Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The second day of the ABCD Camp was like a dream for Yu Fei, as he defeated Anthony's team.

As one of the most powerful scorers of the new century, Anthony was a star athlete who had ranked highly in Yu Fei's former life. This victory didn't mean much, after all, Yu Fei was still two years older than Anthony.

It's quite normal for an 18-year-old to win against a 16-year-old.

The third game went smoothly for the Jade Team as well.

As for the Ace Team's subsequent games, due to Anthony's injury and withdrawal, they were completely overwhelmed by DeAngelo Collins's team.

After that day's competition concluded, Yu Fei was once again selected for the Best Lineup of the Day.

After resting for a night, Yu Fei went about his routine, waking Roy up for his morning call service.

Even though there was an All-Star game tomorrow, theoretically, for those who couldn't participate in the All-Star game, today was the last day of the ABCD Camp. Roy, after getting up, confidently declared, "The more I sleep, the better I play. I'll become the camp's Tracy McGrady!"

Roy didn't mean he wanted to stand out from the camp like McGrady did back in the day, but rather, he was making a joke based on McGrady.

After joining the Magic Team for the new season, McGrady accidentally became the team's leading player due to Hill's injury, and, unexpectedly, the once secondary player McGrady put on a performance comparable to Jordan's.

Doc Rivers said that McGrady was still growing because he loved to sleep—Yu Fei now understood where McGrady's sleepy eyes came from—as this habit was so severe that McGrady could fall asleep during the Magic Team's video analysis sessions.

Seeing Roy like this, Yu Fei skillfully shot back, "Speaking of which, maybe you'll turn out to be Glen Rice, not T-MAC."

Glen Rice was yet another player prone to sleepiness, but for Rice, sleepiness seemed more like an excuse. When criticized for failing to maintain an athlete's physique, he defended himself by claiming he was so tired during training that he fell asleep on the exercise bike.

"If you're not rooting for me, then you might have to face DeAngelo Collins on your own today!" Roy muttered. "Little Shark is no joke!"

Yu Fei had been observing Collins for two days and didn't think Collins would be a tougher opponent than Anthony.

After all, offensive players like Anthony are unstoppable when they're on a roll, whereas Collins, whether a real Little Shark or not, was still a post player. He liked to work in the low post which highly relied on his teammates' ability to pass the ball, and he was a player with limited defensive range.

Devising a strategy against Collins would be much easier than against Anthony.

Moreover, considering Collins's national ranking, and Yu Fei's plan to bypass college and enter the NBA Draft directly, thoroughly beating Collins would significantly boost his own reputation and be nothing but beneficial for his draft prospects.

"Just focus on defense today," Yu Fei said confidently. "I'll take care of the fake shark."

Roy, seeing the confidence on Yu Fei's face, chose not to say anything further.

At two in the afternoon, at Roseman University

Sonny Vacarro received a surprising piece of news the night before—Yu Fei's performance had caught the attention of Michael Jordan, and His Airness planned to personally make an appearance today.

If Jordan were still playing, Vacarro wouldn't believe this could happen.

As a player, Jordan was like a deity to Nike, and under no circumstances would Nike allow him to show up at an Adidas-sponsored camp.

But as the president of the Wizards Team, Jordan had both the right and obligation to scout talent on site, irrespective of which company sponsored the camp.

Jordan sneakers were still the most lucrative asset under Nike, but that had nothing to do with Wizards' Jordan. People were enticed to buy Jordan shoes by the high-flying dominator who wore the Bulls' number 23 jersey, by the deity who silenced the NBA in the '90s. Wizards' Jordan? That once-a-month office attendant with a potbelly playing part-time celebrity? Not appealing at all.

The Jordan era had ended, and Tiger Woods was now Nike's darling.

Despite that, Vacarro still needed to make the necessary arrangements for his old friend.

Jordan could come, but not make a public appearance; he had to stay discreetly in a private box.

