This Christmas Eve, Lin Yi took Olsen over to Yao Ming's new place in New York for dinner.
Before heading out, Lin Yi made sure Mr. Wiggles, still round as ever, and Sakazuki had more than enough food.
"You two behave," he muttered, topping off their bowls.
The moment Olsen stepped into Yao's house, she paused.
"I feel like I just walked into a different species," she whispered.
She had grown used to Lin Yi's height. That was manageable. But when several towering figures appeared at once, she quietly regretted not wearing her highest heels.
Yao's daughter ran over and called out in a bright voice, "Uncle Lin!"
Olsen melted on the spot.
She and Lin Yi had been talking seriously about starting a family. Watching the little girl tug at Lin Yi's sleeve, Olsen's expression softened in a way Lin Yi had not seen before.
He leaned closer and said under his breath, "Careful. In a few years, you might have to look up to her."
This prompted a playful elbow to the abdomen of Lin.
At the dinner table, Yao smiled at his wife, Ye Li. "I've told you already. Lin talked me into coming to New York. And honestly, it's been comfortable. Not like Houston, but comfortable enough."
He shot Lin Yi a knowing glance.
Lin Yi raised his hands and said in an exaggerated tone. "Yes, yes. I'm the mastermind. I dragged Brother Yao to New York."
Ye Li rolled her eyes. She was not truly upset. The whole family had supported Yao's decision to play one more season. It was just that when you stay somewhere long enough, leaving feels heavier than you expect.
After dinner, the adults split into small groups. Ye Li and Olsen started chatting in Mandarin. Ye Li was surprised by Olsen's basic fluency.
On the other side of the living room, Lin Yi and Yao watched TNT's Christmas special and talked about the season.
On screen, Shaquille O'Neal had clearly intended to enjoy a quiet holiday. Unfortunately for him, Christmas Day games have a way of pulling people back in.
He had originally planned to skip this episode. Then he heard that the topic was Lakers versus Knicks.
He sat up immediately.
"Alright," he muttered on air, grinning. "We're doing this."
The Knicks were set to leave for Los Angeles at 1 a.m. on the 25th. Christmas Day road games were brutal. Teams usually gave players Christmas Eve off. But tipoff often came at noon. That meant gathering in the early hours and letting everyone sleep on the plane.
Yao's numbers this season, 9.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, did not tell the full story. The Knicks were using him carefully, keeping him fresh, preserving his rhythm.
Lin Yi believed that once the playoffs arrived, especially against teams lacking size inside, Yao's presence would matter more than any stat line.
On TV, O'Neal and Charles Barkley were in the middle of another bet.
Kenny argued that the Lakers, riding a six-game win streak, had found their rhythm. "Knicks on the road, early game. That's tough," he said.
O'Neal shook his head. "Look at who they played. And look at Kobe's numbers. Thirty-three percent. Thirty-seven. Twenty-eight. Twenty-five. Thirty-one. I've been teammates with Kobe and Lin. This Lakers team can't beat the Knicks."
Kenny fired back. "Shaq, don't make this personal. Kobe's averaging almost nine assists during that stretch. He's adjusting."
The issue was not really Kobe.
The tension, at least from O'Neal's side, centered more on Dwight Howard.
Howard had recently claimed in interviews that he could do what O'Neal once did.
"Give me twenty shots a game," Howard said confidently. "I'll dominate."
He was frustrated. He was shooting 57.8 percent from the field, while Kobe sat at 46.3 percent, yet Kobe took nearly twice as many attempts.
On paper, it sounded reasonable.
In reality, basketball is not played on paper.
With Phil Jackson gone, the Lakers were now coached by Mike Brown. Brown had drawn up low-post sets for Howard. The problem was execution. Post offense needs timing and setup. It burns the clock. If the entry pass leads to a quick kick-out and no movement, the possession stalls.
The Lakers guards had begun to look at Howard with visible confusion.
"You're not going to go to work?" their body language seemed to ask.
