Silent Love

Some exist with pride, others struggle with pride, some compete with pride, and there are those who fail with pride, but very few can walk away with pride. 
Congratulations, for as you read these lines, you have witnessed the whole lives of many great basketball players.
This pronunciation was embodied when Stephen Curry, after facing defeat in 2021, claimed that no one would want to face them the following season; When Tim Duncan was convinced before the start of the 2014 Finals that they would not mess up; When Kobe Bryant promised at Old Buss's memorial to take the Lakers to the playoffs; When Nowitzki, shedding his label as a soft player, retreated to the locker room in tears at night; When Kevin Garnett let out a skyward howl after holding the championship trophy; When the 2004 Detroit Pistons won and the F4 Lakers lost…

Our story begins in an era when pride still mattered.

Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

When people discovered that the Supersonics' record matched that of the '96 Bulls at the same time, the pursuit of historical records became a common aspiration.


After all, it's been 13 years since the '96 Bulls.


One could say fans have changed more than just one generation.


Apart from Bulls fans, few look back on the '96 Bulls' games; everyone knows this history, but history exists to propel people forward.


Focusing solely on history itself is destined to be boring.


Fans want to witness brand-new history.


This gave the Supersonics a burden—the world's expectation was that, even if they couldn't break the '96 Bulls' record, they should at least match it.


However, what people didn't realize was that the competitive environment the Supersonics faced was much more intense than that of the '96 Bulls.


The '96 Bulls' Eastern Conference had only themselves and the 60-win Magic; beyond that was the 52-win Pacers, with the rest all under 50 wins.


Chapter 452: Setting Up for Summer