Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters
Chapter 38: Chapter 35: The Saint of Thieves

Gary Smith's article had an immediately strong reaction upon publication.

"The Chosen One," this loud title was not the first time it appeared on Sports Illustrated.

The last person to use this title was Tiger Woods in 1996, who then lived up to expectations and became the greatest golfer of all time, ascending to Nike's leading figure after Michael Jordan's retirement.

No one doubted Smith's professionalism, but what puzzled people was why the protagonist of this article was not Kwame Brown, Eddie Curry, DaJuan Wagner, or Tyson Chandler who were ranked ahead of Yu Fei.

In terms of talent, the three centers were undeniably superior to Yu Fei, and looking at immediate strength, Wagner, who had previously scored a hundred points in a single game, was the most powerful high school player of the 2001 class.

Why was it Yu Fei?

Gary Smith's explanation was poetic and romantic, "I only made the same choice as God."

From that day on, Yu Fei never fell out of the top 15 in any major draft prediction.

For Yu Fei himself, the incident was more surprising than to the public.

Did he accidentally steal LeBron James's second most famous nickname?

In the first twenty years of the new century, "The Chosen One" in the United States referred to Woods and James, but in China, golf was a niche sport and nobody cared whether Woods was the dog's bollocks in golf; James was the only "The Chosen One."

And James earned this nickname because of an article published by Sports Illustrated in 2002.

Now, Yu Fei had received this title ahead of James.

He had no special feelings about the name "The Chosen One," but to have stolen one of the best-known labels from James was a little troubling after all, considering the days they fought side by side for the Oakland Sentinels, remembering the Akron pizza James made with his own hands, remembering James saying "Frye is my big brother." Wasn't that a wonderful time? Two fatherless youths joyously sprinting across the court, proudly displaying their talent. How did things get to this point?

Feeling ashamed, Yu Fei chose to go to the most famous tattoo shop in Seattle before leaving town and had "The Chosen One" inked on his back.

Although the whole process was unpleasant and filled with guilt, when it ended, Yu Fei felt his spiritual power momentarily reach the level of Grandfather Yue Fei, who also spent his life living up to the words "serve the country with the utmost loyalty." Now, Yu Fei also had to prove that he was the genuine, undoubted, unquestionably authentic "The Chosen One," and Woods and James better stay away⑴.

After this, Yu Fei returned to his hometown.

Gary Smith completely opened up Yu Fei's fame, but this year's NBA lottery drawing was not until late May, meaning there was still half a month before then for Yu Fei to prepare for his tryouts.

With the situation at this point, many issues had been laid on the table, and the first thing Yu Fei had to do was to put his studies on hold and officially form a team.

The very first day he got home, Team Yu Fei was established.

For now, there were only four members on the team: Yu Fei himself, Quentin DiMio, Anthony Lawson, and Arne Trem.

The specific division of labor for the team was still unclear.

For the time being, DiMio and Lawson's main task was to help Yu Fei train.

But Yu Fei also hoped that they could replace suitable platforms for themselves in the future, just as James made Rich Paul one of the most influential agents by leveraging his own influence.

As her son's good days approached, Yu Fenglin felt a sense of fear about gaining and losing.

For the past 18 years, she had supported the small family by herself. The initial days were tough. With the economic support from her family, the meager alimony from her ex-husband, and working several jobs with a 997 schedule, she finally earned enough start-up funds to open a store. From then on, her and her son's life had its ups and downs, but overall it was not bad.

But no matter what, it was still within the realm of an ordinary family.

All of a sudden, her son was about to become a millionaire earning millions of US dollars, and her life would become completely different. It was like a dream.

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Looking back, Yu Fei had gone from being a despised weakling to "The Chosen One" in just over a year.

Is this really true? She didn't know how long it would take to fully accept this.

Yu Fei didn't have the sense of profound loss his mother felt. His only understanding of this year's draft was that the Washington Wizards had selected Kwame Brown with their first overall pick. Then, His Airness, falsely dubbed as a trickster by Scottie Pippen, who had said that Jordan was nothing special before he came along, started his career as a drafting genius.

What, Jordan wasn't a trickster? Humph, even if a false god had conquered a generation, if he couldn't even win over his most reliable partner, what right did he have to be called a trickster? Imagine Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, and Anthony Davis lashing out at James as a hypocrite after retirement, and claiming that his career stats of 40000+ points, 10000+ rebounds, and 10000+ assists wouldn't get their approval?

You know, despite Wade having to deal with the 2011 Finals version of James, Irving always looking down on James in an indescribable way, and Davis going downhill after every season in the zone - not only failing to have a "this team is yours" moment but also being ridiculed by LeBron fans both domestic and abroad for being fragile and not training hard - the chances of such a scenario happening are almost zero.

Yu Fei stopped daydreaming, no longer psychologically carping about the original Big Fei. Instead, he made a call to his good brother, Brandon Roy.

Unlike the endlessly glorious Yu Fei, Roy felt pessimistic about his NBA prospects.

Attending ABCD Camp seemed to have added nothing to his future prospects. Though he had received offers from a few more colleges, what was the use? Without those schools seriously opening the back door to lower admission standards, what good were those offers to someone like him?

Having no confidence in his academic abilities, Roy was dead set on entering the NBA Draft. But when he tried to openly recruit scouts like Yu Fei did, all he got were calls from international scammers. Legitimate US scouts just didn't have time to waste on a likely idiot—an idiot who failed every subject and didn't rank in the nation's top 100 players.

If it wasn't for hearing about Roy's deeds in his past life, Yu Fei wouldn't have believed that this guy could make it in the NBA.

There were really no signs.

That's typical of a player who peaks late in his career.

Moreover, the skills that allowed Roy to make a name for himself in the NBA were all honed during his college years. If he really went from high school straight to the NBA, would he still have that environment and atmosphere to train tirelessly? Would he still have four years to intensely develop his skills?

The NBA's minor leagues are akin to a battlefield. Every fringe player wants to survive in the world's most lucrative league. Leveling up is something first-round picks worry about; for second-rounders and undrafted players, it's all about immediate performance.

"God is so unfair. Just a year ago, we were at the same starting line. How come in the blink of an eye, you, the guy I left far behind, have run ahead of me?"

Roy complained bitterly.

Yu Fei wanted to laugh but couldn't.

If what Roy said was true, then Yu Fei didn't just run ahead of him; he was already standing on the finish line.

Why? Because, at the very least, Yu Fei was currently projected as a fifteenth pick in the first round.

No matter what, he would make it to the NBA.

While Roy was just struggling to seize the few opportunities he thought he had.

But Yu Fei had just partnered with Roy at the ABCD Camp. Considering Roy's current level of readiness and skill, never mind whether an NBA team would be interested, even if a team irrationally chose him, he would have a hard time establishing himself in the NBA.

The biggest difference between college and the NBA is that college can provide a nurturing environment for late bloomers to level up slowly.

Roy in his previous life was exactly that type of player. What about in this life?

Yu Fei did not want to change Roy's life trajectory, but now Roy was dead set on entering the NBA draft, which made it very hard to dissuade him, so he opted to offer consolation instead.

That night, Yu Fei bought a new calendar and circled the date of May 21st.

That was the day of the draft lottery.

(1)Hmm, it's time to discuss who among Yu Fei, S11's Scout, and Iguodala in 2015 is the true Master of Thievery.

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