Bill Simmons' interview with Durant wasn't just about that, and given what happened this past summer, he sees the SuperSonics as a potential tipping point for the NBA.

On the face of it, the only one who can stop the SuperSonics from winning three consecutive championships is the Lakers.

But Simmons believes that the biggest enemy of hypersonic is themselves.

That's exactly what Simmons' new book, "The Book of Basketball," will be published in November: Why are some players and teams more important than others?

In Simmons' book, he also has a pyramid list, with Jordan being his number one, Bill Russell at number two, and Yu Fei at number three.

Such rankings are not based on personal vendettas, at least that's how he sees them. He tried to be objective in the book, or he wouldn't have put the magician ahead of Larry's legend.

Not so long ago, Simmons read a book written by Jack McCallum for 08 supersonics.

Despite the grand setting and epic ending, Simmons didn't see what he wanted to see. In his words in the book, "Frye didn't go through the final test like MJ or Russell did in 1998 and 1969. ”

Now, Simmons believes that Yu Fei's "test" is coming.

When the people around Yu Fei proposed the "one-man empire" in order to transcend the concept of the dynasty, the seeds of danger were planted inside the supersonic speed.

Why is Chris Bosh willing to give up his status as the king of Toronto to Seattle as a current dog? Why did Michael Finley give up tens of millions of dollars at the end of his career just to get a ring? Why is a young star like Kevin Durant praised as the son of America? Because they have won two consecutive championships in a great team.

Suddenly, the supreme glory that they were proud of became like this in people's mouths.

The championship is a matter for Frye alone, and the others just follow suit.

In team sports, putting the individual above the group is the most dangerous thing to do, but professional basketball has been repeating that story since ancient times.

However, even Michael Jordan was the first to thank Scottie Pippen in his Hall of Fame speech, knowing that without Pippen there would have been no two triples in a row.

One person can be above the collective, but if the same collective wants to win continuously, it needs to build a sense of collective honor.

Ironically, Yu Fei's camp, which knew that Yu Fei needed to win constantly to surpass Jordan, used this kind of killing method to bring Fei to the height above the gods.

Simmons decided something unusual was going to happen with the SuperSonics.

Either complete destruction that shatters the supersonic fairy tale, or . Frye Yu will overtake Jordan at the cost of destroying everything.

Simmons doesn't believe, or rather, the basketball view he developed over and over the years following Larry Bird as a teenager doesn't support his approval of such a thing.

Therefore, in the interview with Durant, Simmons adopted a shallow to deep approach.

They started by looking back at some of Durant's funny moments from the first two years.

Then, Simmons suddenly turned the conversation around and asked, "How are you getting along with Frye?" ”

There were many flashes in Durant's mind, but none of them were rosy.

"Not bad." Durant said perfunctorily, "It's an honor to be teammates with the greatest players. ”

Simmons smiled and asked, "Do you really think he's the greatest player?" ”

At this time, Durant cleverly asked: "Is Shaq in 1997 one of the top 50 superstars in NBA history?" ”

That was something Simmons had personally experienced, and he certainly knew about the controversy surrounding O'Neal's selection to the Big 50. That's evidence that the NBA treats itself as a show. They want a gimmick, and there's no gimmick that's more likely to generate discussion than having O'Neal, a promising young superstar, be included in the Big 50.

But, on the other hand, it was also a recognition of O'Neal's potential, and it turned out that O'Neal deserved to be one of the top 50 men, and he eventually became one of the greatest twelves in NBA history.

Durant used O'Neal as an example to tell Simmons that maybe Yu Fei is not the best now, but given time, he must be.

"You made it to Twitter a few months ago because of a tweet, how are you doing now?"

Durant said helplessly: "Actually, I was just sharing my opinion on what happened that day, but that day caused a misunderstanding, I apologize, fortunately it didn't affect more people." ”

Simmons actually liked Durant's tweet very much, and in his opinion, the crazy Yu Fei poison under that tweet was only a troll.

But that is also a reflection of Yu Fei's influence, although he himself has never paid attention to this matter, his supporters are enough to toss Durant to the ground.

Now, Simmons doesn't think Durant made any mistakes.

But this young man is so kind, he actually wants to apologize for such a thing?

Then, Simmons' topic crept closer to the core.

