Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters
Chapter 915 915 552 Hell is a Playground_3

Chapter 915: Chapter 552 Hell is a Playground_3 Chapter 915: Chapter 552 Hell is a Playground_3 Yu Fei could see what he was thinking and purposely facilitated it.

The two Lakers didn’t seem to be in a competitive mood either, and everyone maintained a facade of harmony.

This was a golden opportunity to win glory, and with Yu Fei’s help, Durant scored 22 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 3 assists in the second half.

Then, the organizers started to show their sense of humor.

Two NBA legends took the stage to give speeches.

One was “Magic Johnson,” and the other was Dr. J.

What was funny was the pretext for Magic Johnson’s appearance to give a speech.

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They were paying tribute to Magic Johnson, who announced that he had contracted the HIV virus in November 1991, and commemorated his return to the All-Star Game in Orlando a few months later with a video.

Was this something worth honoring? Yu Fei didn’t know.

But he thought that Dr. J, who had a legendary story about fathering an illegitimate daughter who became a tennis player after choosing to console the doctor in a different way because a female reporter who had provided long-term presidential services of the Clinton caliber was wearing braces at that time, was more worthy of honor, wasn’t he?

Anyway, when Magic Johnson appeared, the entire audience stood up and applauded as a gesture of respect.

Twenty years later, Magic Johnson’s physique looked as bloated as a black version of Patrick Star, but he was still addicted to the lights, the applause, and the cheers of the crowd.

Some people are destined to live in this real Cyberspace.

Only here can they truly be themselves.

“I don’t understand,” Durant said coldly as he watched the scene, “What’s so honorable about contracting the HIV virus? What is there to honor?”

Yu Fei jokingly said, “He’s used his sexual happiness in the first half of his life to remind us to take precautions before doing bad things. Doesn’t that deserve some respect?”

Durant was not amused and indifferently replied, “If it were me, I’d find a place to bury myself.”

“How odd,” Yu Fei laughed, “Kevin Durant just said something that sounds like something Kevin Durant would do.”

“You think you understand Kevin Durant better than Kevin Durant himself?”

“Perhaps.”

In the second half, Yu Fei continued to pass the ball to Durant.

When someone is in good form, their shots can go in no matter how they shoot.

By the end of the third quarter, Durant already had 40 points.

In the end, he didn’t go for the 50-point milestone.

Because the Eastern All-Star Team was far behind, Durant secured the AMVP early and didn’t need to score anymore.

Coach Lu knew that NBA stars are arrogant madmen; they were willing to let Durant have his moment, but if Durant demanded too much, they would feel uncomfortable.

So Coach Lu decided to quit while ahead.

He only played Durant for a few minutes in the fourth quarter before subbing him out and bringing in other players who hadn’t had much opportunity earlier.

The remaining time turned into a pure exhibition.

Yu Fei pulled off some streetball moves, Curry launched logo three-pointers, Westbrook executed tomahawk dunks, and Reebok’s stars took advantage of the last minutes, making the otherwise meaningless garbage time enjoyable.

In the end, the Western All-Star Team won a big victory over the Eastern All-Star Team by 22 points.

Durant scored 45 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, easily lifting the AMVP trophy.

“Some say KD is among the top ten talents in the League this year. I disagree,” Yu Fei said, “He’s at least top five.”

Yu Fei’s compliment to Durant was initially just the icing on the cake, a final assist. Nike would regard tonight’s game as a small victory.

After years of waiting, Durant was finally ready to carry the flag.

But looking at Durant helping Yu Fei build his career, every Nike executive had a strong desire to change the status quo.

This desire turned into concrete action under the counterattack from Reebok.

Reebok legend Allen Iverson arrogantly stated, “I believe this is a good thing for KD, but as you can see, the highlights after the game are mostly about Frye, Stephen, and the others. KD is like Nike now, lacking creativity, he’s just a scoring machine. I’m serious, this guy needs to change himself, or sooner or later, he will become an unwanted product just like Nike.”

Just as Nike wanted to use all their strength to stifle Reebok’s growth, Reebok would spare no effort to belittle Nike.

Initially, Reebok wanted to use Yu Fei to issue some condescending comments externally, to imply that Durant could only get the AMVP because he didn’t want to.

However, Yu Fei was someone who didn’t like being told what to do.

The Supersonics already had enough internal issues, he wouldn’t create another out of thin air.

So he did the opposite.

Reebok wouldn’t blame Yu Fei, after all, they were bound together; Yu Fei was Reebok, Reebok was Yu Fei, but in front of the collective interests of the company, Reebok wouldn’t hold back their attack on Nike out of consideration for the competitive power of the Supersonics.

Durant was Nike’s hope for the 2010s, so it made sense to target him.

Therefore, Iverson, the financially troubled legend, stepped up to the plate when offered a lucrative incentive.

What’s wrong with criticizing a youngster who has no connection to him? No, Durant should thank him.

Nike was crap already, wasn’t it?

A fire had started, and Reebok came to the fore, taking Nike’s former position with an offensive stance.

A large part of the anti-Nike sentiment shifted toward Durant.

Social media’s permeation into the real world is ubiquitous, and no public figure is spared.

The playground in Orlando turned into hell.

Perhaps, hell was always a playground.