The front page of The New York Times sports section featured a photo of Li Fei on defense this season—he had leaped high into the air, swatting his opponent's layup out of bounds with his right hand, his body perfectly balanced in midair like a sculpture frozen in flight. The headline carried the distinctive pride and arrogance of a New Yorker: "Six-Time Defensive Player of the Year, Six-Time MVP. Li Fei Is Not the Sovereign of This Era—He Is This Era Itself."
The Chicago Tribune's headline carried more complicated emotions—admiration for an opponent, but relief that its own era had already passed: "Six Straight Years, Unprecedented. After Michael Jordan, Li Fei Has Become the New Standard." Online, the entire world had erupted.
Four of the top ten trending topics on Twitter were related to Li Fei—the sixth was "Li Fei MVP," the third was "Six Straight Years," the second was "Unprecedented," and the first was "Li Fei." On Reddit's NBA board, a post had been upvoted onto the front page, with a title consisting of a single sentence: "Six Straight MVPs, Six Straight Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Will We Ever See a Player Like This Again?"
The highest-upvoted reply read: "No. This isn't 'greatness'; this is the kind of greatness that comes around once every fifty years. Bill Russell's era, Jabbar's era, Jordan's era—those eras all overlapped, all had controversies, all had debates over 'who was really the best player.' But Li Fei's era has no controversy. From 1995 to 2000, he was the best. Every single year. Without a single doubt."
Another comment read: "I'm fourteen this year. Ever since I started watching basketball, the MVP has been Li Fei. I thought it was normal for the MVP to be the same person every year. Today, I