've realized it's not about the team; it's about me. Our roster was almost as good as that of the Spurs, but the ultimate failure simply came down to Tim Duncan being a better player than me. Just like the losses I faced in Los Angeles weren't because the Lakers weren't good enough, but because you were better than Kobe." Brown was astonished. Was there a need to butter someone up so elaborately? "Did you go through all that just to reach a conclusion that might get you strangled by Kobe?" Yu Fei inquired. "No, even though I defeated you in 2005 due to my team's advantage, I still relish being the only player to have defeated you in the past seven years. So, if Kobe ultimately proves he's indeed not as good as you, I'd like to ask you for a favor," said Little O. "Please don't lose to anyone else." Brown finally found an opportunity. "Why do you pretend to be the only person who has beaten Big Fei? Don't you meet with Jason Kidd every day? Don't you know that he was the first to beat Big Fei in the playoffs?" Little O became arrogant: "You fool will never understand. Who cares about a lion's minor setbacks before it comes of age?" "Who's the fool? I have three rings. What do you have?" This was The Shot, a decisive blow. Although Little O had made the All-NBA Team, been selected for the All-Star game multiple times, and led his team to the finals at his peak, he was like TNT's Barkley—championship culture will inevitably give rise to the notion that "everything's forgivable with a title; without one, even the Bible can't lend credibility to your claims." Little O was so upset he couldn't come up with a retort. But Yu Fei said, "I can't promise I'll keep winning forever, but if you want to experience the joy of victory, you might try changing your environment this summer." What did that mean? Brown became wary. Little O was taken aback. "Goodbye, Jermaine." "Wait, Big Fei, you can't seriously be considering letting that guy come to Seattle to play, can you? He and I really don't mix!" After walking away, Brown began muttering to himself. "What's there to worry about," Yu Fei said. "If Jermaine comes, he will definitely take a pay cut and accept a bench role. That's the condition for us signing him. You would still be our starter. Of course, whether he comes or not is still uncertain." Three-fourths of the regular season had gone by, and with no major trades happening by the deadline, the League's landscape had largely remained the same. As Kevin Garnett succumbed to a season-ending ACL injury in early March, the Supersonics' top competitor had fallen. Consequently, the probability of the Supersonics defending their championship rose sharply, so Yu Fei's early overture to Little O was also in preparation for the biggest free-agent market in history. This summer was bound to be eventful. The Supersonics would almost certainly lose Shawn Marion, and though Durant was growing rapidly, he would need another two to three years to become a star; with Roy's health a concern, significant reinforcements this summer were necessary to maintain the team's competitive edge for the next season. After defeating the Lakers, the Supersonics entered April with unstoppable momentum. The last month of the regular season. The Supersonics' record was 66 wins and 8 losses. At this time, the media realized that, due to differences in the schedule, the Supersonics had not only played more games than the 96 Bulls at the same point but also had a better record. At this point, the Supersonics were at 66 wins and 8 losses, while the same period Bulls were at 63 wins and 8 losses. "This has been a long marathon, and the Supersonics are about to see the finish line, their pace quicker than that of the Bulls. But will their result be better?" — Sports Illustrated, April 1, 2009