From sparring to superstar

Chapter 334
All the fans chanted "MVP". This scene was only seen during the MVP award ceremony before.

Shouting "MVP" during free throws was a famous scene created several years later by a certain No. 8 player who was hiding in the box to watch the game and went crazy in stages.

Tonight, Li Ao led his team to overpower the hot Magic team in the first half. At the last moment, he used a 2+1 to reverse the defeat. He also produced a shocking scene where he was double-teamed while running without the ball... The fans at the scene did not know this. What should I shout? Thinking that Li Ao just won the regular season MVP this season, I just shouted like this!

The championship has been decided, and the commentators began to praise Li Ao's performance tonight and his 2+1 at the critical moment...

In the last 2.8 seconds, Cassel didn't play after receiving the ball.

Trailing by 4 points, it would be meaningless even if he directly threw a three-pointer from the backcourt.

Originally, he wanted to make a profit, but all the players on the opposite side followed Spider-Man and rushed to the bench. He wanted to find someone to rub against to see if he could score four points, but he had no chance.

The final whistle sounded on time.

邓肯22投10中，加上惊人的10中8的罚球，拿到28分10板3助攻3盖帽。

卡塞尔15投6中，其中三分球6中2，加上2中2的罚球拿到16分8助攻。

麦迪8板3助攻3抢断2盖帽的表现全面且出色，但投篮方面14投仅3中，其中三分球7中2，加上6中5的罚球才拿到13分。

The Magic's three major stars each have their own problems. Duncan slipped up at critical moments; McGrady's shooting was blocked by Gerald Wallace, Li Ao, and Big Q; Cassell's scoring in regular time was unstable...but they complemented each other very well. Duncan supported the regular scoring, Cassell made up for McGrady's weakness in key shots, McGrady performed extremely well defensively and connected the whole team together... combined to create an amazing combat power.

But he couldn't stand it and the opponent exploded even more violently!
李敖26投11中，其中三分球9中3，加上7中6的罚球，拿到31分8板3助攻4抢断2盖帽。

奥多姆12投6中，加上4中3的罚球，拿到15分15板6助攻1抢断2盖帽。

小奥尼尔8投4中，加上4中2的罚球，拿到10分18板。

乔丹13投8中，加上4中3的罚球，拿到19分……

94 to 90, the Clippers won the tiebreaker, defeated the Magic 4 to 3, and won the championship!
After a wild celebration with his teammates, coaches, and family members, Li Ao returned to the court with his teammates. The staff was ready and the championship award ceremony began.

Li Ao was a little nervous now.

The data of three players is posted on the big screen.

O'Neal Jr. averaged 11.2 points, 13.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2 blocks per game.

乔丹场均16.7分4板2.4助攻1.4抢断0.5盖帽，投篮命中率50.1%。

还有就是他蜘蛛侠，场均24.3分7.7板3助攻3.1抢断3盖帽。

数据来看，他是最好的，比场均24+14+2+1+3的邓肯都不差。

But the shooting percentage...42.3%.

Jordan was used as a "strategic weapon" in this finals. The whole team was working hard for Jordan to harvest the game, so that Jordan could exert his strength under the best conditions with the most sufficient physical strength.

The title of 'Third Quarter MVP' has already appeared after the first four games.

With Iguodala's "lessons from the past" of taking FMVP there, he couldn't help but worry.

Also, although Marbury was beaten by Jordan, Marbury was right - why did Jordan steal the best sixth man from Odom?

But Stern is no joke. In terms of small awards, he will give Jordan, who is playing as a substitute for the first time in his career, gold-plating to further consolidate his deity. However, he did not show off his cleverness in big awards.

When the nickname 'Spider-Man' came from Stern's mouth, the fans at the scene once again shouted "MVP" crazily!
The Clippers won two consecutive championships, and Li Ao won the FMVP!

At the same time, Li Ao completed the epic achievement of winning both MVP and FMVP in a single season!

Before him, only 8 players in NBA history had accomplished this achievement.

The first was Willis Reed of the Knicks, who opened the scoring in the 69-70 season, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar did the same the next year.

Then in the 80s, Moses Malone once, Big Bird twice, and Magic Johnson once.