Vacarro instructed his most trusted employee to organize the matter.

Soon enough, the employee returned and reported, "I've settled the guest in Box 244. It's right in front of center court, with a good view of the entire field, very discreet and not easily noticeable, unless he chooses to walk out on his own..."

"Very good, carry on," Vacarro said, and then suddenly called the employee back, "Listen, I don't want any media to catch wind of this. Make sure everyone keeps their mouths shut tight!"

※※※

DeAngelo Collins's Grey Wolf Team had emerged victorious in all six of their games over the past two days.

Collins, worthy of his ranking as the fifth-best high school player in the nation, averaged 26 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage close to 70%.

The biggest difference between Collins and the others was that he brought his own entourage. Every time he got the ball, dozens of people in the audience would cheer for him, and whenever he scored, the same crowd would jeer at his opponents.

During those two days, a name kept buzzing in their ears.

The buzz around this name was even greater than that around Collins.

That name was Yu Fei, ranked 16th in the nation.

Collins was known as the "Pocket Shaq," but Yu Fei was no less impressive, with scouts giving him the evaluation of a taller version of Scottie Pippen.

Both parties held each other in low esteem behind the scenes, eagerly anticipating and secretly straining for today's game.

Moreover, this much-anticipated marquee matchup did not make people wait for long; the game between Jade Team and Grey Wolf Team was slated to be the first match of the day.

During warm-ups, Yu Fei casually missed a dunk.

The ball flew to the other side.

Picking up the ball, Collins disrespectfully kicked it back and arrogantly shouted, "Hey, you may be Scottie Pippen, but without MJ you ain't shit!"

Collins didn't know that Jordan was present in a nearby suite, watching the two teams warm up.

Unfortunately, even as he belittled Pippen, Jordan couldn't hear him.

Therefore, Yu Fei's next words would not offend Jordan.

After all, he hailed from the year 2023, born two years after Jordan's third retirement. He hadn't watched a single game of Jordan's, much like Brandon Miller never had. To him, "Jordan" was just a name; that name wasn't even as significant to him as China's "Jordan" shoes, nor as imposing as the "Michael" in Ip Man who nearly beat Donnie Yen to death.

Besides, it was an era overly obsessed with entertainment. A decade earlier, fans revered Jordan as a god; by that time, however, fans treating everything with levity would flippantly call him "Dan Zi."

In such a context, Yu Fei had no psychological barrier to belittling Jordan, "Let me tell you a fact, without Scottie Pippen, MJ would've been left hanging in the first round of the playoffs; another fact is, you're not the Shark, and even if you were, you'd lack a Kobe by your side. A Shark without Kobe is just a fat African mudd fish, and I'll grill you on the court."

Yu Fei's verbal sparring with Collins immediately displeased Collins's entourage.

They stood up, spewing all manner of unspeakable words to denigrate Yu Fei.

Yu Fei ignored them, letting Collins's entourage spout their nonsense while he continued to warm up.

"Kids these days have no manners, outsourcing trash talk?" Jordan, lighting a Cuban cigar, shook his head disdainfully.

Jordan's loyal lackey Rodney Higgins asked, "Michael, should we have Sonny come over?"

"No need to bother," said Jordan, "This is his turf; he'll come over when he has the time."

After 15 minutes of warm-up, the game was about to begin.

Quentin DiMio continued to film with his camera.

Curious, Roy asked, "Quentin, what exactly have you been filming these past few days?"

"Material," DiMio replied, "If we come back loaded with victories, we might make a documentary about the Jade Team."

Everyone, except for Yu Fei, cried out in excitement.

Yu Fei knew about DiMio's plans; he wasn't surprised or expectant, his eyes fixed on the court—Collins and his team had already taken the stage, their faces smug as if they had everything under control.

In the past year, Yu Fei had shattered many a basketball dream, and he didn't mind adding one more.

Given DeAngelo Collins's reputation and his grand entrance, he deserved a brutal takedown.