last super center

Chapter 129 The public opinion storm before the All-Stars!
Time passed quickly. After the Christmas game, the Lakers continued to polish their young system. Before the arrival of the All-Stars, the fan voting had already started. After the announcement of the 120 candidates, the fans began to exert their efforts to vote for their favorite stars. Cast a valuable vote.

It is worth mentioning that in the candidate list for the western center position, the names of Su Mu and Aaron Gordon are the top two, far ahead of everyone after that!

Vote King!

Su Mu has become the top voter in the NBA All-Star voting so far, and the lead of No.2 is extremely terrifying.

Not only Chinese fans, but even many local American fans voted for Su Mu.

This is an era of looking at appearances. A handsome man like Su Mu has naturally won the love of many opposite sexes and some same sexes.

So here comes the problem, after the All-Star reorganization, a rookie player like Su Mu can no longer be selected for the All-Star team in the first year, David Stern was troubled for a while in the office, after all, this is If the rules he formulated back then were revised hastily, or if the rules became a joke because of Su Mu, then Xiao Hua would really have to apologize in front of fans all over the world.

As for why the previous All-Star rules should be modified, the answer is quite simple.

Since 1975, fans voted for the All-Star starters. This system looks great and can make the NBA and fans win-win. Therefore, the league continued this voting method and launched online voting in the 2002-03 season to include fans from all over the world. Into the voting system, and the alliance's new move caused an uproar.

In 2002, Yao Ming became the No. [-] pick in the NBA, and the NBA introduced an online voting mechanism during Yao Ming's rookie season, and specially set up a Chinese voting system.At that time, it coincided with the full spread of the Internet in China. When the news spread that Yao Ming could be selected as an All-Star on the Internet, Chinese fans adopted this model to vote for Yao. The domestic media also contributed to the flames. TV, websites and newspapers You can see the content of canvassing votes for Yao Ming. The strength of the crowd made Yao Ming the All-Star starter and became a carnival for the whole people.

As a result, Yao Ming received 128.6 million votes as a rookie, ranking fifth in the league, second only to Kobe in the West, and even squeezed the dominant center O'Neal, who led the Lakers to three consecutive championships, to the All-Star bench. The American media was "detonated" in an instant, and the fairness and objectivity of the All-Star voting were questioned.

In the eyes of American basketball reporters, even though Yao Ming is indeed very good and has great potential to be tapped in the future, it is a bit contrary to common sense for an NBA rookie to beat O'Neal in the All-Star starter competition. disadvantages.

You know, how terrifying O'Neal was back then. He helped the Lakers create a championship dynasty. Both personal glory and competitive status have reached the peak of his personal career. This is O'Neal, but he was replaced by Yao Ming as an All-Star. , is indeed a little unreasonable.

Also in 2003, another major event happened in the All-Star voting, that is, the No.1 Jordan in NBA history did not have the chance to start the All-Star.This result angered NBA coaches and many senior basketball reporters, criticizing the fans as "ungrateful."

The coaches later included Jordan in the All-Star bench lineup. Iverson and McGrady offered to give Jordan the starting position. Carter initially insisted that the starter was given to him by the fans. If he gave it away, he would be disrespectful to the fans. Before the start of the All-Star Game in 2003, Carter suddenly changed his mind and gave up the starting lineup to Jordan, which made it possible for the "Flying Man" to start for the last All-Star Game.

Although Jordan still started in the 2003 All-Star Game, the process was so difficult that it still made American basketball reporters unhappy. They pointed out that the main reason for this situation was that the decision to vote for the All-Star Game was all in the hands of fans, especially the Internet. After the rise of voting, most of the fans who participated in the voting were relatively young. They may have never watched Jordan play, and they don’t know about Jordan’s achievements and contributions. Therefore, there are cases where they do not vote for Jordan. It is unreasonable for fans to vote for the All-Star. Improvements should be made.

Therefore, in 2008, David Stern implemented the first rule about NBA All-Star voting, that is, rookies cannot participate in the All-Star Game, but can only participate in the Rookie Challenge.

