LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 194: Long Steps
The Milwaukee Bucks' representative at the draft event was assistant coach Ron Adams.
When he heard people saying Yu Fei was also there, he just thought they were joking.
Frye had just completed a great season, and now was the time for a vacation. Would he come to the draft event?
Then, he saw Yu Fei dressed like a Hollywood star, attending the event and accepting an interview with TNT.
Charles Barkley said to Yu Fei, "Hey, Frye, you know Michael is my good brother, right? Just for what you did to him, I should give you a beatdown!"
Yu Fei skillfully used the 'Barkley Inequality': "People without championships don't have the right to beat me up."
The so-called 'Barkley Inequality' is actually quite easy to understand: If you're a champion, and you agree with Barkley, then what he says is valuable. If you disagree, then it's the words of a ringless CJB, kiss your donkey's butt!
Kenny Smith burst out laughing.
"You'd fit right in on our show!"
Yu Fei laughed, "I'll consider joining you guys when I retire."
"So, why are you here today? By all rights, shouldn't you be on vacation?"
"I'm here for a reason today, to support my little brother."
"Your little brother is?"
"Of course, it's LeBron James..."
Whether Yu Fei did it on purpose or not, this was the 55th time he publicly referred to James as his little brother on camera.
Despite James's historically top-tier marketing hype, Yu Fei, as the most successful high school player since Moses Malone (having obtained MVP and FMVP in his sophomore year), calling James his little brother didn't seem inappropriate. On the contrary, it made James's future seem even more promising, having an incredible big brother before even entering the NBA.
For the next ten minutes, the TNT program revolved around stories of Yu Fei and James.
Yu Fei shared many stories about him and James while on the show.
When Ernie Johnson of the TNT Crew asked, "Although both you and LeBron were high school players, there seems to be a big difference in your skin color, background, and upbringing. How did you find common ground with each other?"
"We have an obvious thing in common," Yu Fei said self-deprecatingly, "we both lost our fathers from as far back as we can remember."
Yu Fei's appearance indeed caused a sensation at the draft event, where the rookies should have been the main focus of the evening, but now the media was all gravitating towards him.
There were countless questions from the media about Yu Fei.
Then, the theoretical star of the night, the future number one pick, LeBron James appeared.
James, dressed in a white suit with a white shirt and a silk tie, was seated next to the head table stage. Even though he had experienced many grand events, the pomp of tonight still made him nervous.
Yu Fei walked over.
"MVP! MVP! MVP!"
New Yorkers unexpectedly took a liking to Yu Fei.
This might have something to do with Yu Fei almost ruining Jordan's reputation.
But Yu Fei simply waved to the enthusiastic Yankees and then walked over to James, smiling and asking, "Do you think you'll be selected in the first round or the second round?"
James answered jokingly, "Maybe the second round, listen..."
Aside from shouting MVP for Yu Fei, a group of people was also chanting very synchronously, "O-VER-RA-TED! O-VER-RA-TED!"
Yu Fei laughed. He then turned to James's mother, Gloria, and asked, "Ma'am, as the mother of the most highly anticipated rookie in history, how do you feel?"
"Hahahaha~~!!" Gloria fit the image of a heroic woman in Yu Fei's mind, very unrestrained and cheery, "It's okay, I guess!"
Yu Fei joked, "If the first person called isn't you later, let's blow up the Gund Arena (Cavaliers' home court)."
"You're a bit extreme, brother," James knew Yu Fei was joking and it indeed made him laugh.
"See you later."
As Yu Fei headed toward the area with team representatives, loud "MVP" chants rang out again.
For an instant, James felt like Yu Fei was the center of attention in the entire arena.
The feeling of being overshadowed might have lasted only a second, as James immediately let it go. It was natural after all; Frye was the youngest person ever to win dual MVPs.
Yu Fei went to greet the Bucks' representatives.
"I didn't expect you and LeBron to be so close," said Adams.
"Of course," Yu Fei echoed like a broken record, "LeBron is my little brother."
Adams nodded, "I can see that, Frye. Are you going to sit in the front row as a representative when the draft starts later?"
"You mean as a team representative, witnessing us selecting Zaza Pachulia with the 29th pick in the first round? I'm not interested at all, and, I hope you don't mention me during the interviews," Fei said. "You know, selecting Zaza was the organization's decision, not just mine."
Adams thought Fei didn't want to take responsibility, but that was pretty normal.