Then in the 90s, Jordan completed double MVPs 6 times during his 4 championships.

Among Jordan's four double MVPs, Olajuwon had one double MVP. However, Olajuwon's double MVP was a bit special. He also won the best defensive player, MVP+DPOY+FMVP at the same time, the only one in history.

Later, in the first year of the new century, O'Neal completed double MVPs...

Li Ao becomes the 9th double MVP player in history!

...

The Clippers, who successfully defended their title, are in the spotlight.

Bibby, O'Neal Jr., Matt Halprin... and others shined in this finals and made people remember their names.

Odom also became popular with the tiebreaker.

Jordan averaged 50 points per game on 16.7% shooting, and his performance was shocking.

The focus of the spotlight - Li Ao!
This finals was regarded as a classic by the media and fans.

The losing side makes the fans feel sorry.

Throughout the finals, except for Duncan who was anxious in the last attack and made the wrong choice, the Magic made almost no mistakes in the previous games.

But Duncan didn't shoot that ball, which doesn't mean that Cassel can score the game-winning three-pointer.

Some experts analyzed the reason why Duncan made such a choice - it was precisely because Duncan had been calm and too calm before, but when it came to the most critical goal, his string collapsed.

However, people are optimistic about the future of the Magic. With 24-year-old McGrady and 27-year-old Duncan, the future has no limits!

In the first two or three days after the finals, the topic of discussion among fans focused on the finals itself, but after a few days, the topic began to go astray.

ESPN has come up with a new topic - the Angel City Era.

After the Lakers won two consecutive championships, the Clippers also completed two consecutive championships. Isn't this the fourth consecutive championship in Angel City.

After this topic came out, Celtics fans turned against them.

Originally, they were still "singing praises" for the Clippers, representing the Clippers and the Lakers fans in a passionate match.

ESPN brought up this topic and 'bind' the Clippers and Lakers together, and the original 'Anti-Lake League' quickly fell apart.

The 'allies' suddenly discovered that the Clippers are also going to have a dynasty!
Whichever team becomes a dynasty will become the common enemy of all teams.

The Lakers, who had been the target of a beating just now, suddenly had an ally.

The entire alliance's fight against the Purple and Gold Army has turned into an entire alliance's fight against the Angel City aircraft carrier!
Mainly because the current Clippers are far more dynastic than the 01-02 Lakers.

Spider-Man improves by leaps and bounds every year, Jordan gets older and stronger, Bibby and Matt Halprin have reached the prime of their careers, Odom and O'Neal Jr. have explosive talents, Gerald Wallace shows his talent, and Big Q Deep overflow with Jaylon Collins and others...

At that time, the Lakers, except for the OK combination, were either tired or old. They relied solely on the No. [-] OK combination in the world to support their championship strength.

This Clippers team is in full swing!

Just when the 'Sniper Angel City Aircraft Carrier Alliance' was about to take shape, on June 6, the day before the draft, something happened that shocked the league.

Not only did it steal the limelight from the unified front of fans of multiple teams, it also stole the limelight from the most popular draft at the moment.

Jordan held a press conference to announce his retirement and said that this time he was retiring permanently and would never return to the professional arena again.

The news was sudden and quite unexpected, and even most of the Clippers players were confused when they were interviewed.

Jordan performed so well in the finals, his overall performance even surpassed that of O'Neal Jr. In such a competitive state, there is no big problem in maintaining his current performance for another two years. His athletic ability cannot be worse at his age.

If the third dynasty can be completed, the godhood will be even more impossible to shake.

But Jordan didn't explain anything, and he didn't even show off. He said at the press conference that he would retire forever and then left... But announcing his retirement so lightly was just showing off.

I've had enough of Dynasty, I don't care if I get more or less.

Jordan's retirement, in people's eyes, had a huge impact on the Clippers' dynasty.

For any team, without the team's second leading scorer, the leading scorer on the bench, and the team's most stable player in singles, the impact will not be small.

This also affects the selection of some veteran free agents...

On June 6th, the much-anticipated 27 draft came.

Eight-time champion Jordan retired and stole some of the limelight, but this draft is still the most popular since 1996.