"Have you noticed the definition of the supersonic double crown in the past few months?" "Actually, they combined the two consecutive Hyonic championships and the Bucks' two consecutive championships. ”

Durant asked rhetorically, "You mean SoleImperium?" ”

Simmons nodded, and sure enough, Durant was also paying attention to the matter.

When Yu Fei's camp promotes the concept of "SoleImperium", Simmons realizes that there is a reason why he has been at odds with Yu Fei all these years.

It's not just that Yu Fei didn't have any respect for the respected Jordan back then, but also because this person has been a rule-breaking person since his debut.

He turned the kind of supergiant that was formed in the Bill Russell — Black and White — Jordan era in charge of the final blow, but the best basketball always comes from the best team.

During his five years with the Bucks, Yu Fei won four championships with an astonishing ball possession, making three-point shooting popular and completely turning the basketball game into another model. He also forced the team to sign a short-term contract with his second contract, ushering in the 2+1 era and greatly shortening the window for teams around the league to build rosters for new stars.

To this day, Yu Fei has basically beaten the NBA that Simmons has known since the 80s of the last century.

It's a completely different time.

The world's second and the world's third have teamed up in a grand manner, and the world's third can even cheekily broadcast his cowardly behavior to the whole country, stab his hometown father and wife in the back, and then laugh and throw himself into the arms of Los Angeles.

And what about the first person in the world? It's a fanatic with no one in his eyes.

He has twisted the world of basketball and is now trying to shatter the greatest concept of professional basketball – the dynasty.

Russell has a dynasty and Jordan has a dynasty, so they are the first and second (1) in Simmons' heart.

(1) According to Simmons' theory: five championships in ten years is considered a dynasty.

Yu Fei won six championships in seven years, and theoretically, he also has a dynasty, but because he did not complete it in the same team, it cannot be considered a dynasty.

In order to control the definition of the dynasty, they had the audacity to define Yu Fei's brilliant achievements as "a one-man empire".

Once this perception becomes a consensus, Yu Fei's historical best position is beyond doubt.

Why? Because Russell needs a lot of helpers to make a dynasty, just as Jordan also needs Pippen, but Yu Fei is a one-man dynasty. He is the chosen one and only.

This is also what convinced Simmons that there would be problems with hypersound.

If even a person like him with a fan mentality can't stand the arrogance of the Yu Fei camp, how can an American son like Durant with a heart higher than the sky be able to endure it?

"That's right, SoleImperium." Simmons repeated the word in disgust.

Sole (unique)? Frye Yu, are you serious?

"I don't like the concept." Durant said bluntly, "And I don't know anyone who would like the concept. I don't get pride from the concept. If you say that we are a hypersonic empire. I'll gladly accept it, because I'm a member of the HyperSonics. But the only empire? Whoever this 'one' refers to, it is disrespectful to the rest of us. We're part of the championship too, we've all worked hard for the championship, and we deserve the same honor. ”

Durant's answer was completely correct in Simmons' opinion, and that's what he wanted to hear from Durant.

At this point in the interview, Simmons' purpose has been accomplished, and he doesn't need to ask other sensitive questions.

As long as Durant shows his attitude toward "SoleImperium," the rest will be left to time.

Finally, Simmons asked, "How sure are you that you will win three in a row?" ”

"That's my ultimate goal." "I've seen the Bulls pull off three straight championships, and I've seen the Lakers pull off three in a row, and I want me to be another player to help the team accomplish that," Durant said. ”

"And what about when you're done?"

"I will spend a summer telling everyone that there is no one empire, only a supersonic empire."

On the fifth day of training camp, Simmons was planning to condense Durant's interview into his column.

Just as he decided to leave, he met Yu Fei at the hotel, who he had been thinking about for a long time but had not seen.

He looks like he's just returned from a business trip.

"Why are you here?" Yu Fei didn't think the team would invite Simmons into training camp.

Simmons explained: "I have an interview with KD to do. ”

"Oh, that's right." Yu Fei didn't care about Durant's personal relationship with Simmons, he was about to leave, and suddenly remembered something, so he stopped and turned around, "I regret Michael Reed's matter." ”

Simmons' heart tightened.

Reed has been at odds with the team since the 2008 Finals, and Angie wanted to trade him, but there was no target worth making a deal out of that offseason, and Reed was injured before Garnett came to the new season. He was then injured a second time during the season until he was reimbursed.