A large part of the reason why David Stern promulgated this rule in 2008 was because of another player from China: Yi Jianlian!
In his rookie season, Yi Jianlian played 66 games, 49 of which he started. He averaged 25 minutes per game, 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. As an inside player, his shooting percentage was only 42.1%. At that time, Chinese fans still voted for him without hesitation, so there was a very embarrassing scene: he averaged 8+5 per game, and his number of All-Star votes remained high, even surpassing the All-Star regular Garnett. Second only to James in the East.

You know, Garnett joined the Celtics that season, sacrificing a lot of possessions, and his statistics are not as good as the Timberwolves, but he can still contribute 18.8 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.41 steals and 1.25 blocks per game. In the season, he was selected to the best team, the best defensive team, and the best defensive player of the year, and also helped the Celtics win the championship.

If the NBA did not amend the rules in time, Garnett would have played Yi Jianlian as a substitute in the All-Star Game, which seemed to many people at the time to be an extremely ridiculous thing.

In order to prevent this from happening, the league stipulates that rookies cannot be selected for the All-Star Game, but can only participate in the Rookie Challenge. In the end, Yi Jianlian participated in the Rookie Challenge, shooting 8 of 3 shots, scoring 8 points and 2 rebounds. Experience an All-Star weekend.

The subsequent further revision of the rules was proposed by Gou Hua two years later, the rules that all three parties can balance and there will be no serious objections.

The reform of the voting rules carried out by the NBA this time reduces the original 100% decision-making power of fans to 50%, increasing the voting power of players and the media.This change is a three-party balance. The league must maintain the fans' right to vote. If it is completely cancelled, it will hurt the feelings of the fans. This is something the NBA will never do. Fans are the bread and butter of professional leagues.

In terms of the voting rights of players and the media, the league is divided into two, with each side accounting for 25%. This is because both players and media votes also have advantages and disadvantages.Player voting is guaranteed in terms of professionalism. Players know better who is stronger and plays better, and is more worthy of the honor of the All-Star. The voting was reflected vividly.

Media voting can enhance the media’s participation in the NBA, which is more conducive to the promotion effect, but the media also has the problem of being too subjective, and there may even be some prejudices. Some stars who have a better relationship with the media are often favored, and vice versa. It will be coldly received, which can also be seen from the selection of MVP.

After the era of players voting for the MVP is over, the NBA will hand over the MVP selection to the media. The stars who are more popular with the media will benefit, while those who are relatively cold to reporters will suffer, such as Kobe.

Kobe is the third leading scorer in NBA history and the most popular star in the post-Jordan era, but he has only one regular-season MVP trophy in his 20-year NBA career. There are many reasons for this situation, but one factor that cannot be ignored is that Kobe and The relationship between media reporters who hold MVP voting rights is not so good, and it was even tense for a while.

Not being liked by the media makes it difficult for Kobe to win the MVP. This view is recognized by some professionals in the league. Battier once said frankly: "I don't think Kobe should only get the MVP once. If the voters can Appreciate Kobe's character more, and he will obviously win more MVPs."

Fan voting has the disadvantage of not being objective, player voting has the problem of paying too much attention to personal performance, and media selection has the suspicion of human affection. The NBA disperses voting rights. Fans, players, and the media can all play a role, but none of them have complete decision-making power. The three aspects are balanced, and no one can find fault. This is the league's check and balance technique. Win-win has always been the operation of the NBA. law.

But these are not the most important issues now. David Stern tried his best to send Su Mu to the All-Star stage. Putting aside his selfishness, Su Mu's current performance on the court is already enough. Enough to be selected into the ranks of the All-Stars, coupled with a strong background from China, even if it violates the rules that I made at the beginning, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages!

"We must find a way to let Su Mu participate in this year's All-Star Game!"

David Stern has already come up with a plan in his mind. The initiator of this plan is absolutely impossible to be an insider of the league, not to mention the management, even the cleaners who clean the headquarters. !

This set of plans cannot have any connection with the league, and the best starting point must be the players on the NBA court. They are the real, strong guarantees that can speak out on behalf of the league!
As for who the promoter is, David Stern has long thought of it.