The Cavaliers selected James with the No. [-] pick, the Pistons selected Milicic with the second pick, and the Nuggets selected Anthony with the third pick.

The choices of these three teams are the same as Li Ao's impression, there is no change.

The Cavaliers must choose James.

The Pistons lacked insiders and naturally chose inside players, and Milicic was the one with the highest overall evaluation during the joint trial. He was not yet 18 years old at the time.

Anthony...another little Spider-Man, is regarded as the most powerful one among this rookie class.

Li Ao in front of the TV looked at Milicic wearing a Pistons hat and observed a moment of silence for this talented center.

The 76ers and Larry Brown have fallen out. Before the 76ers finished the second round, Larry Brown began to listen to offers from other teams. After the 76ers were eliminated in the second round, their boss publicly He angrily accused Larry Brown of having no professional ethics.

If nothing else goes wrong, Carlisle has worked hard to get the people under his hands together, and as long as he waits for a big rim protector to join, he will become the favorite for the championship... but he will be picked soon.

With the fourth pick, the Heat, who were crazy about Hinrich, chose the little-known Wade instead of Hinrich.

The camera showed dozens of Heat fans at the scene, and their expressions were confused.

Not picking Stockton Jr.?

Even if you don't need Stockton Jr., Bosh of the Trojans, Kaman of the University of Michigan, Ford, who was praised by Iverson as being faster than him... all will be fine!

Wade?Marquette University?In such a big year of the draft, using the No. 4 pick to select a short shooting guard who can't even enter the first league?

(Note: Marquette University joined the American Athletic Conference in 2005 and currently belongs to the minor league American Men's Athletic Association, which has lower academic performance requirements for athletes.)
The Bucks used the No. 5 pick to acquire Chris Bosh.

The Bulls selected Hinrich with the No. 6 pick.

The Hawks selected Chris Kaman with the No. 7 pick.

The Warriors selected TJ Ford with the No. 8 pick.

The Rockets used the No. 9 pick to select Michael Sweetney, the 'Bumbo Shark' from Georgetown University, a center giant in college basketball...

The league returned the first-round picks in 03 and 05 to the Timberwolves, and the Clippers' pick returned from No. 28 to No. 29.

Although self-proclaimed Clippers star Bill Walton came to Los Angeles after the Finals and went to Memorial Stadium every day to promote his son, Wally Walker, Gentry, and Li Ao all felt that there was no need to sell their son. The face of a legendary superstar who has not played for two years and has not received any honors.The suggestion given by Li Ao is to choose one of the three players who are good at shooting, including Kapono, Blake, and Korver.

In the end, Gentry chose the two-meter pitcher Kapono.

The reason - they are all mature players who graduated as seniors, and Kapono performed best as a senior.

Moreover, Kapono is from UCLA and is a Los Angeles player. The Clippers scouts have been eyeing the university's top pitcher since the beginning of the season.

Kapono also set a record in UCLA team history, something that even Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton couldn't do - in four years of college, he became the team's scoring leader starting from his freshman year as a substitute.

At the same time, Kapono is also the third player in UCLA team history to score more than 3 points in his college career, and he is also ranked sixth in the entire Pac2000 League.

The Clippers had nothing to do with the second round. They gave away their second-round pick when they traded Mark Blount.

Mark Blount's three-year rookie contract has expired, and the Clippers do not intend to renew it. It is equivalent to only using a second-round pick for more than three months, but they do not feel that they have lost money at all.

When playing against the Lakers, Mark Blount played a big role.

After the draft, the Clippers began to renew free agents.

Odom has already negotiated a contract extension, which is worth US$7 million over seven years. It was the maximum salary contract in 8600. He did not ask for an increase to the maximum salary of this year's salary cap, and Wally Walker did not pay more.

O'Neal's contract renewal went smoothly, with a starting salary of US$1125 million and a salary of US$4 million in four years. The contract is short but the price is high, which is basically in line with the market price.

This reflects O'Neal's confidence in his future. The Clippers also provided a seven-year contract worth $7 million, which is comparable to Odom's 8200 maximum salary, but he chose to risk his future. .

If 4 years later, the 28-year-old O'Neal Jr. becomes a superstar-level traditional center with 11 years of playing experience and 7 consecutive years of playing in one team, he can get a super maximum salary of 35% of the salary cap.

