Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

And so, Andre Iguodala, ranked 68th among all high school students in the United States in the class of 2002, joined Yu Fei's Jade Team.

Why was it so difficult for the 68th-ranked Iguodala to join the team of upperclassmen? There were two main reasons: Iguodala himself did not possess the immediate combat effectiveness needed to compete at a higher level, or else he wouldn't have been ranked 68th. Secondly, during the adolescent stage, even if there's only a one-grade difference, the gap in immediate combat effectiveness is very apparent.

This is also the reason why, under our national sports system, athletes would sometimes change their age in pursuit of better youth achievements.

At this stage, being just one year older can bring a significant advantage. What about being two, three, or even four years older?

Since ancient times, those super talents who can fight above their level have always been a minority.

Just as Yu Fei was preparing to take Iguodala to see how many people Roy had recruited, a mature and steady-looking young man suddenly walked past him.

Because his face was so recognizable, it made Yu Fei's DNA resonate with a jolt, like a facial shockwave.

Yu Fei abruptly turned around, looking at him—he was wearing number 155.

"Hey!" Yu Fei yelled out.

In that instant, Yu Fei was like Tang Ren from "Detective Chinatown" who went to the police station to stir up trouble, with a loud "Surprised~~~" that drew everyone's attention to him in the gymnasium.

Number 155 turned around, and despite his thick hair, despite the fact he didn't yet exude the air of a king, despite him being just one of the few sophomores in the camp at the time... that face was already one of the most unforgettable ones for Yu Fei from his past life.

LeBron James!

Yu Fei had not expected to see him here!

Which one felt more out of place to Yu Fei, the short-haired Kobe or the envious hairline of LeBron James?

The answer was the latter.

It's still the same words, Kobe didn't leave much in Yu Fei's youth, but LeBron James, who stopped wearing his headband after 2015, pushing his battle with the receding hairline to the forefront, was the basketball star with the deepest impression for all basketball fans born after 2000.

"Do you know me?" James asked.

Yu Fei said, "I don't, but isn't this platform meant for us to get to know each other?"

James smiled, "You're right. I'm LeBron James from Akron, and I'm ranked number one in the class of 2003."

Introducing oneself and casually mentioning one's national high school ranking was an unspoken rule of the camp—James wasn't doing it to show off.

He didn't need to show off.

"My name is Yu Fei, from Kent," Yu Fei said. "I'm ranked 16th in the class of 2001...LeBron, since you're ranked first, I assume you've already joined a team?"

James nodded, "I have my own team."

Since James was from the class of 2003, definitely in a lower grade, Yu Fei could neither be his teammate nor his competitor.

After a brief introduction, Yu Fei walked away with Iguodala.

"Fulai, do you know that kid?"

It was interesting that Iguodala referred to James as a kid.

But LeBron was only fifteen and a half at the time, indeed still a child.

Though he looked mature, his face still held a trace of youth.

"Don't you follow the news, Andre?" Yu Fei said. "Mr. Wakaro has been saying that he saw a kid in Akron who would be better than Kobe, T-MAC, and KG, and that's him."

"Him?"

Better than Garnett, Kobe, and McGrady?

Iguodala expressed his doubt.

It's normal to have doubts, even in 2003 when James entered the NBA amid a historically unique hype. If someone had told you then that, in 20 years, this guy would break Jabbar's all-time scoring record, would you believe it?

Someone like James who didn't just live up to the hype but greatly surpassed the pre-draft expectations is indeed very rare.

After a while, Yu Fei finally located Roy with Iguodala.

To Yu Fei's surprise, in just a little while Roy had actually managed to persuade three people to join the team.

And among them, there was one face that Yu Fei recognized.

It was a Caucasian guy.

"Captain, my name is Francisco Garcia, I was born in the Dominican Republic but grew up in the United States, and I'm currently ranked 77th in the 2002 national class," he said.

Yu Fei vaguely remembered Garcia playing for the Rockets during Harden's era.

As for how well he played, Yu Fei wasn't clear; he certainly wasn't a star.

But if someone had started their career at this time and was still playing in the NBA during Harden's era, then he must certainly have been a qualified role player in the NBA for many years.

The other two were classmates of Yu Fei and Roy.

They were B.J. Elder, an unranked combo guard, and Wes Wilkinson, a Caucasian center, ranked 100th in the class of 2001 national class.

When Yu Fei heard that Wilkinson was ranked top 100 in the United States, he said with a laugh, "Looks like you're the one who took Brandon's spot, and you still dare to join my team? Don't you know Brandon is my good brother?"