Howard had also grown less enthusiastic about running pick and roll. He wanted touches on the block, chances to display his footwork. That, more than anything, irritated O'Neal.
For all his flaws, O'Neal never hid from responsibility in his prime. During his one-on-one battles with Kobe, he attacked. If he passed, it was to create a clean look. If he kept it, he finished with force. He did not shy away from contact.
He disliked defending pick-and-rolls; that much was clear. But offensively, he had no issue setting hard screens and diving to the rim.
For the moment, the Lakers were still winning. The tension between Kobe and Howard had not fully surfaced.
But everyone watching knew that when expectations run high in Los Angeles, winning alone rarely keeps things calm.
A winning streak hides flaws. Shaquille O'Neal was not wrong. The Lakers looked united before Christmas largely because the schedule had been kind. Beat a few struggling teams and everything feels stable. Hit a rough patch, and the mood in Los Angeles would shift fast.
Lin Yi knew what was coming. The real fracture between Kobe and Dwight would not fully surface until after Jerry Buss passed away the following year. Once that happened, the internal power struggle would move into the open.
After Buss's death, Kobe wanted the team to rally, chase one more title in his honor. Dwight Howard, meanwhile, had his own concerns. Privately, he went to management to voice frustration about his role and shot attempts. That tension bled onto the court. Kobe saw it as a lack of commitment to the bigger picture. Howard insisted he was thinking about efficiency and winning.
Behind them stood a divided front office. Jeanie Buss had shown support for Howard more than once. Jim Buss, fiercely protective of Kobe, was not about to let his franchise star feel sidelined.
When Howard eventually left, Jeanie blamed Jim. She believed that if Jerry Buss had still been alive, Dwight would have stayed. From another angle, the internal politics themselves pushed him away.
Kobe was aging. That was real. But Howard was never the savior people imagined. History would show that after leaving the Lakers, even eight to ten shot attempts per game felt like a stretch in some systems.
Coaches are not blind. If they do not design an offense around a player with a high field goal percentage, there is usually context behind it. Isolation in the post consumes time. It narrows spacing. If the possession stalls, the margin for error shrinks.
Look at players such as DeAndre Jordan or Clint Capela. Their percentages are high because of the type of shots they take. That does not mean you run the entire offense through them.
Even in Orlando, Howard never averaged more than fourteen field goal attempts per game. Stan Van Gundy valued him greatly, but he still did not view him as an offensive force on the level of prime O'Neal.
Jim Buss made mistakes. Jeanie Buss was just as determined in her own way. Lin Yi used to wonder whether Jeanie had ever truly secured a superstar on her own. At the same time, if the Lakers had not allowed Kobe a respectful final chapter, would later stars have trusted the franchise the same way?
Franchises remember. Players remember.
If ownership fights in public, championships move further away.
Blaming the Lakers' decline entirely on Kobe would be convenient. It would also be incomplete.
…
"Lin," Yao asked as they prepared to leave for Los Angeles, "who's winning that bet, Kenny or Shaq?"
Yao Ming leaned against the car, amused.
Lin Yi grinned. "We are. Knicks all the way."
He intended to make a statement against Kobe Bryant on the court. At the same time, he did not want Kobe to burn out chasing something unrealistic.
Kobe's drive was legendary. It was also dangerous. Push hard enough, long enough, and even steel gives way.
If the Lakers saw clearly that they were not true contenders, maybe Kobe would adjust. Play smarter. Stretch his career. Accept a different kind of legacy.
Lin Yi had no interest in watching him tear his body apart for a distant dream.
Yao shook his head with a faint smile. "You young guys really don't hesitate."
After that, Lin Yi pulled out his phone and sent a message to O'Neal.
"Relax. I'll handle Dwight."
The reply came quickly. A laughing emoji, then another.
Shaq, of course, insisted there was no pressure involved. No threats. Nothing like that.
Tonight, though, he was fully invested.
And for once, everyone agreed on one thing.
The spotlight belonged to Shaquille O'Neal.
. . .
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