Chapter 530 Ascending the Throne
From a statistical point of view, compared to the Western Conference Finals, Yu Fei may be the player who has "regressed" the most in the Sonics team.
He averaged a near-triple-double in the Western Conference Finals, averaging 47 points per game. Whether it was scoring per game or scoring 50 points in three consecutive games, it was an unprecedented performance.
In the finals, due to the lack of competitiveness of the Celtics, Yu Fei won without much effort.
But this will not affect the ownership of FMVP.
Yu Fei still won his seventh FMVP trophy with a triple-double of 26 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists per game.
Just as Yu Fei was being awarded the award, the TV stations received news from Seattle.
SuperSonics' financing plan has been approved by the Seattle city government.
This also means that the Sonics are really here to stay.
In the summer of 2007, Yu Fei, who returned to Seattle in the name of saving the Sonics, officially completed his mission today.
This will become one of the important footnotes in his quest for the GOAT.
GOAT
This is the greatest significance of this championship to Fei.
Before that, his number of championships was equal to Jordan's. Although he actually won the championship for four consecutive years, it is difficult to say that it was greater than Jordan's two and three consecutive championships.
And now, he has his own three consecutive championships, and he has won the championship for five consecutive years. In terms of continuity, he has won the championship seven times in eight years.
Jordan, who entered the league in 1984, ascended the throne in 1998, after fourteen years.
Even taking away his baseball vacation, he played twelve and a half years.
It took him twelve and a half years to become the first person in history. If Yu Fei spent more time than him to surpass his results, he would still be questioned.
Of course, he could also market himself as the longest river, but what’s the point?
In competitive sports, the strong is king, and everyone competes to reach the top.
It took Yu Fei nine years to surpass Jordan's honors in the NBA. Putting aside other aspects, in this regard, he is already the GOAT of modern basketball.
Therefore, when the FMVP trophy was awarded to him on the spot, the host asked: "Do you think you are the greatest basketball player of all time?"
"I would never say that."
Yu Fei held the FMVP trophy and said to the old man who had the naming rights of the trophy: "Russell has more championships than me. If you take the number of championships as the benchmark, he is the best basketball player in history."
This is Boston and Russell is their hero.
Yu Fei ruined Boston's championship dream twice, but his speech was supported by the fans at the scene.
At this moment, they gave Yu Fei applause and cheers.
Then, Yu Fei said: "However, I won't mind if others say that I am a better basketball player than No. 23."
"!@￥!@#￥"
The reaction was intense. The host jokingly asked: "The number 23 you are talking about is not LeBron, right?"
"Of course not, and I think No. 23 doesn't want to see him continue to wear No. 23."
In this way, the Sonics' coronation ceremony ended in a relatively friendly atmosphere.
Next comes “settlement time.”
Reebok will not miss this golden opportunity. With his seventh crown, Yu Fei will exorcise the ghost of Chicago and officially reach the top, becoming a "living GOAT".
Setting that tone requires pretty strong media relations.
Fortunately, it's not just Reebok who needs Yu Fei to take the lead.
It can be said that under this sky, every force related to professional basketball needs Yu Fei to reach the top.
Yu Fei has been the face of the league for more than five years, and Stern hopes to create another giant before he retires.
The era of Jordan is gone, and the new era will be led by Fei.
So the alliance will add fuel to the fire.
The media related to Yu Fei and even the stakeholders who actively cooperate with him feel that the time is ripe.
Then, there are those neutrals with righteous hearts.
The positive impact of Yu Fei's team defeating the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals cannot be overstated.
The Lakers are called the Evil Empire for a reason.
Even on the most unruly field, amateurs all agree that those who are better at playing shouldn't be on the same team, but Kejan's initiative to team up broke this tacit understanding.
Especially for the bosses, they found out that Gilbert was kneeling and licking James so much, but in the end he was abandoned like a dog. Not only that, James abandoned him and wanted to show off this heartbreaking decision so that the whole world would know that he was moving the capital.
Such behavior aroused widespread resentment among the management group. They did not show it, but seeing the Lakers end up like this, everyone applauded Yu Fei.