Wilkinson replied cheerfully, "Actually, I've always wanted to find an opportunity to give up my ranking. If I can help Brandon return to the top 100 in the nation at this camp, I would be immensely grateful. Being in the top 100 is too boring for me."

This Versailles-like behavior left Roy and Elder feeling quite uncomfortable.

However, with this, Jade Team's roster had reached six people. Since the games at ABCD Camp were not very long, six players were barely enough.

About an hour later, most teams had finished their recruitment.

During this time, Yu Fei had recruited a point guard named Gary Ervin, who was ranked 94th in the nation for the class of 2002.

Being a junior and with a relatively low ranking, he was picked up by Yu Fei at the very end.

It's worth mentioning that DeAngelo Collins's Oscar Team had 11 players, and nearly all were well-known upperclassmen from the class of 2001.

Such a team, if let loose in an AAU game, would undoubtedly be a devastating force.

No AAU Team could boast such a multitude of high school stars.

Even worse for Jade Team, they were in the same division as Oscar Team, and according to the round-robin schedule, the two teams would meet on the third day, the last day of round-robin play.

Yu Fei didn't seem to care, but Roy was scared to death.

"That's the guy they call the 6-foot-9 Shaq, and he's got a bunch of top high schoolers to back him up. How on earth are we going to play this match?"

The first day's game hadn't even started, and clever Roy was already worrying about day three's game.

"Yeah, Oscar Team will indeed be tough to handle, but I'm more interested in who our first opponent of the day is," Yu Fei asked.

Roy turned to someone else and asked, "B.J., you've seen the schedule, you should know who our first opponent is, right?"

B.J. Elder said, "It's a team called Oscar."

Hearing that name, Iguodala reacted, "That's Big Will's team!"

"Big Will?"

"The guy who turned me down," Iguodala explained. "Will Bynum, a high school senior ranked 53rd nationally, and he's also the captain of the Oscar Team."

Will Bynum? Another name that sounded familiar.

"Shouldn't you be happy?" Yu Fei said to Iguodala, "Your chance for revenge has come so quickly!"

Realizing what Yu Fei meant, Iguodala smiled, "Yes, I'll prove that he made a wrong judgment!"

"No, you don't need to prove anything to him, you need to prove to me that I haven't made a wrong judgment," Yu Fei said, educating Iguodala like a big brother leading the pack.

Iguodala nodded like a pecking chicken, "Fulai, I definitely won't let you down!"

A few minutes later, staff came to remind Yu Fei that their game against the Oscar Team was about to start.

So, Yu Fei led his teammates to the court, which was located in Rosman Center's Court 10.

When Will Bynum saw Iguodala representing Jade Team, he was surprised.

He didn't understand why a top-20 high schooler like Yu Fei would agree to let a junior join his team.

"Aren't you worried he'll hold you back?" Bynum asked, in a hurtful tone.

Yu Fei suddenly felt a bit exasperated with time-traveling; why did he find everyone so familiar yet still couldn't recognize them?

Will Bynum? Even the name felt vaguely familiar.

"You're too short, Will," Yu Fei said impatiently.

Bitterly, Bynum asked, "What do you mean?"

"You're like a frog in a well, shortsighted, unable to see Andre's future," Yu Fei declared in front of Iguodala, "I'll bet Andre will make it to the NBA, while you—I'm sorry to say—heading overseas to be a mediocre American player seems to be your destiny!"

Initially, Bynum had a fair amount of respect for a top-20 player like Yu Fei, but since Yu Fei started off by trying to put him down, Bynum couldn't care less.

The tension between the two was palpable from the start.

Then, Wilkinson helped Jade Team win the opening ball possession, and Yu Fei received it, moving to the frontcourt. Knowing that countless eyes were on him, he showboated his dribbling skills. Faced with Bynum's tight defense, he remained unruffled, used his behind to fend him off, and teasingly asked, "Anxious? Just because you won't make it to the NBA in the future? Isn't that a bit much? Hey, Andre!"

No sooner had Yu Fei spoken than Iguodala charged toward the basket.

Yu Fei casually gathered the ball, and like those scheming villains in martial arts novels who relish using hidden weapons, he mockingly hurled the ball into the air like a dart.

Bynum, being too short, was simply unable to stop Yu Fei.

The basketball soared, Iguodala leaped to catch it, and promptly slammed it into the hoop.

"Cool, Andre!"

Roy knew Iguodala had some skills; otherwise, Yu Fei wouldn't have recruited him. He didn't expect this guy to be... downright talented!

(1) What defines a big shot? A quick primer: if top rookies are about to debut in the dark world, such people are called big shots. Congratulations, you've just learned another piece of useless knowledge.