Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 522 - 362 Your Mother’s Kiss

Chapter 522: Chapter 362 Your Mother’s Kiss

Amelia Nichols? Her last name immediately reminded Yu Fei of the mayor of Seattle—Greg Nichols.

Given her age, to attend an event like this typically meant she was a relative of some high-ranked official, and here, those with the surname Nichols were generally related to the mayor.

After their conversation, the answer didn’t surprise Yu Fei.

Amelia was the mayor’s niece, and considering this relationship, along with her striking physical attributes, Yu Fei thought it necessary to deepen their acquaintance.

When Mayor Greg Nichols appeared, he was just as Yu Fei had seen on television and in the newspapers—obese, with enough flesh on his face to drown his chin.

Just like all American politicians, he delivered an impassioned speech before the banquet, listing all the welfare plans he had devised for Seattle since becoming mayor.

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Then, he schmoozed with the guests, speaking to each person as if he were the groom at a wedding.

Yu Fei’s arrival was a highlight of the evening. It could be said that none of the guests had a tenth of his national influence. Even in Seattle, Yu Fei was the savior of the SuperSonics, with 900,000 fans.

For Nichols, Yu Fei’s national influence wasn’t important, but the 900,000 Seattleites behind him were.

He would seek his third term as mayor in a few years, and by then, if he could get Yu Fei’s support, his chances of reelection would increase significantly.

“I’ve always said, a true Seattleite, no matter where he wanders, as long as he’s still breathing, he’s still a Seattleite,” Nichols said to Yu Fei. “Frye, you’ve successfully embodied this saying.”

Yu Fei wanted to say that he was a Kentite, just as James considered himself an Akron Person.

But the difference was, James emphasized his Akron roots with a mindset of both having and wanting—to not let go of his connection with Cleveland, not willing to abandon the identity of the city’s savior; yet by stressing his Akron origin, he could rebut those who accused him of forsaking his hometown in the future: I am a boy from Akron, what obligation do I have to Cleveland?

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Yu Fei didn’t stress that he was a Kentite, because over the years, the support from the Seattle area had given him a strong sense of affection. Therefore, even if he were considered a Seattleite, he didn’t mind.

“But, Mr. Mayor, there’s a team that was born in Seattle, nearly 40 years old now, facing relocation due to poor management. Don’t you think we should lend them a hand?” Yu Fei didn’t intend to beat around the bush with a politician, or else he would show up and explain why ‘Yes, Prime Minister’ is a masterpiece.

He would express his concern and then keep expressing it, waiting until it was too late to say he would have liked to help, but it was already too late.

“Uncle, why can’t we build a big and beautiful stadium for the SuperSonics?” Amelia added fervently.

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Today was a day for happiness, and Nichols didn’t want to discuss those troublesome issues.

“Frye, it’s really a matter of choice.” Nichols glanced at the brand-new office building, “What do you think, why would the citizens agree to spend their money on building such a beautiful edifice?”

With deference, Yu Fei said, “Because Seattle is prospering under your leadership.”

“I’m flattered,” Nichols said proudly. “Indeed, I’ve done some modest work, not much, but enough to satisfy most people, and they’re willing to let us move out of the old office building. So, returning to the issue of the SuperSonics’ arena, when our taxpayers know that your team earns a hundred million US dollars a year, how do you think we should convince them to build a new stadium with their money for those damn rich folks?”

“Isn’t this how our society operates? We give money to rich people to make even more money,” Yu Fei countered. “Don’t they know that the federal government subsidizes businesses across the nation with a hundred billion US dollars every year?”

“It’s a matter of perception,” Nichols said. “The way you put it, they see it as a numbers game. But if we tell them that the city government is going to finance hundreds of millions of dollars to build an arena for an obscenely rich team, they will get angry. At the end of the day, it’s public opinion, and we respect the people’s choice.”

In that moment, Yu Fei understood what Bennett meant during their negotiations when he said “at most only 900,000 people (support the SuperSonics).”

Even if optimistically, there were 900,000 people supporting the SuperSonics’ new arena, Seattle had a population of 3 million, which meant another implication was that over 2.1 million Seattleites didn’t support it.

“So why were they willing to support the construction of new stadiums for the Seahawks and Mariners?” Yu Fei asked.