Therefore, these most powerful people in the NBA are also willing to let Yu Fei become the GOAT.
It was the resonance of heaven and earth, the resonance of the universe, and it was how Jordan felt in 1998, when he thought his Bulls would dominate until Jerry Reinsdorf decided to end them.
So he retired.
That was the most perfect ending a superstar could have, but the reason why it was perfect was because Jordan himself didn't want to retire.
So he will come back in D.C.
Jordan never expected that he would become a bridge to build the next generation in D.C. Yu Fei, whom he personally traded, would replace him eight years later.
Thus, the campaign to ascend to the gods began.
Time Magazine selected Yu Fei as one of the 20 most influential people of our time.
Yu Fei is the only person in the sports world to be selected.
David Brooks, a conservative critic of the New York Times, wrote in his "Half-Year Review" column: "Stanford senior guard Jeremy Lin said 'Frye is their Ali, Jay Gay and MJ'. In the past, Asians were never a body. But today, the protagonist of our era is an Asian. But this era began five years ago, but we don’t realize how far he has gone until today. The sooner you realize who this era belongs to. , the more you can enjoy the fun of this era.”
The Washington Post began to review Yu Fei’s rookie season in D.C.
They were "surprised" to discover that Yu Fei's greatness had already been foreshadowed.
But at that time, no one could realize it.
"Frye could have led D.C. to seven championships. How long will it take for us to get over the loss of this trade?"
"Sports Illustrated" is the most direct media. They will select Fei as the cover of the last issue of the magazine in June, and write in capital letters on the cover: The Greatest of All Time.
Moreover, they also sent Gary Smith, who made Yu Fei famous with his article "The Chosen One", to write a special article for Yu Fei again nine years later.
To this end, Smith contacted Yu Fei and wanted to conduct an exclusive interview.
Yu Fei readily agreed.
Along the way, many people have helped Tai Fei, and Smith is one of them. If the other party hadn't built momentum for him, he would have never been able to enter the scouts' field of vision and enter the top ten picks in the draft with his one-year outbreak. Bit. Various propaganda and public opinions have officially placed Yu Fei on the highest throne.
On the NBA's official website, among Yu Fei's nicknames, "GOAT" ranks before "The Chosen", becoming his biggest label.
Although some loyal fans of Jordan try to defend Jordan's divinity, Yu Fei's rise is based on surpassing Jordan in all aspects.
Yu Fei surpassed Jordan in terms of the number of championships and various MVP awards.
Although Jordan has more scoring titles, Yu Fei is the holder of the single-game scoring record in the playoffs, and not long ago completed the feat of scoring 50 points in three consecutive games in the Western Conference Finals.
In fact, scoring the title is the only advantage Jordan's supporters can bring to the table. In terms of comprehensiveness, Yu Fei not only leads in rebounds and assists, but also has three seasons where he averaged a triple-double per game.
In the playoffs, Yu Fei's average points, rebounds and assists per game completely suppressed Jordan. In terms of records, from the 71 points in a single game against James to the recent 50-point performance in three consecutive games in the Western Conference Finals, Yu Fei far surpassed Jordan.
When it comes to the impact on the game, Jordan at most changed people's understanding of shooting guards, while the "space basketball" brought by Yu Fei changed the operation method and logic of basketball games.
The revolution in the way basketball is played has been gradual since its inception. The winning logic in the Jordan era is not much different from the winning logic in the George Mikan era, but in the era of flying, space and speed will determine everything.
Then as mentioned earlier, Yu Fei reached a higher altitude in less time.
This is a standard, speechless way to surpass Michael Jordan.
Yu Fei surpassed Jordan in every indicator on the basketball court.
Even the cultural influence that Qiao Chui is proud of, it is difficult to say who is greater.
Because the black people represented by Jordan have super sports stars in every era, while the yellow people, or Asians, represented by Yu Fei, have always been a disadvantaged group in the sports world in the United States.
It happened that such a weak group killed a giant.
In just a few days, Yu Fei has been confirmed as the new GOAT.
What about Jordan, the former GOAT?
He wanted to keep a low profile, but couldn't.