"No problem."
After that, Fei returned to his seat.
Lawson laughed and asked, "I really want to know who's your best friend, Brandon or LeBron."
Fei was startled at first, then asked, "Who is Brandon?"
"Tell me you're joking!"
Fei suddenly smiled, "Of course I'm joking."
"Brandon is definitely my best friend. As for LeBron, I feel like there's a kind of fate between us. We met at the ABCD Camp and then fought side by side at Adidas events. I really think we will be friends for life," he said.
But Lawson said, "If your goal is to be the GOAT, then LeBron is more likely to be the enemy of your life."
"Superficial," Fei mocked. "Do you think everyone has to beat their contemporaries to the ground without a single championship to become the GOAT?"
"What else?"
"Trust me, being the GOAT depends on how many GOAT candidates you have as brothers."
Fei's words left Lawson dizzy, and he still couldn't understand.
But Fei didn't need him to understand anyway, and a few minutes later, the 2003 NBA Draft started.
As usual, Stern would stand in front of the stage, tirelessly repeating those clichés everyone was tired of hearing.
Then, Stern gave the Cavaliers five minutes to decide who to select with the first pick.
Despite the Cavaliers owner joking that they hadn't decided who to choose after winning the top pick, this year's number one draft pick had been determined a year in advance.
The moment the Cavaliers won the top pick, the phone at the front desk of the team's office had been busy for three consecutive weeks. This team with the lowest attendance suddenly saw fans brimming with enthusiasm to watch the games, and in less than a month, tens of thousands of season tickets were sold.
James hadn't played a game for the Cavaliers yet, but had already become the team's savior.
As Stern returned to the stage and opened the envelope — there was really no need; he could have just announced the Cavaliers' choice.
Because there had never been a second choice.
"With the first pick in the 2003 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers select... LeBron James, from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School!"
From that moment on, Cleveland naturally placed what seemed like an overly burdensome mission on James's shoulders — that was to break the city's 39-year championship drought.
Since the Cleveland Browns won the National Football League championship in 1964, no Cleveland sports team had won a championship. Since then, the city had experienced a prolonged drought, including some of the most devastating defeats in modern sports history.
In 1987, the Browns were on the brink of winning the AFC Championship and going to the Super Bowl, when Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway led a 98-yard, 15-play drive, tying the game with seconds left. The Browns lost in overtime, and Cleveland was dejected. The following year, a greater disaster struck: in the last minute of the AFC Championship game, the team's leading running back fumbled at the goal line, leading to a failed crucial offensive drive. The Browns missed yet another shot at the Super Bowl. In 1989, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a second away from ending the Chicago Bulls' playoff run, when Michael Jordan hit "The Shot" to become the only game-winning shot in NBA history to win a playoff series...
This was not just a history of a city's sports tears; it was about how many times a city could be wounded by sports.
For 39 years, sports had brought no satisfaction to the city.
Thus, a saying arose in American sports: God hates Cleveland.
Fei heard about Cleveland's sufferings from the commentators and couldn't help but exponentially increase the value of James's championship in 2016. Setting aside off-court issues and various other messy elements, in such a backdrop, such a championship indeed paved James's way to greatness.
It sounded like a fairy tale.
So, what if it was completely shattered?
Fei, watching James walk onto the stage from a distance, actually had this idea.
A few seconds later, he couldn't help but slap his own face.
How could he think of doing such a thing to his little brother?
James walked onto the stage and was interviewed.
Besides questions about Cleveland, one special question was related to Fei.
"Frye Yu is currently the hottest NBA player; has his success inspired you?"
"Of course! It's a definite!" James laughed. "You know, everyone needs a benchmark, and Frye is the benchmark in my professional path. Not only does he have a great rookie season but an even greater sophomore season, and what I need to do is follow in his footsteps, and I believe we can reach the finish line together!"
It wouldn't take long for James to realize that in the sports world, there's no such thing as reaching the finish line together. Even brothers who support each other might harbor different intentions. This doesn't mean their friendship is false; it only illustrates one thing.
This thing could be traced back to the time when Bill Russell became hostile toward Chamberlain because he had to leave their ultimate battle due to injury, and to how Jordan proved his dominance in the '90s by mercilessly turning on his own buddies to prove a point: to ascend the godly stairs, you have to give up some things — you know, victory isn't everything; it's the only thing.