Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Yu Fei confirmed through his actions that the original tactics were no longer effective. After dribbling to the frontcourt, he ignored Jordan completely. If Coleman dared to come up and defend him, Yu Fei would power through; if they switched defenders on him, he would call for the player matched with Coleman to set a pick and roll, allowing for a position switch. Soon, even Larry Brown couldn\'t stand Coleman\'s defensive weakness.

Coleman was subbed out.

Then, Yu Fei began to target Mutombo.

The floater from a certain position and the quick-stop jump shot after a pick were Yu Fei\'s two big weapons against inside players in military training. Now, carried away with emotion, he did everything without thinking of the consequences. In the remaining 5 minutes of the third quarter, Yu Fei made 7 out of 9 shots, and Jordan didn\'t touch the ball once.

"This isn\'t how we play!"

When the Wizards entered the fourth quarter with an 11-point lead, Collins didn\'t know whether to be angry or happy. Such a complex expression would be too difficult even for Tom Hanks to perform.

"But..." John Bach said, "it\'s effective."

"But this isn\'t how we play!" Collins said weakly, "He\'s isolating everyone."

The danger of letting Yu Fei start was becoming apparent, his style, his tactics, his personality, were almost entirely in conflict with Jordan\'s.

Especially on nights like this, which were particularly bad for Jordan but happened to showcase Yu Fei\'s brilliance, clearly undermining the former\'s authority.

This was only his second start.

In the fourth quarter, something else happened that made Collins anxious.

Teammates started to trust Yu Fei, to accept his leadership, especially starting point guard Chris Whitney and starting center Jahidi White.

Whitney passed the ball to Yu Fei as soon as he crossed the halfway line.

White actively set screens for Yu Fei because he knew Yu Fei could create numerous scoring opportunities for him.

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Jordan was left abandoned at one end of the court.

Whenever Yu Fei got the ball, he wouldn\'t look at him.

Was Yu Fei deliberately isolating Jordan, or had he not found a way to collaborate with Jordan?

Collins didn\'t know. Logically, he inclined towards the latter, but emotionally, it was undoubtedly the former.

Their discord had begun in training camp and was semi-public; now it was simply a matter of making Wizards\' internal affairs known to the world.

Five minutes before the end of the game, Yu Fei was subbed out. By then, the Wizards were leading the 76ers by 19 points, and the game was nearly garbage time.

Yu Fei scored a team-high 24 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks, making it his best game of the season so far.

John Bach noticed that when Yu Fei left the court, his teammates maintained a certain distance from him on the bench.

They were afraid of Yu Fei, just as they were afraid of Jordan.

Only Kwame Brown could still crack a joke, "Frye, I\'m a reporter from The Washington Post. Congratulations on your three-game winning streak. What did you do tonight to help Michael?"

Yu Fei chuckled and said irreverently, "I kept his shooting percentage from dropping further by not passing him the ball. I\'m really glad I did that."

"Wow, Frye, you\'re such a perfect team player. Michael must be grateful to you, right?"

"Yeah, just like you spend half an hour in bed every day being thankful that he picked you first overall."

Unsurprisingly, in the slow-paced NBA games of 2001, the odds of overturning a 19-point lead in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter were close to zero. The Wizards just needed to be patient and grind out the game to win.

And indeed, that\'s what they did.

At the final buzzer, 99-85, the Wizards secured a three-game winning streak on the road, and with this victory, they moved back into playoff contention.

Post-game interview

"No. 44 was too impressive; I can\'t believe he\'s a rookie. His performance in the second half was dominant, overshadowing even AI." —Larry Brown on Yu Fei.

"I\'m surprised. The guy on the court hasn\'t played basketball for three years; you can\'t imagine someone who hasn\'t played a formal game for three years could still maintain such a high level." —Larry Brown on Jordan, who shot 6 out of 20 for the game.

"At the beginning of the season, everyone thought Michael would be a mentor for the young players on the Wizards, but in a way, it\'s not quite so." —Doug Collins discussing Jordan\'s status on the team.

"I know you want so-called explosive inside stories, but let me tell you, Frye and Michael\'s disputes on the court happen from time to time. You can see similar situations in every game they\'re both strong-willed competitors, and I\'m not worried about it." —Doug Collins on disputes between Yu Fei and Jordan during the game.

"I always hear Frye is Rookie of the Year, but let me tell you, he\'s been the best rookie of the century so far." —Doug Collins on Yu Fei\'s performance.

"You have to trust your teammates; that\'s the only way to fully open up the game." —Michael Jordan discussing the turning point of the game.

"There\'s no problem between me and Frye. I know what kind of person he is, and he knows what kind of person I am. After tonight, this issue is behind us." —Michael Jordan on his dispute with Yu Fei.

"Trust me, Michael is the best mentor in the world; only he can fully unleash the potential of young players." —Allen Iverson praising Jordan.

"Frye, what do you say about the rumors that you and Michael don\'t get along?"

"You know, no one respects MJ more than I do in D.C."

"So, you think it\'s fake news?"

"Yes, definitely, unequivocally fake news."

"Would you like to talk about the argument you and Michael had during tonight\'s game?"

"You know, it\'s because I respect MJ that I doused him with cold water when he wasn\'t in good form. It proved to be very effective. From that moment on, we took control of the game. I don\'t know who else would doubt our relationship is on the rocks; as far as I\'m concerned, that\'s proof of our strong friendship."

"Strong friendship? So, that\'s how you and MJ are now?"

"Yes, I\'ve said it many times before, but I don\'t mind repeating it. MJ is my mentor and a good friend; I will always respect MJ."

— Yu Fei\'s post-game interview