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

Doug Collins had just uttered that closing remark when James was not far away from him.


For James, tonight's game wouldn't bother him.


Outsiders might never know the true significance for him of finally defeating Yu Fei during their second encounter against the Supersonics.


They would only recount those clichéd stories.


Sure, defeating Yu Fei was important, but did they truly understand the importance of it?


It was a curse and a nightmare; when you can defeat everyone else but constantly lose to the same person, that person becomes your demon.


James's greatest fear was, having left everything to join Kobe in Los Angeles, what would he do if he still couldn't defeat Yu Fei in the end?


That victory let him experience the feeling of overcoming Yu Fei.


Most importantly, it was the first encounter.


With the first experience under his belt, everything thereafter would be much easier.


James wouldn't consider tonight's loss to the Supersonics as another failure.


Chapter 492: Frye's Etiquette Class (Unified)