Now, even if the Celtics want to trade him, they will have to wait for Reed to come back and play for a price.

"Still, I think you're used to it." Yu Fei said hurtfully, "Isn't tragedy the main theme of Boston Sports? ”

Simmons was furious, Yu Fei's words were indeed stabbing people's hearts.

Boston sports have been linked to tragedy since the last century, and since the new century, their sports have gained momentum, except... His beloved Celtic.

"Do you want to know what a tragedy is?" Simmons responded, "The tragedy is that a pretentious fool like you will die in his own story sooner or later!" ”

Hearing Simmons' curse, Yu Fei smiled happily: "I won't smoke alone on draft night, let alone play with a heart attack, and I won't be stabbed eleven times in a nightclub, and I have won six championships in the past seven years." I'll outlive all of you, and as for whether or not you can see your beloved basketball team win a championship again while you're alive, I find it hard because the Bostonians represented by you have never learned any lessons from past failures. ”

One of the biggest lessons for Simmons today is that when he has a flaw, don't quarrel with someone who doesn't claim to be immoral.

However, the incident gave Simmons more motivation to finish the column.

With great fury, he completed the season preview that must be written before the start of each NBA season in just two hours. However, the SuperSonics' season preview is based on Durant's interview, supplemented by his own insights and judgments, and the result is a season preview article that is much larger than a single team. Therefore, he decided to publish this article separately.

That night, Yu Fei was active in the gym of the hotel, and Kevin Lin suddenly came over and said, "That Boston bastard wrote an article. ”

"Scolding me?" Yu Fei asked.

Kevin Lin replied: "To be exact, it is scolding us." ”

Later, Lin Kaiwen opened his notebook and showed Yu Fei Simmons's op-ed published on the second page of ESPN's website.

Simmons turned to the supersonic season prospect with Durant's assessment of the "One Empire" and lashed out at the "Empire" concept promoted by the Flying camp as if it were the most evil thing in the world.

"Do you think what he said will come true?"

Yu Fei asked with a smile.

"He's shitting." Kevin Lin scolded.

"The idea of a one-man empire is really inappropriate." Yu Fei said, "But now that the matter has come to this, I don't need to pretend that I don't know anything. ”

When Mark Stein mentioned the concept of "SoleImperium" in his column last season, he didn't expect things to evolve so quickly.

This was an idea he put forward in his column, an improvised idea, but after Yu Fei won the sixth crown, this idea became the "truth" of the Chosen Empire.

The people around Yu Fei and the sponsors he represents are all promoting this concept.

It only took one summer, and it was completely linked to Yu Fei.

Yu Fei is not the creator of the concept, but he is the source of the idea itself, and his work stops at the court. The moment the empire was born, he, the master of the empire, did not know it. It was only when the world began to turn against him that he realized that there was an empire behind him.

But what could he do? Say it's not what I want? I'm a teamist like you?

This is not how the masters of the empire should behave.

Now that he has become a god, he should show God's sense of responsibility.

"That's what I said, but KD," Kevin Lin wasn't happy with what Durant said in the interview, "he shouldn't have said that." ”

Yu Fei asked rhetorically: "You have all made him a lucky person who has been stained with the light of the empire, what about letting him complain a few words?" ”

"That's it?"

"Nothing to pursue." Yu Fei said, "Contact Mark, let him read Simmons' article, and within a day, I want to see a response." ”

On the sixth day of the training camp, Yu Fei officially reported for duty.

According to the plan, Yu Fei was originally only on leave for four days.

But after the activities outside were busy, Yu Fei felt that he needed to adjust, so he took more days off.

It's business as usual in the camp, Carr said.

Yu Fei's understanding of this sentence is that nothing special has happened in the past five days.

Before Yu Fei arrived, the supersonic training camp was dominated by Durant alone.

Whichever team he is on will win the match.

Although only a third-year player, Durant's instant power has clearly surpassed Roy's.

New signing Chris Bosh has been tepid, but he trained on three-pointers in the summer and is now in training camp to hit pick-and-roll threes from beyond the arc.

While Bosh is a notch worse defensively than Marion, his rebounding protection and offensive versatility as a No. 4 are a notch better than Marion's.

The relationship between Kwame Brown and Jermaine O'Neal is a lot of fun on the team.

