"Li, what do you think of Dallas?"
In the dormitory at UC Berkeley
A month earlier, with the dorm supervisor's approval, Li Fei and Kidd had become roommates.
By now, they had become the kind of best friends who talked about everything, knew each other inside and out.
"Why are you asking about Dallas all of a sudden?"
Li Fei was a little puzzled.
"The regular season is about to end, and Dallas has a good chance of getting this year's first overall pick. I think you might end up in Dallas."
"That's not necessarily true."
Li Fei smiled. "I might not go to Dallas, and Dallas might not get the first pick."
In Li Fei's memory, the Dallas Mavericks hadn't actually gotten the first pick in the 1994 draft.
At the draft lottery, the Milwaukee Bucks snatched the first pick from the Dallas Mavericks at the last second. They used it to select Big Dog, Robinson.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, weren't disappointed. They got the player they wanted, Jason Kidd, who joined Jamal Mashburn and Jimmy Jackson to form the Dallas Three, sweeping through the Western Conference.
But the butterfly effect had already begun to stir.
Who knew what the future would bring?
"Li, is there any NBA team you particularly want to play for? Like the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, nobody would turn down the chance to join a powerhouse."
"Emmm..."
Li Fei thought for a moment, then shrugged. "I really don't have one. I'm not American, so I don't feel especially attached to any particular city."
Li Fei had a fairly clear direction in mind for his future career.
As for his playing style, he definitely wanted to transition gradually from center to guard. That wasn't just because of his own strengths and preferences; it was also an unchanging fact that centers had less commercial value than perimeter players.
And to raise his commercial value, Li Fei planned to spend at least a few years of his career playing in a big city. He didn't need to stay in a big city forever, but he needed a few years there—just like a certain GOAT. A few years in a big city were enough.
What, you're asking why he wouldn't stay loyal to one city?
Come on, don't forget how Li Fei had ended up here.
Luka Dončić had made the All-NBA First Team five times in six years and led his team to the Finals at just 26, yet the team traded him the following year—and this was the Mavericks, once considered the most sentimental team in the league.
So talking about loyalty in this league was like dating: whoever got serious first was the one who lost.
"Li, let's not talk about that for now."
Kidd excitedly brought over a bowl of chopped fruit in every color. "The game's about to start. We'll soon know who we're playing in the next round."
Then Kidd and Li Fei watched the kind of thrilling, full-contact action that had them on the edge of their seats.
After forty minutes of intense physical play, Duke Blue Devils, led by Grant Hill, defeated Kansas 58–52 and advanced to the Elite Eight.
That meant the opponent UC Berkeley would face in the battle for a spot in the Final Four had been decided.
It was Duke University.
And, by coincidence,
the previous season, UC Berkeley had pulled off an upset against two-time defending champions Duke in that very same round.
"Same time, same place. We're facing UC Berkeley again."
After the game,
Duke's star player, Grant Hill, shed his usual gentlemanly composure.
"But this time, the ending will be different!"
Grant Hill had shed his gentlemanly image and put on a tough front in his postgame interview.
The fans in attendance were taken by surprise.
Come on, it was already March Madness.
At this point, composure wasn't composure—it was weakness.
Grant Hill understood that perfectly.
Without a doubt, the Duke–UC Berkeley matchup was the most highly anticipated game of this year's March Madness.
And so,
three days later, at Brendan Byrne Arena in New Jersey,
the place was packed.
The court looked as if someone had sliced a cake in half: Duke fans filled one side, and California fans filled the other.
March Madness games had no home or away teams. The fans simply sat in their respective sections.
"If we could beat them once,"
Kidd replied to Grant Hill's interview from a few days earlier.
"Then we can beat them a second time!"
As soon as Jason Kidd finished speaking,
the California fans filling half the arena erupted in screams.
"Don't call last year's game an upset anymore."
UC Berkeley head coach Todd was just as confident in his pregame interview. "It wasn't an upset at all. Duke's two MOPs have both left."
"And we haven't gotten weaker this year. We've only gotten stronger!"
Everyone knew the reason Todd was talking about: Li Fei had made the Golden Bears stronger than they'd been the previous year.
He had also raised the team's ceiling!
As for the two MOPs Todd had mentioned, they were Christian Laettner, the 1991 MOP, and Bobby Hurley, the 1992 MOP. Both had performed brilliantly in their respective championship games and led their teams to the title.
But after winning MOP, both had declared for the NBA draft, and each had established himself in the NBA. Before even entering the league, Christian Laettner had also made the 1992 United States national team and won an Olympic gold medal.
To be fair,
looking back at that Duke team from the perspective of history, it had Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Antonio Lang, and Cherokee Parks—NBA-caliber players.
On the bench, they also had the experienced American head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
There was nothing wrong with that lineup winning a championship.
Amid the crowd's cheers, Li Fei was the last to appear in the reporters' final camera shot.
"I want to correct what Coach Todd said."
Li Fei paused before continuing. "It's true that Duke is weaker than they were at their peak, while we've gotten stronger."
"But even when Duke were back-to-back champions, our victory wasn't an upset!"
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