Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The Western Conference Finals against the Lakers gave the Supersonics a significant psychological advantage.

They had swept their opponent during the regular season.

Although only one of those victories occurred after the Lakers had strengthened their lineup, it was enough to bolster confidence.

"Over the past few years, my record against them has not been pretty," Phil Jackson said before the game with the Supersonics began, "I think, this time we can properly compete like we didn't in the last game."

Jermaine O'Neal also made a statement: "We likewise defeated the Spurs, but I wouldn't say that I blew Tim Duncan away like someone else would."

To be fair, Duncan was the only one on the Spurs who could say he was innocent in the loss of the semifinal.

He averaged 24 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks per game, statistics that could be discussed alongside those of the ancient greats.

"Why won't I say that? Because we all know who led us to overcome the Spurs," Little O implied with a pointed comment. "Unfortunately, that person will never understand his own significance."

Kobe was much more direct.

"It has been six years [since the last championship]," Kobe said, "I don't want to wait any longer."

The Lakers Team was like a madman having a fit, taking turns stepping up and talking tough about the Supersonics.

But from the Supersonics, no one responded.

Yu Fei was silent, Brown seemed unaware of Little O's sarcastic digs at him, and Karl, usually not inferior to anyone in verbal sparring, received the "opponent" recognition from the Zen Master for the first time in his professional career, but he did not seem excited at all.

May 21st

The first game day of the Western Conference Finals

The Supersonics and the Lakers knew each other very well.

Because they had long considered each other as the biggest rivals within their division.

This meant there was no information gap right from the start of the series.

Both sides were aware of the opponent's weaknesses.

The problem for the Supersonics was their lack of depth in the frontcourt, their players being too young, and inconsistent performance.

Meanwhile, aside from the perennial weakness at the small forward position, the main rotation players on the Lakers were not young. This was both an advantage (experienced, mature, and stable) and a potential disadvantage (lack of stamina).

That night, Key Arena was the focus of thousands of eyes.

The Lakers noticed that tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the arena in front of the big screen, while the inside was packed.

Apart from the seats, every place where one could stand had one or two people standing.

This small yet intense arena was bursting with far more people than it could handle.

In the VIP boxes and front row seats of the arena, local celebrities could be seen everywhere.

Former Supersonics owner Schultz Howard, an unpopular guest, was still welcome as long as he was willing to come.

Clay Bennett was sitting next to him.

An ironic incident occurred between them.

The coffee magnate attendance at the venue tonight was not to relive old memories but to seek investment opportunities in the new Supersonics arena.

Why did this appear so ironic?

Because under Schultz Howard's era, a new arena for the Supersonics was a distant dream, and no one cared about the team.

When the coffee magnate sold the team, he said, "We have lost 50 million over the past five years. I've said it before, I didn't buy the team to make money, but I assure you, I didn't buy it to lose 50 million either."

Now, with no connection to the Supersonics, he had destroyed his reputation in Emerald City by selling the team to Bennett, an out-of-towner with "lifetime Oklahoman who will definitely steal away the Supersonics" written all over his face.

Now, he actually wants to invest in the new arena for the Supersonics?

It is easy to understand from a business perspective.

Big shots like Warren Buffett and Ballmer making moves one after another indicated the Supersonics had a broad business prospect.

Investing in them was a sure-fire deal.

The coffee magnate looking to make a profit both in name and wealth from his investment, Bennett would naturally not refuse.

"This can be easily arranged," Bennett said with a smile, "Speaking of which, I should thank you."

The coffee magnate asked with a smile, "Thank me for what?"

"If you hadn't managed the NBA team like you manage Starbucks, you all wouldn't have ended up in trouble, I wouldn't have had the chance to buy the team, and Frye wouldn't have come back here," Bennett's compliment seemed heartfelt, but to the coffee magnate, it was a dagger in the heart. "If the Supersonics can rise again, there is definitely a third of the credit due to you."

The coffee magnate started to laugh.

Yet, behind that smile, there could be countless fantasies of killing Bennett.

If he had known that Yu Fei would go to such lengths to save the Supersonics, even if it meant losing several hundred million, he would have persisted, waiting for this damned savior to arrive.

Now it was too late to say anything; the team belonged to Bennett, and all the business profits brought by Yu Fei also went to Bennett.

His only hope now was to have a share of the hot pie — that's right, an investment in the new arena.

For him, it was a pie, because it was for this very project that he had resolved to sell the team.

But now, it had become the hottest investment project in Seattle.

How could the world change to such an extent?

The theme of the night's game was simply thrilling and intense.

The Supersonics and the Lakers elevated the spectacle of the Western Conference Finals to another dimension, giving people the immediate sense that "this is what the highest level of Western competition looks like."

