Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

The only reason this situation arose was because Jordan didn't know that reporter; he didn't want to say anything to someone he didn't know.

A reporter who was familiar with Jordan smiled and started to ask, "Michael, how long will your comeback last? Two years? Or three?"

"No," Jordan shook his head, "I don't think about things that far into the future."

Then, Jordan began to joke about Barkley. He thought Barkley was excellent but not among the ranks of the greats. Barkley was in the "second tier," why? Because he had never won a championship. It wasn't until Jordan won in 1991 that people began to compare him with Magic Bird. Then, he issued a challenge he was very fond of to Iverson, hoping that Iverson would win a championship.

Watching Jordan joke about Barkley regardless of the setting was quite amusing.

Of course, this didn't affect their friendship because Barkley himself was often ribbed about it on his TNT show. But what Barkley didn't expect was that this would become a cultural phenomenon in the basketball world over the next twenty years: he became the epitome of a "loser," and the origin of it all might be Jordan.

Jordan said on Oprah's show that Barkley lacked the basic qualities of a winner. Now he was joking about Barkley again, and in the future, he would make many more jokes about Barkley, of course, all based on one fact—Barkley had never won a championship.

But one day in the future, when Barkley commented that Jordan's Bobcats was the worst team in the NBA, how did Jordan respond? Did he just laugh it off? No, he cut off ties with Barkley.

This is the risk of being Jordan's friend.

Yu Fei really liked the final words of Chris Whitney before he left: "Being on your side is dangerous."

Yes, it might be dangerous to keep company with Yu Fei, but who would want to keep company with Jordan?

Yu Fei really didn't know why Jordan always gave him one reason after another for "I absolutely don't want to have anything to do with this old guy."

Could it be that they were simply incompatible?

Then, the reporter whom Jordan had rejected asked Yu Fei a sensitive question, "What's your relationship with Michael like?"

At that moment, the room was silent.

Yu Fei could have rejected him like Jordan did, but he didn't want to be like Jordan.

"It's not as bad as you guys think, nor as harmonious," Yu Fei said with a laugh, "We're like Ross and Rachel from Friends, always breaking up and making up, fighting and fussing⑴."

⑴For those who might not have seen "Friends," here's another analogy: It's like Zeng Xiaoxian and Hu Yifei from iPartment.

And then, the somewhat impolite reporter posed a difficult question to Iverson: "Could you compare Michael and Kobe, AI, who do you think is better?"

Jordan couldn't stand it and interrupted: "If I were you, I wouldn't answer that question, of course, you're entitled to your own opinion."

With the idol speaking up, of course, Iverson knew how to respond.

"Did you hear what he said?" Iverson said to the reporter with a grin.

Then, Jordan said without a doubt, "Next question!"

For some in the interview room, this day was bound to be tough.

After the interview ended, Yu Fei left without saying goodbye to Jordan.

Iverson asked in surprise, "Mike, is your relationship really that bad?"

Being used to Yu Fei's disrespect, Jordan, upon hearing such a question, couldn't even be bothered to explain: "That's the spoiled Generation Y for you, they are truly a failed generation."

Spoiled, failed.

Iverson wasn't sure if these words were appropriate for the best rookie of 2001, but he was certain that the relationship between Yu Fei and Jordan was far worse than he had imagined.

That night, Yu Fei participated in the Rookie Challenge.

Having attended too many events that day, Yu Fei clearly lacked interest in the game.

A sense of mental fatigue troubled him.

Even though Yu Fei got 26 minutes on the court, his performance was just stable—16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists; he was one of the few with the best stats on the rookie team, but the sophomores overwhelmed the rookies by 24 points.

Yu Fei was unruffled inside; although the intensity of the Rookie Challenge was higher than that of the All-Star Game, if one really regarded this game as some important stage, then the mindset was too low.

Yu Fei no longer needed to prove himself through such a game.

After a tiring day, he only wanted to return to the hotel for some rest.

Yet, the damned League office insisted on having Magic, an old-timer who was past his prime, accompany the rookies for activities.

As one of the leading rookies, Yu Fei was arranged to be interviewed alongside Magic.

As a senior, Magic shared a lot of experiences, especially about his bedroom exploits.

"I always keep telling the young players, just look at me and you'll know: protect yourself, you must control your desires, maintain healthy and safe lovemaking, otherwise, you'll end up like me."

Those words were really beneficial to Yu Fei, who was still preserving his virginity.

Yu Fei could tell that Magic loved the limelight, and moreover, he had a deep love for being on camera.

No matter how tired he was, as long as there were cameras around, he would energetically engage in various interviews.

This was a person who couldn't live without the spotlight.

Before Yu Fei left, one of NBC's staff found Magic and asked him to film a highlight video for the next day's All-Star Game.

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