Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1133 - 627: Silence is More Eloquent than Words

Chapter 1133: Chapter 627: Silence is More Eloquent than Words

Time easily leaped from January to February, for some, as quick as a blink of an eye.

But for Fei, this period felt extremely lengthy.

He promptly yielded his tactical position and reduced his number of shots in a short time, allowing the young players to demonstrate their strength, and they subsequently delivered stellar performances, each earning a spot in the All-Star game.

It was also at this time that speculations such as “When will Giannis take the car keys from Fei’s hands?” first emerged.

Without question, Antetokounmpo is the most anticipated young player among the active NBA players.

In his fourth season, he became an all-around frontcourt player with averages of 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists per game.

Certain individuals in Fei’s camp were quite irritated by such remarks.

In their view, Fei would not be replaced, whether he was 35 or 40 years old.

However, for Fei, it was like placing a mirror in his life, compelling him to compare himself to Jordan at 39.

But he found no similarities.

Because he was not old enough.

Though only five years separate 34 and 39, to an athlete, those five years span much more than any other five years. It’s a time when a player officially moves towards the end of their peak and career.

Modern sports rehabilitation science may be able to extend an athlete’s peak period, but the aging of the human body is inevitable.

This is the lesson Fei learned from Jordan.

When the time comes, it’s time to go.

Therefore, he didn’t mind the emergence of such remarks.

He was planning to pass on the baton to Antetokounmpo and Jokić after retirement anyway, and with these comments arising now, the public’s expectations for those two will grow higher after fermenting in the media.

They would face the scrutiny of being the “Greatest of All Time’s successor” sooner.

This is not a bad thing.

But it’s Fei’s friends who were particularly dissatisfied with this.

For example, Quentin DiMio, the president of the Clippers, his assistant Lin Kaiwen, and Anthony Lawson, who currently manages an NBA training camp, they all thought that such comments were deliberately creating a rift within the Clippers in order to replace Fei.

Fei understood their feelings but chose to set the matter aside for the time being.

At the moment, the only thing that matters is to give it all until the arrival of the All-Star weekend.

However, the schedule ahead of the All-Star weekend was quite challenging.

The Clippers needed to face the Warriors, Knicks, Celtics, Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Denver Nuggets in turn.

After Griffin’s return, the Warriors Team’s performance skyrocketed, avenging the Clippers at the Staples Center.

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They were as jubilant as if they had won the championship when they defeated the Clippers.

“It’s just a regular-season game,” Antetokounmpo said, “we won’t take it to heart.”

Then, after defeating the Jazz, they welcomed the Knicks.

Durant was definitely the person most affected by what happened last summer.

It was depressing enough for him to lose to the Clippers in the Finals, not expecting that the Miami Heat would immediately recruit James, instantly disrupting the balance of the Eastern Conference.

Now, the Heat have become the top seed in the Eastern Conference; even though they embarrassed themselves on Christmas Day, and James was chased by the GOAT off the court, none of that concerned Durant.

Durant’s Knicks have been completely defeated by the Heat this season.

Looking back, there were two main problems.

The depth of the roster was insufficient, and Iguodala’s aging was evident.

Although Aldridge was a strong support, he still fell short against James, Curry, Love, and Butler’s Heat.

The consecutive defeats made Durant feel as if this season had nothing to do with him.

Even the League’s promotional machine was touting the possibility of a “Finals showdown between Fei and LeBron.”

Durant wanted to keep a low profile, but he played basketball in a city where it was impossible to do so.

Additionally, Nike wouldn’t allow him to stay under the radar.

The pressure from the Big Apple City exhausted Durant; the ineffective coaching staff seemed to become a problem for the team, Phil Jackson’s dominion in New York was faltering, and Durant wanted to do something.

Thus, he frequently made headlines for various comments recently.

“You can’t expect me to play 48 minutes every game and still win championships.”

“Is the competition in the West really that intense? You might be right, but I am skeptical about it.”

“How can Fei still survive here?”

The last sentence became the latest headline news.

It sounded as though Durant was cursing Fei, but that was not the case.

When Durant felt discontent with his life, he realized Fei had been living this way for fifteen years.

Even amid team troubles, Durant never saw that guy show the slightest sign of slack.

This spurred his shocking statement.

Tonight, he had the chance to ask Fei this question in person.

“The reason you think this way is because for the past few years, you’ve basically been wasting time.”

Last season’s MVP thought he hadn’t wasted his time, but the GOAT had reasons for saying so.

“Only when you feel what you’re doing is meaningless, will you feel the things in front of you are a torment. If you really win, you’ll become addicted to that sensation.”

Fei’s words made Durant reflect.

Then he asked, “But you’ve already won ten championships; are you telling me you’re still addicted to victory, how many times is enough for you?”

“I don’t know,” GOAT said in a somewhat grandstanding tone, “Maybe I’m just waiting for someone who can beat me to appear.”

Beating the GOAT?

When Durant left Seattle, he indeed harbored that goal.