The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 297 - 178 Regular Season MVP Unveiled_2

Chapter 297: Chapter 178 Regular Season MVP Unveiled_2

To be honest, some Lakers fans don’t even care now whether Kobe can continue to create miracles. They are well aware that having Yao Ming is the future, and they follow the Lakers’ management moves every day.

This is the basic situation in the West.

Having finished talking about the West, let’s turn our attention back to the East, where the Pistons and the Heat met in the semifinals. Shaquille O’Neal once again faced the "Double Wallaces," and the key battles between Wade and Billups and Hamilton were the focus of this round of the series, as well as the deciding factors for each team’s victory.

Whoever performed better in these two aspects would win the game.

In the three games that have already finished, it was indeed the team that performed better in these two respects that had the last laugh.

The Heat are currently leading 2-1.

Just as Shaquille O’Neal vowed to win the fourth game of the series and then return to the Heat’s home ground to eliminate the Pistons in the fifth game, the League announced the winner of this season’s "Best Defensive Player Award."

Artest, who had been vocal about this since the beginning of the season, got his wish by beating out Ben Wallace, who had a 34.5% voting rate, with a 41.3% voting rate to become the final "Best Defensive Player of the Season."

He also fulfilled his wish to become the first small forward in NBA history to win the "Best Defensive Player Award" twice.

It was a historic moment, and the Indiana media published articles one after another, celebrating Artest for unlocking this "historical first." From being suspended to winning the "Best Defensive Player Award" again, Artest has now become a symbol of an inspiring player.

Ben Wallace, whose persona had been stolen, was not happy. In the fourth game of the series, he put on an impressive performance, committing fouls against Heat players seven times, helping his team bring the series back to a 2-2 tie.

After the game, he said bluntly, "I’ve already had one trophy stolen from me by that rat, and now this is the second time. I don’t understand where I’m lacking. Is it because I don’t constantly talk about wanting to win the Best Defensive Player Award? Since when did the League need players to have the ability to chant slogans?"

Artest was not cowed at all and immediately posted on Facebook, "Some people who are not satisfied can find me at the Eastern Conference Finals. I’ll be waiting there for you. I hope you show up, and I’ll tell you why I am the Best Defensive Player of the Season!"

The powder keg was lit, fueling Ben Wallace’s motivation in the upcoming games against the Heat.

But it wasn’t just them who wanted to confront the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Shaquille O’Neal also had a score to settle with Su Wan, and his desire to reach the Eastern Conference Finals was no less intense than Ben Wallace’s.

And so...

He exploded!

In the fifth game of the series, the "King Mountain Battle," Shaquille O’Neal returned to his peak form, notching up 33 points and 14 rebounds, and committed seven fouls against the "Double Wallaces," nearly single-handedly destroying the Pistons’ interior defense.

Thanks to his explosive performance, the Heat won the crucial fifth game, securing a match point in advance.

But the Pistons’ tenacity was no joke. In the sixth game of the series, facing a "do-or-die" situation, the Pistons displayed even greater fighting spirit, limiting Shaq, who had been formidable in the previous game, to only 16 points, and keeping the Heat’s overall score under 80 points.

Eventually, the Pistons taught a classic "Pistons-style winning lesson" and evened the series to 3-3.

The season’s first "Game 7" battle was imminent.

And on the day before this game, the Dallas media suddenly went into a frenzy again for Dirk Nowitzki winning the regular season MVP of the year.

Firstly, the Mavericks swept the Clippers 4-0, and Dirk Nowitzki had scored 40 points in the fourth game. In a match where other players performed poorly, he helped the team come from behind and win by 10 points;

Secondly, the day to announce the regular season MVP was approaching, and they needed to start hyping it up in advance.

And then...

After the Heat and Pistons battled through overtime, ultimately sending the Pistons packing with a 99-91 victory the next morning, the official announcement named the ultimate prize-winner of the regular season MVP:

Not Dirk Nowitzki, but Su Wan!

