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

In Durant's heart, a rebellious mentality and the desire to be himself suddenly took over.


Then came their opponents, the Brooklyn Nets, who sent Howard into the game early in the second quarter, hoping to unleash his dominance as the league's leading center.


It was an era of decline for centers and of traditions being discarded.


Howard's arch-nemesis, Yao Ming, had become a center who primarily shot from the outside, with low-post plays as a secondary option.


When centers were required to step out, their rebounding numbers dropped. With the Timberwolves' number two draft pick, Greg Oden, who was once claimed to have more talent than Durant, out for the season early on due to another ACL injury, the league's talent at center was in jeopardy.


The traditionally-minded Howard was the only center currently averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game.


Yet things did not go as the Nets had hoped.


Chapter 550 The World of Important Figures_2