The feud between the two dates back several years.

Yu Fei and Brown were both in the Bucks at the time, but after winning the championship, Brown suddenly floated away, claiming to be the second center in the East - second only to Big O'Neal, who was still at the end of his prime.

Xiao Ao saw that this thigh-hugging parallel goods were so rampant, so he naturally saw it explode once and for all.

But Brown has never lost a game.

The counterpoint lost, but he won the game.

What could be more important than winning a game?

Now, times have changed.

Xiao Ao is no longer the league's top interior lineman, and Brown is still the player whose ability to talk is far stronger than his immediate combat power, but Xiao Ao who chooses to join the supersonic must play as a substitute, and Brown will be unshakable as long as Yu Fei is in one day.

As a result, Xiao O, who used to be able to despise Brown, is now below the former in status and rank of supersonics.

When the reporter asked Brown what he thought of the small O's joining.

Brown replied: "He was an All-Star, but he didn't win a championship, and that's why he came. I can teach him how to win championships. ”

When Xiao Ao heard this, his mouth was crooked, and he responded without showing weakness: "The only thing he can teach me is how to be a loyal Rottweiler in Frye's empire!" ”

Although it is a hurtful and angry bickering, Xiao Ao's speech has two meanings. One is that he will not be at the mercy of Brown, and the other is that he has embraced the concept of empire. He is willing to contribute to the empire like Brown, but does not take away the glory of the empire's masters.

And, why do you have to steal the limelight with Da Fei?

Brown has personally demonstrated how to do what works best.

What if someone ignores your contributions? You can brag about it.

Is Kwame Brown the league's No. 1 center? Then he's the No. 1 center in the universe – that's after the championship, of course.

On the first day of Yu Fei's arrival, Carl decisively divided him and Durant into two groups to play against each other.

The team also wanted to know how many moves the third-year Durant could make in front of Yufei.

Last season, Durant was already a model of a wing shooter, both from the outside and with a variety of catch-and-shoot shots.

Some say that Durant, a sophomore, has reached the heights of Danny Granger.

But if Durant stops there, he's just Porter before Michael Porter. One of the most important issues for the great wing with Yu Fei as a template is how to dribble the ball to the inside.

That's where Yu Fei excels.

To get inside you need to be on the ball, and once you have the ball, it means he can dribble and create space for his shots, so that his height and reach combined with shooting make him look like an offensive machine.

This past summer, Durant seemed to have figured out that he might never be able to dribble and play everyone like Yu Fei did. He has the skills to control dribbling, but his bare foot height is 2 cm taller than Yu Fei, and he does not have a terrifying ball sense like Yu Fei, which determines that his ball will be mainly used to attack the basket for various reasons.

Then Durant noticed that he had ostrich legs, and his dribble, combined with an astonishingly large stride, would be a nightmare for all wing opponents.

This matchup began with Durant showing his progress in all aspects.

He made 3 of the first 4 shots and looked on par with Yu Fei.

It wasn't until Yu Fei dribbled through his defense and rushed into the basket that the impact that hit people's hearts awakened some consciousness.

It's game over for the master.

To move from a wing shooter to a full-fledged offensive machine, Durant must develop ball-handling, but the most critical element of ball handling is not possession, but confrontation.

Yu Fei no longer let Durant show his pace, and took the initiative to give physical contact.

The defensive intensity of the intra-team confrontation game can be greater than in the actual battle, and Durant's offensive ability to hold the ball plummets when he sees who plays under the pressure of flying.

The tide turned in an instant.

Yu Fei forced Durant's mistakes for two consecutive rounds, and then rushed to the front court to dunk.

It's a standard "your uncle is still your uncle" moment.

After the game, Yu Fei's red team gave Durant his first defeat in six days with a 16-point advantage, allowing everyone to reconfirm the internal level of the SuperSonics.

"If this is the result of your special training, I will be concerned about the prospects of the supersonic empire." Yu Fei said, "How long will it take you for me to make your confrontation ability qualified?" ”

"I won't keep you waiting."

Durant responded in a low voice.

"I've been waiting for this for two years!" Yu Fei asked coldly, "You disappointed me, Kevin, why are you still so vulnerable?" ”

The scene was not only silent, but also surrounded by a suffocating pressure.

The masters of the empire can still be overwhelming.

(End of chapter)