Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters-Chapter 1014 - 586 The Scepter
Chapter 1014: Chapter 586: The Scepter Chapter 1014: Chapter 586: The Scepter For the Clippers, this was undeniably a successful season.
Yu Fei sparked the same frenzy in California as the Seattle SuperSonics had once sparked in the State of Washington.
Considering the commercial added value of Los Angeles, the Clippers’ rapid growth trend in business was even more astonishing. Starting from the first week of the regular season, the Clippers had succeeded in all metrics. Season ticket sales, player merchandise, memorabilia revenue, social media search trends… in this rapidly changing era, they reached the peak in every indicator related to “traffic.”
In many ways, they had surpassed the Lakers and become the most watched franchise team in Los Angeles. For a team that was struggling in disgrace last season, this was like a dream come true.
The media couldn’t figure out whether this was a chain reaction brought about by the Greatest of All Time, or the luck brought about by Donald Sterling’s stepping down.
But Yu Fei knew clearly in his heart that anything less than a championship was a failure. A solitary triumph in the season would not add brilliance to his career; at most, it just avoided making this year a blot on his resume.
From his perspective, this was far from enough.
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“From a historical perspective, stopping at the division finals is a failure for me.” Yu Fei boasted in a way that ordinary people couldn’t understand, “I won’t make excuses. This year’s failure is my responsibility, I could have done better.”
The media really couldn’t understand how a player who averaged 38 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists in the division finals could have done better.
Unlike Yu Fei, Rivers believed this was a breakthrough season for the Clippers, one of historic significance.
“Before this year, being a part of the Clippers was a disgrace for professional players; no one wanted to play for us. But after this year, that history is over. We have changed the world’s entrenched negative view of this perennially failing team, which for us is a great success!” Rivers always knew how to inspire people. “For me, this is not the end; our goal is to reach the heights Frye once touched in Seattle!”
Rivers’ words reminded people of Seattle’s “Empire.”
If this was Rivers’ goal, it was undoubtedly an amazing one. But he also said that this ceiling had been proven achievable by Yu Fei. The fact that the Greatest of All Time led the Clippers to the division finals this year, didn’t that prove the existence of that ceiling?
Just give him the right teammates, and he could make the Clippers soar.
So, the media inquired, “Does the Clippers have any plans for this summer?”
“Well…” Rivers said with a smile, “I have nothing to disclose!”
That evening, Griffin walked out of the media interview room alone. Once, he was the most popular interviewee for the Clippers, but now, everyone had lost interest in this “quitter” who failed at a critical moment.
The Western semifinals against the Warriors Team was the peak of Griffin’s reputation. Had he been injured then and consequently missed the Western finals, the public’s perception of him might have been much better. But who could have imagined that, at his peak, Griffin would pose no threat to Duncan?
He even needed the Greatest of All Time to confront Duncan inside.
If he needed the Greatest of All Time to do these things, what use was he as a teammate?
His poor performance against the Spurs severely damaged Griffin’s reputation. Now, he was the subject of street gossip as the “softie who dared not take strong shots in front of Old Duncan,” and leaving the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury tonight further tarnished his image.
At that critical moment, the team needed him to stay in the game, but he chose what seemed to be the most reasonable decision.
No one could blame his choice, but no one could accept the result on behalf of the fans.
Especially those long-suffering Clippers fans, who didn’t want this fairy-tale season to end like this. They hoped that Griffin could at least stand up like a man tonight and help block Pau Gasol with the Greatest of All Time, but he didn’t.
Griffin could feel that disappointment.
When asked, “Did you consider continuing to play despite the injury?” he hesitated.
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“I am not a medical expert,” Griffin gave the official answer. “Only the doctor can decide whether I could continue playing, and the situation at that time was… the doctor didn’t allow me to stay on the court.”
In places with massive traffic, such seemingly rational decisions are always the least popular.
Especially in a team like the Clippers, which has never been related to rationality.
The next day, a presumed Yu Fei fan and big Clippers supporter sarcastically commented on Twitter, pushing it to the trending topics: “If Brandon Roy had also chosen to listen to the doctors back then, the Seattle SuperSonics empire would never be what we see today.”
This was Griffin’s dilemma; he had to face these irrational, unfounded accusations.
The internal Clippers team was quite optimistic about it.
Especially the coaching staff and management, who thought that achieving this result was already performing above their level.
The most delighted was the team’s owner, Steve Ballmer.
The broadcasting contract the Clippers had with the local Los Angeles television station was a relic of the Sterling era.
This contract was ending this summer.
With the Clippers performing a season that was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful under Yu Fei’s lead, they could really ask for the lion’s share in the next TV broadcasting contract, just like the Lakers Team.
This was the dividend of the Greatest of All Time.
The Supersonics had already reaped it.
