"Li, don't overthink it."
After hanging up, head coach Paul Westphal immediately explained for Barkley. "Charles just wants to play you one-on-one."
"Li, Charles definitely means no harm."
Paul Westphal looked at Li Fei. "He wants to show you how tough he is. You may not understand this, but it's a uniquely American sports culture."
"It's fine. I understand it very well."
Li Fei smiled. Back in '94, even Chinese fans often didn't understand NBA culture, but as someone who had lived through it, Li Fei understood it all too well.
Every NBA team leader had to put rookies in their place. Every summer at training camp, Jordan would call out the team's rookies for one-on-ones, destroy them, and let them see who the real boss was.
The future dunk contest king from the Class of '96 was the same way.
And while battling, they also had to throw out some trash talk and crush those young, fragile hearts.
As an organizing power forward, Barkley didn't really have a tradition of challenging rookies one-on-one. But Li Fei had taken away his beloved Kevin Johnson, so Barkley was probably trying to imitate Jordan and show Li Fei where he stood.
Nothing wrong with that.
"Li, if you don't want to accept the challenge, that's fine too. I can tell Charles not to start anything."
Jerry Colangelo was a little worried that the two would come to blows the first time they met.
After all, neither of them was exactly harmless.
One had beaten up Larry Bird in his rookie season.
The other had turned Roaring Rasheed into the Immeasurable Immortal in the March Madness finals.
"No need."
Li Fei rolled his neck, looking forward to it instead. "Tomorrow, I'll have a good time with Sir Charles's ass."
Li Fei had also