In the summer of 2000, the heat of the NBA Finals crossed the ocean and set all of China ablaze.
Live broadcasts didn't reach every part of the country, but that did nothing to dampen the fans' fervor.
Video rooms, sports teahouses, and college dorms in cities across the country stayed lit all night.
After Game 4, news that the Knicks had taken a 3–1 lead and stood one win from the title spread through every basketball circle in China.
Every Chinese basketball fan felt a surge of excitement and anticipation unlike anything before.
This was a moment of glory for Chinese basketball fans, the spectacle of an era that belonged to Li Fei alone.
In more than seventy years of NBA history, no yellow-skinned player had ever stood at the top of the league.
At twenty-three, Li Fei had already broken through every barrier of race, talent, and geography.
Six straight regular-season MVP awards, a Four-Peat within reach, and years of dominance over the sport's four most coveted honors.
His sheer dominance had forced the world to recognize the basketball talent of an Asian player.
For years, fans back home had followed Li Fei every step of his championship journey.
From the lone powerhouse of the Phoenix Suns to the unquestioned heart of the Knicks Dynasty.
Every comeback against the odds, every legendary performance, had stirred the hearts of hundreds of millions of Chinese people.
And that night, he had delivered an epic performance in Game 4: 35 points in one quarter, 52 points and 22 rebounds for the game.
It unleashed years of pent-up championship fever among fans back home.
Cheers rang through the dorms of Beijing's sports universities, piercing the night and lingering long afterward.
Countless student fans crowded around old televisions, replaying recordings of the game's