Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Allen Iverson's playing style seemed to have undergone no change at all.

To be exact, his style of play had been the same since he started playing basketball. That's why, when Brown went to Philadelphia, people generally had little faith in the pairing.

A low-efficiency scoring king with flashy moves and countless shots, and a hot-tempered coach with a discipline-first approach, treating all players like dogs—how could they possibly come together?

Incredibly, it was Brown who ended up yielding to Iverson.

The 76ers made it to the finals with an ultimate simple offensive and defensive system relying on Iverson to attack and the other four to defend. However, as the roster aged and Iverson's offensive instability became more pronounced, Brown, as if crying for help, traded for Van Horn from the Brooklyn Nets.

The 76ers' regular-season performance did indeed improve, but Iverson played the same way; it just went from him XJBD to everyone else XJBD with him.

Brown acted out of character, especially after his induction into the Hall of Fame—Iverson, troubled by an assault case, did not attend—though it seemed this incident would affect their relationship, Brown to date had mentioned trading Iverson far less than before.

Optimists would say they finally adjusted to each other, while pessimists, especially those familiar with Brown, knew exactly what he would do when he completely lost hope in something.

Iverson still took shots like a superhero.

In the second quarter against the Bucks, Iverson took 10 shots in the quarter, hitting only 3.

Larry Brown, as if possessed, ignored Iverson's XJBD and rebuked the others with a terrifying expression, demanding why they couldn't bring more help to AI.

Derrick Coleman glanced left and right, wondering if it were appropriate to speak out.

He thought Iverson was shooting too much.

Not just him; most of his teammates thought the same.

Larry Brown used to not let Iverson indulge like this. Whenever Iverson took too many shots, he would speak up and advise him to pass.

But from some point on, Brown had given up on transforming Iverson. This left Iverson's teammates feeling helpless, afraid to confront the smallest man on the court and tell him he should pass more.

Because this man had almost killed his wife last summer.

What wouldn't a man who chased his wife with a gun do?

The 76ers remained unchanged.

Iverson completed a break-through at the start, his speed was still impressive.

"Kang Ming, Frye!" Iverson clapped his hands and called out the challenge.

The spirit of Reebok's number one basketball star was still at its peak.

Yu Fei believed that the many high-ups at Reebok were watching this game; this was why Iverson kept insisting on isolation plays.

He wanted to prove he could still take on the world alone; he was still that relentless fighter.

"Damn it, don't tell me you don't want to hit back!" Mason looked even more anxious than Yu Fei, "Fuck, you've got to hit back!"

What, am I going to have my wages docked if I don't?

Yu Fei said, "Run a pick and roll."

Mason passed the ball and offered a suggestion, "Forget the pick and roll, only wimps rely on it all the time. Real men go one-on-one like Michael!"

"Go to hell!" Yu Fei snapped back, "Don't mention that man in front of me!"

"Okok… do you want a pick and roll?"

Mason had barely finished speaking when Yu Fei sped forward, leaving him behind as the 76ers no longer had Monty Williams guard him.

Although Larry Brown cursed Monty and his grandmother both, he had to admit that asking Monty to stop Yu Fei was as unrealistic as asking the Hunnic people to refuse a monstrous year.

It wasn't realistic.

There were few in the League who could meet the requirements of height, speed, and physical strength to guard Yu Fei.

Brown chose a player to guard Yu Fei who was slightly shorter than him—Aaron McGee.

McGee could be considered as Iverson's loyal guard with a blade, one of the main hands indirectly helping Kobe "repay his hometown" during the '01 finals.

Just that, McGee's defense now was no match for what it once was.

Against Yu Fei, McGee's lateral movements weren't lacking, but he was taken in by a feint. Although he reacted, he was still overpowered by the opponent's body strength.

Yu Fei bludgeoned through McGee's defense with a raw force, striding like a dragon, breaking solo into the paint, his right hand controlling the ball like a mythical fire thief—nonchalant, beyond the reach of the 76ers.

"Swish!"

"Good good good!" Mason, who hadn't been able to help at all, jubilantly exclaimed, "Solid isolation! Do it a few more times, I love watching!"

Mason, typically the most anxious when Yu Fei isolated too much, pulling this off today was unexpected for everyone.

Yu Fei ignored him, just looking at Iverson. Although he was silent, the challenging intent in his eyes said more than words could.

Iverson believed in Yu Fei's bright future, but he was only 28 himself. To expect him to give up his "kingdom" now was just wishful thinking.

In the following minutes, Iverson took over most of the 76ers' offense. Although not as efficient as Yu Fei, his "QTMD! Today I'm taking all the shots" selfishness was actually startling.

Yu Fei would isolate, too, but never hogged it all himself.

He only acted that unrestrained against the Wizards.

But to Iverson, this was one of his privileges.

Larry Brown had no objections, so his teammates didn't dare object either.

What kind of era was this?

Yu Fei found it utterly irrational.

The 76ers' management must know that building a team this way made championship prospects almost impossible.

Propping up a scoring champion who was merely 183 cm tall with a shooting percentage just over 40%, granting him unlimited shooting rights, while everyone else did everything in their power to support beyond stand-alone isolation.