Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Jordan was clearly at a disadvantage, but his teammates still had to pass him the ball.

Passing him the ball was an absolute command before he made a new demand.

But the question was, what could he do with the ball?

Yu Fei knew him too well.

During his year in Washington, Yu Fei had to guard him every day in team scrimmages.

Yu Fei understood Wizards Dan's habits and tendencies in the game. Jordan, having lost speed and explosiveness, relied on skills and rhythm to play the game. Even if his skills and rhythm were effective, he still needed to find his shooting touch on the night of the game.

For him, playing a signature Jordan game with his current physical condition was excessively difficult.

Yu Fei's defense greatly increased the difficulty for Jordan to play well.

A fake, dribbling, being forced to stop, a strong fadeaway. Discover stories at empire

Yu Fei anticipated Jordan's entire set of moves.

On the final shot, Jordan didn't find his touch.

"Bang!"

Another missed shot.

However, this time Yu Fei accelerated forward, his teammate secured the defensive rebound and immediately made a long pass.

If you can't prevent the positional battle, then you're even less able to guard against the fast break.

Yu Fei dashed to the frontcourt like lightning and slammed the ball in for a score.

Since the start of the second quarter, Yu Fei had made all four of his shots, scoring 9 points in a row.

Jordan made only 1 of 3, scoring just 2 points.

No matter how this contest was to proceed, Yu Fei's overwhelming advantage wouldn't change.

Collins had already seen Jordan's shortcomings, so he made a suggestion from the sideline, "Michael, you don't necessarily have to handle the ball..."

"Shut up, Doug!" Jordan snapped, "I don't need you to teach me how to play!"

Doug, why bother? If he wants to seek death, let him.

Yu Fei felt pity for his former coach. How could such a good man end up with a master like this?

"The first quarter is over, and up to now in the second quarter, it's 9 to 2," Yu Fei said. "And this number will continue to increase. I was wrong, I couldn't do this without you. With your poor defense, I can only get better."

If insult becomes the norm, no one will be surprised.

Even though Jordan refused to play off the ball, he didn't refuse the help of his teammates.

If one person can't break through Yu Fei's defense, then call someone for a pick-and-roll.

The pick-and-roll man, Tim Thomas, wasn't a remarkable screener; he didn't manage to block Yu Fei for Jordan.

On the contrary, because he moved away too early, Yu Fei actually stuck closer to Jordan.

Having no other choice, Jordan passed the ball to Cassell on the weak side.

Cassell scored with a jump shot off the backboard.

Finally, the Wizards scored, but Jordan, like a fire-breathing dragon, roared at Thomas: "If you don't fucking understand how to set a screen, then you fucking shouldn't be playing in the NBA!"

No one understood why a highly respected superstar was an asshole who liked to show his abusive side to his teammates.

The Bulls' old assistant coach, Tex Winter (the father of the Triangle Offense), once said that Jordan felt satisfied when shaming others. But the problem is, he doesn't think it is a shame.

How did Jordan view these incidents? He said they were part of his competitive nature.

Yes, if that's part of being competitive, then when Yu Fei applies that nature back onto him, he should be able to withstand it, but the result is that he couldn't bear it either.

Jordan was thoroughly losing this decisive battle.

Moreover, the more pathetic his failure appeared, the more it highlighted a symbolic significance intrinsic to this game.

This symbolic significance was born during the George Mikan era and has been passed down unbroken to this day.

Yu Fei received the ball again in the frontcourt, gave Jordan a ruthless look, stopped abruptly, then rose and changed direction.

Under Yu Fei's ferocious onslaught, the taut Jordan lost control of his center of gravity. If Yu Fei had previously used the between-the-legs dribble to freeze his center of gravity, the current drastic rise-and-fall change of direction aimed to destroy it.

The more invested in defense, the easier it is to collapse.

Jordan, teetering on the brink, fell backward as Yu Fei sprinted forward. In the chilling atmosphere of the MCI, Yu Fei shot over Jordan, who was behind him, and scored again.

Doug Collins called for a timeout at this moment, which nearly caused the Wizards to fall apart.

Today, Jordan filled a missing chapter in his NBA career.

The 24-second shot clock rule retired George Mikan, Bill Russell's dominance of the 60s, Lou Alcindor's 1971 championship marking the beginning of the 70s' long turmoil, Magic Bird, and then Jordan; each era's superstar passed the crown at the precise moment and was overtaken on the court by the next ruler.

This is the generational shift in the NBA.

When Jordan retired in 1998, the crown was left hanging. Duncan wanted it, O'Neal too, but none of them took it directly from Jordan's hands.

Yu Fei looked down on Jordan, who was like a beaten dog, and said coldly, "11 to 2."

It wasn't over yet.

You knew it was far from over.

Because Yu Fei never forgave.