Chapter 554: Chapter 392 Thank You

Chapter 392: Thank You For That

Los Angeles, Staples Center

Some games carry such high expectations that their content alone cannot fully express the entire story behind them.

Kobe had been waiting for far too long.

Since being selected by the Lakers in 1996, things hadn’t gone as expected with Shaquille O’Neal; they did not become the new-century version of the dynamic duo, and the anticipated legacy of “you grow with me, I watch you get old” never materialized. The ugliness of power struggles–too harsh to look at–centered around a sudden rape case and continued with a season-long, covert rivalry, ultimately leading to Shaquille O’Neal’s exit and Kobe’s crowning as the king of Los Angeles.

But who could have imagined the weight of the crown? Over the years, the Lakers had never made it past the first round, even though Kobe’s performances were shocking enough to rival Yu Fei, the team still couldn’t find success.

He chose to retreat as a means of advancing, using a trade request to force the front office to act, eventually assembling a promising championship team for him.

So Kobe could endure the pain in his finger, showing up for every game of the season so far, leading the Lakers to second in the Western Conference–before vying for the league championship, he first aimed for the MVP trophy.

Though there had been no friction between the Yu Fei camp and the Kobe camp, once interests collided, the battle would inevitably commence.

The main attacks from the Yu Fei camp on Kobe centered on him being “selfish” and a “poor imitation of Jordan.”

Despite Kobe’s backing from Nike, in recent years, LeBron James hadn’t grown as expected, and with Yu Fei presenting a dominating force, Nike’s media power was no longer effective.

After seven years of accumulation, a multitude of achievements had earned Yu Fei many followers.

Behind Yu Fei stood an empire–not just concerning business, but also encompassing all aspects of society.

Therefore, Kobe’s camp was at a significant disadvantage in this battle of public opinion, to the point where even Jordan himself “couldn’t stand it anymore.”

When McCollum published an article about Yu Fei in Sports Illustrated and incidentally ignited the MVP race, Jordan stepped in to discuss Kobe, who had been in the eye of the storm.

Jordan acknowledged the grueling effort Kobe put in for his outstanding performances and rebutted claims that Kobe was merely his imitator. He also questioned why there was such fuss about how to treat the post-Jordan era’s “most outstanding” player.

“Who has not guided those who follow?” Jordan countered, “If I hadn’t been influenced by the playing styles of David Thompson and a few other predecessors, I wouldn’t have developed the style you see in me, and the same applies between me and Kobe. This is the process of basketball’s legacy and evolution; some people don’t understand that because they don’t value respecting one’s predecessors. They lack respect for history, but let me tell you, you must respect Kobe; he has been the best player since 1998.”

“What about Frye? Isn’t he the best?”

Jordan pursed his lips and flashed a signature smirk of royalty, saying with a hint of contempt, “I don’t want to talk about someone who has no reverence for history.”

Jordan’s support provided Kobe with a breather in the public opinion battle, but the problems remained significant.

In terms of the MVP race, several aspects were not in Kobe’s favor.

Yu Fei’s contribution to his team was greater than Kobe’s.

The Supersonics were second-last in the West the previous season, and before Marion’s arrival, they added Yu Fei, Durant, and Kwame Brown–Brown aside, who would believe Durant brought significant value to the Supersonics? This season, Durant averaged 14 points per game, shooting 47%.

That’s an above-average performance for a rookie, but Jermaine O’Neal had once said during a heated exchange with Kwame Brown: “Next to Frye, even a dog could become better!”

Therefore, Yu Fei elevating the Supersonics to the top four in the West had a far greater impact than Kobe, alongside Kidd, restoring the Lakers to the Western first tier.

Then there’s the head-to-head win rate. This season’s earlier confrontations all resulted in Supersonic victories. Indirectly, this sets a requirement for Kobe tonight: not only does he need to win, but he must also win convincingly. Otherwise, the judges won’t disregard his previous losses just because he wins one game against the Supersonics.

Last is the narrative. Yu Fei has the best story–“saving the Supersonics” has a fairytale charm that’s more appealing than Kobe’s half-angel, half-demon reinvention.

Kobe needed to win this game more than ever due to the unfavorable situation.

The Staples Center was filled to capacity that evening.

In Yu Fei’s memory, every time he played in Los Angeles, the scene was similar.

The venue was packed with people, with stars shining brightly in the front rows.

Before warming up, Yu Fei and Roy went to mid-court to greet the hosts.

“You have no chance tonight.”

On hearing Kobe say this, the sixteen days old Kobe fans were deeply moved; even before the game started, they lavished their own hero with praise–this is Kobe!

“Alright then, please just don’t win by too much,” Yu Fei replied with a kind gaze as he glanced over Kobe, Kidd, and Little O, “Don’t let us lose too badly.”

Little O chuckled and nodded: “Don’t worry, Big Fei, we won’t let you lose face, but I can’t say the same for your starting center.”