"With a 40.5% voting rate, Su Wan wins his first regular season MVP of his career!"

"He’s collected all four MVP awards in just two years!"

"At 20 years and 10 months old, he becomes the youngest regular season MVP in NBA history, but he’s also waiting to break an even more outrageous record!"

...

Major media outlets reported the news as soon as it broke.

The Dallas media aren’t taking it lying down!

They said the winner of that regular-season game would be the final Regular Season MVP, right?

So why is everyone going back on their word?

The Dallas Morning News mocked, "Everyone just wants to witness the birth of history, yet they overlook the real recipient of the award. This season’s Dirk Nowitzki is absolutely the most wronged candidate for the NBA Regular Season MVP in history!"

Su Wan hadn’t expected to end up as the final Regular Season MVP.

He had long since stopped thinking about it.

But now, seeing his name on the official announcement board of the league, Su Wan didn’t show modesty.

"Since more members of the media think I should get the award, I’ll prove why I’m this year’s Regular Season MVP!"

When asked if he had seen the latest reports from the Dallas media, Su Wan shook his head and asked directly, "What’s up with them?"

The reporter told him, "They think you stole Dirk’s Regular Season MVP trophy through media and public opinion, making Dirk the most wronged candidate in NBA history."

Huh.

Su Wan let out a light chuckle.

Although he thought this year’s Dirk Nowitzki was indeed deserving of the Regular Season MVP.

But to call him wronged, then where would that leave Michael Jordan in the ’96-’97 season?

And if it weren’t for David Stern’s insistent "blackballing" of Jordan for the Regular Season MVP, then Jordan could have achieved three consecutive years of winning the Regular Season MVP. The loss was more than just a MVP trophy.

It’s really like being in debt up to your grandmother’s house.

The reporter felt from Su Wan’s light laughter that he actually didn’t agree with the Dallas media’s words. Pretending to be uninformed, the reporter asked, "If the Pacers make it to the finals, would you hope to face the Mavericks?"

Su Wan replied, "Couldn’t be better!"

After ending the interview with this reporter, Su Wan suddenly discovered that Erin had sent him a private message on Facebook – it was a web link.

Was it some strange stuff?

Filled with curiosity, Su Wan clicked on it and found out it was a news article.

This?

Su Wan instantly felt it was dull, but upon enlarging the picture, he realized it was an article interviewing Shaquille O’Neal.

It included comments about him becoming the final Regular Season MVP.

"I think the award should belong to Dirk, no question about it!"

"We all know where the Mavericks stood last season and where they are this year!"

"The Pacers had significant changes in the summer, but they are the defending champions, and their core lineup hasn’t changed. If it’s believed that rising to First in the league due to some main players leaving is no small feat and all thanks to Su Wan, then why do I only have one Regular Season MVP trophy?"

"During the Lakers’ three consecutive championships, we would lose some players every summer. But we secured three consecutive championships, and since Su Wan ended up as this year’s final Regular Season MVP, then I believe the league should also issue me two more Regular Season MVP trophies. Otherwise, I can only see it as the league’s preferential treatment for Su Wan!"

These words couldn’t be more severe, directly slapping the label of preferential treatment from the league on Su Wan.

If Su Wan couldn’t rip off this label, he would always be seen as someone under the league’s special care.

So he immediately reposted the article on his own Facebook with the comment, "Let me tell you why you only have one Regular Season MVP, Shaquille, because in the Lakers’ last two championships, everyone thought the Lakers had another Regular Season MVP – that’s Kobe Bryant!"

"Also, stop living in the past. During your time with the Lakers, there was only one season when you put the Lakers at number one in the Western conference, and it took you four years until Kobe grew up to achieve that, which is yet another proof you can’t do without Kobe!"

"So admit it, Shaquille, without Kobe, you are nothing!"

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