For professional players, the most difficult thing is not to say goodbye, but to be unable to adapt to a life without competition after saying goodbye.

More than 90% of players have the idea of ​​making a comeback after retirement, no matter how old they are, or what they retire.

Some have even written a comeback declaration and just want to wait until a special time to make it public.

The world in 2023 seems to be no different from the world in 2013, but if you push the time forward three years, it will be a different scene.

The new coronavirus has poisoned the world, with hundreds of millions of people diagnosed and tens of millions of people killed. The remaining poison cannot be eradicated yet.

The Americans sent away the craziest president of all time and welcomed an old man who didn't know whether he could end his term alive. He inserted the banner of political correctness throughout the United States.

It was also at this time that Wei Xia finally couldn't stand the loneliness and finally made a comeback after three years after announcing an indefinite truce in 2020.

His comeback was not a "return of the king", but a real farewell.

Wei Xia only signed with the 76ers for one season, and he wanted to know if he could still play. But the 76ers are very different from three years ago. Although there are still a few familiar faces, their competitiveness no longer exists.

Cousins ​​left from his peak due to an Achilles tendon injury and was traded in the summer of 2022.

The leading player of the 76ers is Pascal Siakam, who lost his ambition after signing a big contract.

They are a team that is difficult to make the playoffs. Will there be any changes when they welcome an old man who has been away from professional basketball for three years?

No, nothing will change.

Wish is old after all, his truce is different from Jordan's going to play baseball. He does not keep playing sports, so most things have to start from scratch.

He struggled in the first month of the new season.

Later, he slowly found the state of the game, using his skills, experience and skills to maintain an average of 20 points and 45% shooting percentage.

After the New Year, he announced that he would officially retire after the end of the season.

So a belated farewell tour began.

Like Bob Cousy in 1963; Haflicek in 1978; Dr. J in 1988; Michael Jordan in 1998, he would fill the stadium wherever he went.

He is a controversial figure, and most Americans do not agree with his views and political stance, but he is undoubtedly the greatest basketball star of the 1910s.

Love and hate him are just a choice.

Sports has an extremely strong cohesion in American society. When such a great athlete reaches the end of his career, what he has done is no longer important to fans.

"Wish is like LBJ, Kobe, MJ, Larry Bird, the 'Magic', and is the kind of player who will only produce one in ten years and twenty years. If you are lucky enough to witness his career in his best years, you should be honored."

Wei Xia's curtain call is his old club, the Los Angeles Lakers.

James is still with the Lakers, which is his 20th season. Wei Xia is the only player in the league who can be considered his peers. They compete with each other and each has their own victory or defeat. In the past 20 years, they each have their own names in the history of the NBA.

Wei Xia is about to run through the finish line, and James is still holding his dream of competing in the same NBA with his son Brownie.

In the end, the 76ers won the game.

In the last moment, Wei Xia set the victory with a simple jump shot, scoring 34 points, leaving a perfect end to his career.

That night, he and James exchanged jerseys with each other.

They still hate each other, but it was their last fight anyway.

"Wish, I've enjoyed the confrontation with you over the years. Without you, NBA is no longer so interesting." James opened his heart.

Wei Xia said sincerely: "This is my honor, LeBron."

At this point, 40-year-old Wei Xia ended his career.

Since entering the league in 2005, if he removes the 2008-09 reimbursement season and the offseason from 2021-2023, he has only played for 15 seasons.

He won six championships, 6 times elected FMVP, 5 times elected MVP, 11 times selected for the best team, 13 times selected for the best defensive team, 4 times the top scorer, and 3 times the top DPOY - he is synonymous with offense and defense, and he is considered the best player in history to combine personal offense and defense.

His controversy, his achievements, made many people unable to fairly examine what he did. But even the arrogant Americans could not rank his historical status behind anyone who was not called Michael Jordan.

That night, Wei Xia gave a retirement speech on the spot.

His speech was not long and touching, because of his jokes, the speech was interrupted several times.

"It's been 19 years, and I didn't expect it to be so long."

He finally said, "I have done everything I should do; I have tried my best to achieve what I should achieve; I have no regrets, it is a long road, I am very happy that I have arrived here smoothly, thank you."

Wei Xia's speech lasted less than ten minutes.

Originally, the 76ers planned to have a heartfelt tribute video like the Spurs retired in GDP in a few years, and then invited all the people who are of great significance to Wei Xia to sit in a row and tell stories in turn, and finally Wei Xia said goodbye.

This proposal was rejected by Wei Xia.

He didn't want to be so complicated, nor did he like the tradition of Americans who like to tell stories in any occasion, and only they themselves know the meaning of those stories themselves.

It was as if he definitely didn't want to hear Kobe proudly say that he kicked Wei Xia's butt every day back then.

Just like Kobe doesn't like Wei Xia, who always let Kobe walk out of the arena on the upside down in the rookie challenge that year, to warm up the court.

At the end of the speech, Wei Xia's child ran to him, and his wife Elaine hugged and kissed him: "Felix, you are the best in history in my mind."

Wei Xia was so satisfied that she didn't know what to say.

Kobe was also present, and he and Wei Xia looked at each other.

No need for extra words, they nodded to each other.

Kobe knew that Wei Xia had done his best to complete his career, just like in 2018, fans around the world knew that Kobe had exhausted all the oil in his body to win his sixth ring.

It was a story without regrets.

The same goes for today's story.

Perhaps someone still wonders if Wei Xia would have achieved more if he had not been stolen for those three years.

But this is a question that cannot be answered.

It is destined to be one of many interesting "ifs" in NBA history.

No one can truly control their own destiny, especially in the 21st century 20s. Some people lost the election that they were sure to win, some people took away their beautiful lives by the new crown, some people are still confused, and some people have finished their path.

Just like that, silence is better than sound. Keep goodbye in your heart. Don’t say goodbye. Wei Xia doesn’t need it, because he may choose to come back at the age of 50.

Don't laugh, this is one of his middle-aged dreams.
Chapter completed!