Because of his grievances with Yu Fei, Yu Fei became more and more famous, and he became more and more a clown in public opinion.
Jordan must stand up and speak for himself.
Moreover, he can't be too deliberate.
In mid-June, Jordan was "accidentally" interviewed by a local television station while attending a golf celebrity tournament in the Charlotte area.
He talked about many things.
"For me, the most important thing is to succeed in the position of boss." Jordan said, "But first, we must create a healthy operating environment."
Then, he briefly mentioned the topic of GOAT.
"I don't like this word." Jordan said with disgust when referring to "GOAT". "It embarrasses me. Because I have never played against some outstanding seniors, such as Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. I wouldn't let anyone call me 'GOAT' in this situation."
"And if you're going to be the 'GOAT,' I think it definitely needs some metrics."
"For example, in my era, by myself and the outstanding players of my generation, we increased the average salary of players tenfold in ten years. That was a great era." Jordan said proudly, "I think it's really GOAT' should do something similar, not just personal success, but also drive the entire industry to success. ”
Finally, the reporter asked: "What do you think of Frye saying after winning FMVP that he wouldn't mind others saying he is better than No. 23?"
"I don't mind either." Jordan sold his little brother very simply, "He is indeed better than LeBron."
Jordan's response caused some waves in the GOAT debate.
But the results won't change.
Those who are devoted to Jordan will never admit that Yu Fei is the GOAT under any circumstances. The most important thing is what neutral parties think.
The reality is that neutral people also think Yu Fei is the GOAT.
So, the debate is over.
From now on, there will be no debate about who is the GOAT between Yu Fei and Jordan, there will only be topics about how Yu Fei is the GOAT.
When the outside world was turbulent, Yu Fei was on vacation.
He wanted to rest for a few days.
The SuperSonics management did not have much time to celebrate the three consecutive championships and the approval of the financing plan.
Sam Presti began preparing for this year's draft as soon as the season ended.
One of the main problems exposed by the Sonics in the playoffs this year is the lack of shooters.
But the Lakers' failure made Presti realize that pure shooters are too easy to be inaccurate in high-end games. 3D may be the answer to space basketball.
Therefore, the Sonics' goal is to add 3D players in the draft, followed by shooters, and then the No. 1 substitute.
However, it is not easy to make reinforcements, because the Sonics only have the 29th pick in the first round and the 29th pick in the second round. It takes luck to pick a talent in a draft that is obviously too big and too small. of.
While the management of each team is focusing on the draft, the undercurrent behind the league is surging.
The conflict between labor and management has become extremely acute during the All-Star weekend.
At that time, the two sides did not reach any consensus.
The capital originally wanted to wait until the new television broadcast agreement takes effect next season before breaking up. However, the Sonics' $500 million financing plan and financial report after the end of the season shocked those small market teams that were losing money.
According to the financial report, after excluding basic expenses and a large luxury tax, the Sonics made the most money in the league in the playoffs. After one season, the net profit reached 140 million US dollars.
You know, these profits do not need to be shared with other teams.
Under such circumstances, Clay Bennett, the owner of the SuperSonics, actually advocated on behalf of the big-market teams to cut expenditures during the All-Star Weekend and take money out of the pockets of the labor force?
Yu Fei was on vacation when he received a call from the union.
"Fry!" Union President Derek Fisher said urgently, "We have to prepare for the worst!"
Yu Fei asked: "What is the worst preparation?"
"When necessary, we must have the determination and belief to shut down." Fisher said, "This is the biggest card in our hand."
"I understand." Yu Fei said, "Do what you should do."
In Yu Fei's memory, the NBA did have a lockout in the 2010s, but he couldn't remember the exact time because he was only 6 years old when the lockout occurred in his previous life.
Therefore, he only had a vague impression. He did not know how the lockout started and ended. He did not know that because of his existence, the NBA's timeline had completely changed. The Sonics did not move. The league signed more expected players last year. The large television broadcast contract and the existence of upstarts like Bennett have greatly stimulated conflicts between labor and management.
This is a brewing storm.
Above the water, everyone was calm and well, preparing for the upcoming 2010 NBA Draft in an orderly manner.
(End of chapter)