Jason Maxiell chases Chinese player down court after cheap foul
One of the best things about sports fandom is the aspirational aspect of the experience — the sheer delight at getting to envision yourself pulling off the feats of derring-do unfolding on the court, of imagining what it’d be like to soar through the air or effortlessly splash jumpers from 35 feet out. Sometimes, though, sports can serve up scenarios where what you’re feeling isn’t curiosity at what it must be like to be that player doing that amazing thing, but rather total recognition of what must be going through that player’s mind at that exact moment.
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Like, for example, I can very easily identify the thoughts and emotions of Wu Ke of the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shandong Flaming Bulls after delivering an unreasonably hard and cheap foul on Jason Maxiell, the 6-foot-7, 260-pound former NBA shot-blocker/rebounder/bruising bad-ass, and realizing that he has not been waylaid by this blow, and further realizing that he is very angry and coming very quickly in your direction.
Those thoughts and emotions, summarized from what I know that I would be feeling in that situation: “Ohhhhhh, noooooooooooooooo, run run run run run run run run run“
Maxiell, who made 61 appearances for the Charlotte Hornets last season and signed with Tianjin of the CBA this summer after 10 NBA seasons, did not particularly appreciate Wu Ke running from one end of the court to the other to fire a forearm at the back of his head and neck. His attempt to let Wu Ke know that with a winging hook, thankfully, did not come to fruition, but that did not stop him from giving chase with a ferocity that literally led Wu Ke to sprint away from Maxiell down the court, which is, if not the bravest response to delivering a hard foul, at least a very understandable one.
Perhaps most amazing of all: the peacemaker who lowered the temperature on Maxiell’s rolling boil and got everything cool and copacetic again was, of course, two-time CBA All-Star Game MVP Michael Beasley.
Beasley’s Shandong Golden Stars would go on to beat Maxiell’s Tianjin side by 22 points. Wu Ke has since been suspended for 11 games, a punishment he will gladly accept because he is lucky enough to remain alive to serve it. Wu Ke, you have been touched by an angel, and that angel’s nickname is Super Cool Beas.
Hat-tip to Nick Bedard of The Basketball Buddha.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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