Kobe struck first, scoring 10 points and giving the Lakers an early lead.

As a result, the Supersonics began to trail for much of the first half.

Roy, making his debut on the Western Finals stage, was extremely excited. Before Fei could take his shot, he steadied the troops with two three-pointers.

After that, the battle began inside the paint.

Little O, each time he scored in single coverage, would roar at Brown, "How are you doing, best center in the League?"

Could Brown stand for that? Of course, he couldn't, but he didn't have the ability to strike back, so he relied on Fei to set him up.

Fei then connected with Brown several times on pick and rolls.

Brown responded to Little O with slam dunks each time.

Every time he dunked the ball, he gestured muscles at Little O, symbolizing power.

With Roy's attack from the perimeter and Fei's playmaking, the Supersonics were behind at halftime, but overall, they were not outmatched.

In the third quarter, Fei shined, as if using up all the offensive share he hadn't in the first half.

After Kobe scored 10 points to start, Fei went unabated, bagging 22 of the Supersonics' 28 points in the period.

Every spectator had but one impression of that quarter.

Fei, Fei, everywhere Fei.

From offense to defense, Fei was a one-man army, stifling whoever he guarded, overwhelming whoever he attacked.

His dominance was truly astonishing.

The Lakers had maintained their lead for most of the game but couldn't hang on in the final moments of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Supersonics benched Durant, who seemed out of sync with the game's intensity, using a lineup featuring Fei, Roy, Marion, Posey, and Brown as the core.

This lineup was balanced on offense and defense, and in the absence of a major threat on the Lakers' interior, it was without a flaw.

Kobe, who used to weave through the Spurs' wings, was extinguished under the Supersonics' intense defense.

When Kobe's scoring went cold, Kidd's playmaking was no longer as effective, and the Lakers suddenly became reliant on their interior game.

But the inside game was tough to execute.

Brown may not have had the height advantage, but after years with Fei, his understanding of defense had greatly improved. Now, both in one-on-one and help situations, he was considered among the top in the League. Together with Marion's help defense, Fei taking on the primary defensive role, and Posey, known for his staunch defense at his side, the Supersonics' fourth-quarter defense had a beauty reminiscent of the early Pistons and Pacers.

Nobody expected that the offense-oriented Supersonics would use defense to demolish the Lakers.

In the fourth quarter, the Lakers' offense went silent, and they collapsed.

113 to 99

In the first game of the Western Finals, the Supersonics beat the Lakers by 14 points.

As for this game, their opponents had a lot to say.

"They had 15 more free throws than we did, they could do a lot of defensive actions that we couldn't," Kidd openly complained, "With that kind of scenario, winning is really difficult."

After Kidd's statements, which were likely to cost him a hefty fine, Jackson also had some critiques about the refereeing at Key Arena.

"To me, it was a bit too much," Jackson said, "Their defense on Kobe was extreme. If we could defend Frye the same way, he'd vanish from the court too."

The League's fines came down swiftly on them.

However, a fine is just a fine, which does not mean the League wouldn't take the feedback into consideration.

The League cares a lot about public opinion, particularly when it comes from the Lakers' side.

When the Lakers have concerns about officiating, you better have something genuinely in need of correction in your refereeing, otherwise the League might overcompensate in their adjustments.

While the Supersonics had some home-court advantage in the first game, who doesn't? When Karl noticed the referees being particularly lenient with defensive calls that night, he sent out a full-defense lineup to smother the Lakers.

What he did not expect, however, was that the Lakers would not be at a disadvantage at all, protesting right after the game. They received fines, but the refereeing standards underwent a 180-degree shift in the second game.

The Supersonics seemed to be on a neutral field, with the referees completely unaffected by the home crowd, calling the game as they saw fit.

This made the Supersonics lose their "home-court advantage," forcing them to rely on their players' true abilities to win the game.

Luckily, Seattle had Fei.

Tonight, Key Arena welcomed a group of special spectators.

They were given a section all to themselves, each wearing No. 44 jerseys. However, these fans weren't there for the Supersonics or the Bucks, they were from Fei's alma mater—Kent Meridian High School.

These were Fei's former classmates and teammates, most of whom had since started families.

They brought their families to the game tonight, cheering loudly for Fei as a part of his personal support group. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire

This was another kind of home-court advantage that the Lakers could not take away through public opinion.

That night, Fei brought the energy of the League's MVP, exploding for 47 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. Without the support of a home-court whistle, he showcased his individual talent to dominate his matchup and claimed the second game victory in the series.

"No matter what I achieve, no matter how many championships I win, from the moment I was born, my identity was predetermined."

"I am Frye, a little boy from Kent."

——Fei, in an interview discussing the motivation from his high school peers being in the audience.