The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 551 - 230 God of Active MVPs in the NBA_2

Chapter 551: Chapter 230 God of Active MVPs in the NBA_2

One of them was the 10th overall pick in the first round of ’04, and the other was the top pick of ’04. One found success right out of the gate, seizing a dynasty with "three consecutive championships" in the first three years, while the other endured a long development period post-debut. So much so, that whenever the media mentioned the "Class of ’04," the first to come to mind was Su Wan, then again Su Wan, and in the end, still Su Wan.

Only after giving it some serious thought did they recall:

Oh!

The top pick that year was a "muscle man" who liked to give a silly smile, looking not too bright!

This should be the series where Howard proves himself as the "No.1 Pick" of ’04.

But as the outside reaction would suggest, the focus of this series wasn’t on the rivalry between Su Wan and Howard.

It was on the rivalry between Shaquille O’Neal and Howard.

Think about it, with Howard’s current market value and his achievements over these four years, he’s not even in the same dimension as Su Wan.

Currently, the only one in the League who could wrestle with Su Wan is Kobe Bryant.

In terms of honors, aside from Kobe, even Wade doesn’t qualify to be compared with Su Wan — actually, Shaquille does too, but they’re teammates and he’s well past his prime.

Moreover, there’s an intricate connection between Shaquille O’Neal and Howard.

In ’92, the Magic Team used their No.1 pick to draft Shaquille O’Neal; twelve years later, they got the No.1 pick again, and once more chose a big man.

Most importantly, this big man, the top pick, has now done something Shaquille had done, taking the team to the stage of the Eastern Conference Finals.

As for the differences between the two...

Perhaps when the Magic Team was hesitating to extend Shaquille’s contract, they showed no such hesitation with Howard, decisively extending his contract ahead of time.

Mind you, decisively is one thing, but he got extended even before they secured the deal!

Meaning, before signing this contract, Howard hadn’t even led the team into the Eastern Conference Finals!

This stark contrast in treatment...

Shaquille O’Neal was always somewhat petty, and now even more so.

Just consider how he later took offense at Gobert, simply because Gobert signed a huge contract.

Seeing Gobert, that waste of space, signing a contract worth $205 million, then looking at his entire career earnings which hardly equate to that contract.

How could he not feel slighted?

If he’s like this towards the unrelated Gobert, how could he possibly have a good attitude toward Howard?

Especially when Shaquille O’Neal had already been picking fights with Howard over the title "Superman" all this season, by the time this series came around, they had developed quite significant animosity.

Look at the reaction from the Orlando media.

They were more preoccupied with the grudge between Shaquille O’Neal and Howard.

Nearly all the newspapers were mocking Shaquille O’Neal.

"The Shark" was so angry at the sneers from the Orlando media that he had a tantrum, rolling around on the ground with Nate Robinson. Then, Nate Robinson seized the opportunity to slam dunk fiercely on Shaquille when he wasn’t paying attention during practice.

And the aftermath was cruel; "Little Potato" Robinson got caught by Shaquille, who then used his oversized shoe to smack him hard on the butt.

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The atmosphere was still pretty relaxed.

Shaquille O’Neal’s disdain for Howard was all-encompassing.

He truly believed Howard was no good!

However, when the outside world analyzed the "#Eastern Conference Finals" and compared both teams, they thought the Magic Team could be a big problem for the Pacers: "They have two players on the All-NBA Team, which matches the Pacers’ data!"

During the semifinals, the League officially announced the All-NBA Teams for the season:

"First Team: Su Wan, Kobe, LeBron, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard;"

"Second Team: Wade, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, Yao Ming;"

"Third Team: Brandon Roy, Tony Parker, Tekeglu, Zach Randolph, Amare Stoudemire;"

This was the only time in the past few seasons that the "Scoring King" missed out on the "First Team."

But Wade’s loss wasn’t unjust; his momentum was undoubtedly lacking compared to Kobe and Su Wan.

LeBron made the First Team for the first time in his career.

So did Dwight Howard.

And Dirk Nowitzki was the "First Team forward" this season - not because he played exceptionally well, but because...

Tim Duncan was entering a transitional phase, Kevin Garnett had long since transitioned - the forward spots regularly held in the First Team by these two was weakening as they entered their declining years. Little O’Neal was plagued by injuries, which suddenly made the talent-rich position of forward seem thin.

Hence, even LeBron James jumped to a First Team spot.

And as for the remaining forward spot, they didn’t even know who to give it to.

Eventually, the reporters picked Dirk Nowitzki, the forward with the best stats.

And then "ripe for the picking" Carmelo Anthony also made the All-NBA Team for the first time in his career.

As did newcomers Tekeglu and Randolph.

Watching the old faces slowly disappearing and many superstars making new breakthroughs in their careers, one could tell that the NBA was indeed on the cusp of a new round of changes!

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