Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1145 - 631 He Still Wants More
Chapter 1145 -631 He Still Wants More
April had just started, the Clippers had just ended their road trip, returning to their home court when ESPN broke the news: “Brandon Roy announces his season is over due to injury!”
Shortly after, a reporter close to Roy revealed: “Brandon Roy is considering retirement.”
Yu Fei wasn’t certain if Roy would truly retire.
But he knew he had changed Roy’s career as much as he possibly could in his own way.
That night, Yu Fei called Roy.
Roy admitted he was thinking about retirement.
Yu Fei thought he didn’t need to push himself any longer.
“A player who can only play a third of the season doesn’t need to keep struggling. Retire, stop tormenting your fans,” Yu Fei said mercilessly.
“Listen, no one can decide when I retire unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless you lose to LeBron in this year’s finals,” Roy said, “If you lose, even LeBron beating someone like you has happened, I think I’d be totally okay playing until my contract ends.”
“Don’t you think that’s a bit unfair to KD? They might not necessarily lose to Miami.”
Roy laughed: “Yeah, I might have underestimated New York, but anyone who knows basketball knows Miami is the best in the Eastern Conference, KD doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Yes,” Yu Fei said with a pain in his heart, “just like anyone who knows basketball knows that you can’t go on!”
Hearing this, Roy got angry, and the call ended with both of them cursing at each other.
The next day, Roy sent Yu Fei a message: “As you wish, I’m retiring.”
To say that Yu Fei felt no ripples in his heart would be impossible.
Roy was the first NBA player to keep in touch with him after he started his second life.
They met at a Seattle-area invitational game, and it’s been 17 years now.
Yu Fei remembered what Roy was like in the beginning and his brilliance in the NBA. Today, 17 years later, he has decided to end his career, and Yu Fei fully supports his decision.
A great player should know when to leave, rather than being forgotten in their original form.
Yu Fei, of course, knows that if Roy kept his current attendance rate, he could go on, but what’s the point? Does it mean anything to him or to the fans?
Now, Roy had made his decision.
This was serious.
Yu Fei believed Roy was not joking about this.
So, Yu Fei responded, “Congratulations, brother, you had a great career.”
A few minutes later, Roy sent another message.
“Don’t lose to LeBron.”
“When have you seen me lose to him?”
“Not too long ago…”
“!@#￥!#￥”
Right now, only Yu Fei knew about Roy’s decision to retire.
Although Roy’s departure didn’t affect the landscape of the NBA, for the Trail Blazers and Reebok, this matter was still up for discussion.
Reebok needed to redraft Roy’s contract, and the Trail Blazers needed to offload the remaining two years of Roy’s contract at the smallest cost.
Only after these issues were sorted out could Roy’s decision be made public.
But one thing was certain, the die was cast, Roy’s player career was over.
Time entered April, and the Clippers lost to the Spurs in the first game of the new moon, thereby falling two games behind the Miami Heat.
With less than ten regular-season games left, it wasn’t easy to make the Heat lose three more games while keeping an undefeated record.
In other words, Miami Heat had a high probability of locking in the league’s first place.
As a result, Stephen Curry, averaging 27 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, had his MVP firmly secured.
Since the hope of contending for the league’s first place wasn’t high, the Clippers started giving more opportunities to role players.
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Seth Curry, who had been honing his skills for a season in the Development League, proved to be a revelation.
At the start of the season, Yu Fei had suggested to Rivers to give him a chance, but back then he was like a startled deer on the court, utterly unprepared.
Now, he looked the same physically, but his mindset had become much steadier.
As a substitute, Little Curry contributed a 50% three-point shooting rate, ensuring the offensive flow with effective pick-and-rolls whenever the ball was in his hands.
At the same time, the coaching staff discovered another bonus: his defensive contributions exceeded everyone’s expectations.
Little Curry, like his great brother, was undersized and couldn’t compensate with exceptional athletic ability, destined not to be an average defender. But his understanding of the game was on point – ready to intercept the opponent’s passes on his tiptoes.
He was adept at predicting the offensive side’s next move, and he usually succeeded.
Giannis Antetokounmpo liked him; Little Curry created many highlight-worthy blocks for the Greek in double-team defenses, and while Little Curry would often appear to be the prey for rough players, feigning as a target to lower their guard, as soon as they thought the scoring opportunity had come, the Greek Freak would swoop down from the heavens and pull them back to reality.
This reminded Yu Fei of his own brother, the Curry who was a rare defender, controlling these uniquely talented players just like his younger brother could. He would pounce on a player as if going all in, but it was just a ruse—a psychological game. When the offense quickly passed the ball to the other side, the Curry brother was already there ready to steal the ball.
It was precisely these performances that secured Little Curry’s spot in the Clippers’ bench rotation.
If Little Curry’s performance was a pleasant surprise, then Siakam gradually showing his NCAA prowess towards the end of the season was astonishing.