However, Nichols didn’t delve deeper with Yu Fei.

“Frye, I think you need to take a broader view to understand this,” Nichols suggested.

Then Nichols walked toward a black man who appeared to be in his sixties or seventies.

That was the first African-American mayor in Seattle’s history and also Nichols’ former boss.

“Frye, I believe my uncle is supportive of you,” Amelia said naively. “But he is not in control.”

Yu Fei asked with a smile, “Do you support me?”

“Of course,” Amelia said. “I’ve been a fan of the SuperSonics since the Gary Payton era.”

“I don’t believe you,” Yu Fei said, his eyes piercing Amelia aggressively. “Not unless you prove it to me.”

※※※

The SuperSonics’ first defeat of the new season came sooner than expected.

After defeating the Bobcats in the second game, where Yu Fei scored 44 points, the third game saw them being trashed by the Suns.

It was a game where they stood no chance.

The opponents were on fire, while aside from a few key players who managed to respond, everyone else was lost.

122 to 99

It had been a while since Yu Fei had suffered such a crushing loss.

However, no matter how you put it, it was just a regular-season game; sleep it off, and the hurdle would be crossed.

But some people were not having an easy time.

Aside from the opening game against the Bucks, Durant struggled in the following two games like he was the “NBA player most deserving to be swept into the garbage heap.”

With Rashard Lewis out for half a month due to an injury sustained during training, Karl didn’t opt to play Durant in the shooting guard position to get accustomed to the physicality as Yu Fei had known.

The success against the Bucks had Karl hooked on the strategy of playing with a small power forward alongside Yu Fei in pick-and-rolls.

Danny Granger made his way up like this, but Durant was different from Granger. Granger had experience playing as a power forward in college, so there wasn’t much of a problem when he played as an undersized four in the NBA. Durant, on the other hand, with his weakling strength that couldn’t even lift the minimum weight on the bench press, was a disaster at the power forward position in the NBA.

The physicality and confrontation of the power forward position were enough to disorient Durant, leading to performances like 4 of 15 and 6 of 16 shooting, which made people doubt whether he really had the potential of a superstar.

Then Yu Fei suggested to Karl to put Durant at shooting guard and start either James Posey or Channing Frye at the power forward.

Karl opted for Posey, and the SuperSonics immediately improved, embarking on a winning streak of five games before starting a five-game road trip.

However, this road trip included not only rising powerhouses like the Magic but also the highly anticipated season’s first face-off between the SuperSonics and the Cavaliers.

Ever since Yu Fei personally “kicked” James off Team USA in Las Vegas, their conflict had become public.

Yet, Yu Fei’s dominant performances left James at a complete disadvantage, with Nike’s media machinery unable to mount a direct challenge.

This was because Yu Fei was now flawless in every aspect.

In terms of history, Yu Fei currently held a 24-game winning streak against James.

In terms of image, Yu Fei’s earlier controversies had been completely washed away by his exploits of four championships in five years, joining Team USA, and the heroic act of sacrificing a chance for a three-peat to save the SuperSonics.

In terms of commercial value, Yu Fei was invincible in the Asian market and had also overtaken James in the United States.

Under these circumstances, James’ camp could only counterattack defensively in the media and patiently wait for Yu Fei to slip up.

But Yu Fei hadn’t given them any new ammunition for several years.

In such an atmosphere, it’s fair to say that basketball fans nationwide were waiting for their matchup.

Meanwhile, Yu Fei cut off these distractions and traveled to Orlando with the team.

In the evening, they entered the arena to warm up.

Before the start of the game, Yu Fei tossed the ball to Durant, challenging him to a one-on-one.

This was a routine before every game.

However, Yu Fei’s approach to one-on-one was not a playful game; he was serious, intent on blowing Durant away and trash-talking him at the same time.

Today, Yu Fei felt an exceptionally strong urge to attack.

He first made a jump shot in front of Durant, then bypassed his defense with a single step to dunk for points.

“KD, is it because your mom isn’t here that you’re off your game?” Yu Fei asked oppressively. “Do you want to call her and get a kiss from her over the phone?”

Kevin Durant was the only NBA player who would kiss his mother’s cheek before the start of every home game.

Durant was visibly affected and responded softly, “No, there’s no need.”