…

When Yu Fei returned to the backcourt, he said to those around him: “I have a feeling Kobe is going all out tonight.”

“Is that a fan’s intuition?” Roy asked.

Yu Fei joked: “He’s the most powerful player of the post-Jordan era, do you think he would settle for being swept by his main competitor for the MVP season?”

“Then…” Marion asked, “Who is the most powerful player of the Frye era?”

Both Yu Fei and Roy looked at Marion with passionate eyes.

“What?” Marion asked.

Yu Fei said, “Rashad should have been traded earlier.”

“Indeed,” Roy nodded, “The trade happened too late.”

Is there really anyone in the world who doesn’t like Shawn Marion? He is the best versatile small forward, strong on both offense and defense, doesn’t hog the limelight, does all the dirty and tiring work, and has a sweet mouth. Although he’s not good-looking, with all these qualities, he fully deserves a Charles Barkley rule.

(1) “Handsome my ass, if you had a few hundred million, you’d be handsome too.” — Charles Barkley.

After the warm-up, DJ introduced the starters for both teams.

The Supersonics’ starting lineup was fairly fixed, while the Lakers had also established their most suitable starting lineup after the trade.

Kidd, Kobe, Walton, Little O, and Jeff Foster.

The only place they could make an adjustment was to replace Foster with Bynum when he recovered from his injury.

For the Lakers, the most pleasant surprise from that trade was how well Little O played at the power forward position after losing weight. In the few games he played for the Lakers, he averaged 16 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, quickly making the Lakers’ fans forget the pain of losing Odom.

Compared to Odom, Little O’s only issue was his durability.

At the start of the game, Foster secured ball possession for the Lakers.

Roy, following the pregame strategy, left Kidd open to double-team Kobe, but didn’t expect Kidd to have such an easy opportunity for a three-pointer.

“Still leaving him open to shoot?” Roy asked Yu Fei.

Yu Fei said, “My advice is not to give him a big open space.”

While Kidd with the Brooklyn Nets indeed wasn’t that accurate, he was by no means the type to rest on his laurels and shun progress. As he aged, he knew he had to have a certain threat from outside to utilize his organizational skills. Over these years, Kidd’s shooting percentage from the outside had steadily improved, making it unsuitable to leave him open like before.

Roy, having his three-pointer by Kidd, tried to take back control of the game and went on the offense with the ball.

Now that Kidd’s lateral movement had slowed down, his defense was no longer as fierce as before, but he had become more cunning.

Roy’s drive fell into the Lakers’ trap as Walton suddenly appeared, teamed up with Kidd to double-team and force Roy into a turnover.

The Lakers switched from defense to offense, with Kidd power-dribbling, scanning all options, as Yu Fei quickly ran back to the frontcourt, positioning himself directly in front of Kidd.

But Kidd had no intention of going head-to-head with Yu Fei, swiftly finding the trailing Kobe, who nailed the jump shot.

5 to 0

The biggest difference between this ’08 Lakers team and the ’08 Lakers team with Pau Gasol is that the Triangle Offense’s focal point had shifted from the post to the perimeter.

In terms of organizational ability, even as a post player, Gasol could never compare to a master playmaker like Kidd. The current Lakers resembled the Bulls’ second dynasty, but the problem is, their post players were not of the Luc Longley variety.

Little O and Foster, along with the injured Bynum, gave the team frontcourt depth that was second to none.

The current issue for the Lakers was the small forward position; Luke Walton was not a championship-level starting small forward. But then, what team is ever perfect?

Just as Yu Fei was about to call for the ball, he saw Kwame Brown confidently leaning against Little O.

From their current positions, Brown was the center and Little O the power forward, which seemed like a mismatch.

But was it really a mismatch? From their appearance, the two players appeared to be fairly matched in size.

Yu Fei decided to watch for another round.

Roy then lobbed the ball to Brown.

This was a pure grudge match; Little O might slack off defending other players, but against Brown, he was likely to use all the energy he’d save for maintaining his sword at night.

There’s no way this could go in…

Yu Fei knew within a second that Brown was in trouble, so he dove into the paint to prepare for the offensive rebound.

When Brown first entered the NBA, he had a bit of a Chris Webber vibe, but after years of transitioning to a blue-collar big man, the nimbleness he had in high school had vanished. He was now just a functional big man with unrefined one-on-one skills, and his aggressive play against Little O was bound to end in a hasty shot.

“Bang!”

Of course, such a shot was unlikely to go in, but…

Little O and Brown watched wide-eyed as a No. 44 figure soared through the air, stretching out his long arms to tip the ball back into play.

The ball went back to Brown’s hands.

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Brown shouted, shoved Little O aside, and scored strongly under the basket.

“You really think you can guard me?” Brown yelled, waving his fist, “I just wanted to give Big Fei an easy rebound!”

“Thanks a lot…”

Yu Fei rolled his eyes and slipped away.

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