On the night of the end of the Christmas game, the entire Lakers team had already flown back to Los Angeles.

On this day that the United States attaches great importance to, being with family is the most important thing.

The spiritual boss of the Lakers, Kobe, who was sitting on the bench, was preparing to have a great battle with his beautiful wife, when suddenly, his cell phone rang.

At first glance, the name of the visitor: David Stern.

Why is this old boy calling me so late?Don't need to stay at home with your wife and children?

When the phone was connected, a familiar voice came from my ear.

"Kobe, I need your help!"

David Stern said sincerely.

Listening to the appeal of the little old man opposite, Kobe nodded, expressing that he could help.

After hanging up the phone, Kobe's wife Vanessa asked, "Is there something wrong?"

As he said that, he also pulled the sling on his shoulders, so that his proud figure could be seen at a glance, completely exposed to Kobe's sight.

"David Stern, this guy asked me to help Su Mu be selected as an All-Star this year."

"Just the super rookie who just came to your team this year?"

"Um"

"He was selected as an All-Star, and still needs your help?"

Vanessa doesn't usually pay much attention to basketball, but she will still watch the games of Kobe's team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Su Mu's performance on the court is obvious to all. Any fool knows that he is worthy of the All-Star seat. In the current voting, Su Mu is far ahead of the No.2 LeBron James. Under such circumstances, do you still need Kobe's help?
Vanessa doesn't understand.

"NBA did not allow rookies to participate in the All-Star Game several years ago. Su Mu has a high vote, but he is not eligible to get a ticket to enter the All-Star Game."

"why is it like this"

Vanessa is puzzled, rookies are not allowed to enter the All-Star?

She didn't know the rules very well, and thought it was very unfair to Su Mu.

"So, the old guy asked me to help."

Kobe bared his teeth. David Stern is too shrewd. He resolutely refuses to touch such a thankless thing. He has become saying that the rules of the NBA league are a piece of waste paper. I pulled out my trouser pocket and couldn't wipe it off no matter how much I wiped.

That's why I wanted to use myself, the most influential player in active service, to help Su Mu make an exception and enter the All-Star Game.

Is there a chance?

Of course!
Su Mu's performance is really outstanding, which is the necessary prerequisite for success.

Who can refuse such an excellent rookie player to enter the NBA game?
Kobe picked up his phone and tweeted something like this: "Su Mu, a rookie player who deserves to be selected for the All-Star Game, if he fails to be selected, it will be the most blatant insult to the sport of basketball!"

Below the text, Kobe added a few photos of Su Mu's performance on the court so far, ranking first in the league in rebounds per game, first in blocks per game, top [-] in points per game, and top three in the league in defensive efficiency.
There are too many reasons worthy of being selected, Kobe just chose the most important part.

And 1 minute after Kobe finished tweeting, the Internet was completely blown up!

"I support the boss's statement, Su Mu is too good, such a rookie must be selected for the All-Star Game!"

"It's not fair! The rules that were issued against Chinese players are still targeted at Chinese players now. This is discrimination and an insult to people of the yellow race!"

"Such a result is not worthy of being selected as an All-Star? To be honest, I think Su Mu can win this year's regular season MVP!"

More and more people are expressing their opinions on the Internet. There is no doubt that Su Mu's style of play, appearance and super popularity have won the approval of most fans. The floodgates are out of control!
And the stars who have had an intersection with Su Mu also expressed their opinions one after another.

James Harden: "Voice for my little brother who deserves an All-Star game."

LeBron James: "Even though his team beat us, I have to admit, he's a good basketball player."

Tim Duncan: "This guy didn't make the All-Star? No kidding, he hated me three times!"

Kevin Durant: "I have to pick up my keyboard and say something, Kobe is right, I support him."

More and more people stood up and expressed their views on whether Su Mu should be selected as an All-Star.

Except for some unreasonable fans, including current NBA stars, most of them support Kobe's statement.

Seeing the constant hype on the Internet, David Stern sipped red wine and ate desserts, with a smug smile on his face.

"Su Mu, you must be selected as an All-Star!"

(End of this chapter)