The two young insiders renewed their contracts smoothly, but there was a problem with the backup center-Campbell left the team.

In the season that just ended, Campbell's salary was more than $800 million, and the Clippers chose to give up his Bird Rights.

If the bird rights are retained, it will occupy nearly 1300 million U.S. dollars in space.

Give up Campbell's Bird rights, postpone the submission of O'Neal and Odom's contract extensions to the league, and eat the rookie contracts of Li Ao, Big Q, Gerald Wallace, Yaric, Jaylon Collins, etc., plus salary With the cap rising, the Clippers have freed up more than $700 million in space, allowing them to have more options in the free market.

The Clippers management's idea is to finally use the mid-level to renew Campbell's contract. Thanks to the hot basketball market in the playoffs, the NBA salary cap has increased to US$4951 million, and the mid-level contract has reached US$500 million.

This price is already very premium.

However, some teams raised the price...

The Pistons extended an invitation to Campbell for $2 million over two years.

The Clippers were communicating with two other signing targets and needed that part of the salary space. After much hesitation, they chose to give up matching the same contract. Campbell finally left Los Angeles again and joined the Pistons.

Losing Campbell, the Clippers suffered a chain reaction - two people they met with refused to join!

On July 7, Payton made the decision two weeks after meeting with the two Los Angeles teams to join the Lakers for $10 million over two years.

Seeing that the Clippers had lost Jordan and Campbell, and that the introduction of Payton also failed, Malone accepted Larry Bird's invitation to join the Pacers as a two-year mid-level player.

Li Ao was numb when he received the news.

He knew that Jordan's retirement would have a huge impact, but he didn't expect it to be so big!
Judging from this situation, if Jordan does not retire, then they will directly renew Campbell's contract without considering summer signings. Their championship lineup is complete.

In that case, it's better if Payton and Malone come, and they won't lose if they don't come.

But now, he feels like he has lost [-] million!

Not only was it as simple as failing to bring in Payton and Malone, the two veteran superstars who were determined to compete for the championship and took the initiative to cut their salaries gave up joining them, but also revealed a signal to the free market - they were not favored by veterans who wanted the championship.

This will inevitably affect the intentions of other veterans.

Li Ao was mentally prepared for the difficulty of recruiting after two consecutive championships, but the difficulty was still beyond imagination.

Based on this situation, after discussing with Gentry, Li Ao began to make secondary preparations - tapping internal potential.

He, Gerald Wallace, O'Neal Jr., Jaric... all have huge room for improvement.

The team's capital is relatively strong. After Li Ao calmed down, he started commercial endorsement activities.

This year he has more business activities, adding several stops in Europe and South America for 3 weeks. He will not waste these time. When it is time to practice shooting, the upper limit of mid-range shooting has been exceeded. Three-pointers The three basic skills of mid-range shooting, passing and controlling ability are his main goals for improvement this summer.

When his strength reaches a certain level, training goes back to the previous level. The basic skills that once supported his lower limit now become the key to determining his upper limit.

Plans always failed to keep up with changes. In late July, on the 7rd, Li Ao had just arrived in Barcelona, ​​the last stop in Europe. As soon as he got off the plane, he received a call from Wally Walker. The other person was so excited that he could not speak clearly... …

...

On July 2003, 7, the Clippers, Jazz, and Nets officially announced the transaction.

The Jazz sent Andre Miller in exchange for Mike Bibby and Jaylon Collins from the Clippers.

The Nets signed and then traded away Jason Kidd in exchange for Andre Miller, Big Q, and two former first-round picks from the Clippers in 2004 and 2006.

The Clippers sent Mike Bibby, Big Q, Jaylon Collins, and two future first-round picks in exchange for Kidd, with a starting salary of $1315 million, totaling $6 million over six years.

After the deal was announced, Payton and Malone exploded on the spot!
After the Lakers introduced Payton, they attracted many veterans such as Clifford Robinson, Brian Russell, Horace Grant, Wesley Person, Te'lon Hill, etc., in addition to Klee Ford Robinson is a bit more expensive, with a salary of US$2 million in two years, while the others have a basic salary of one year.

The Lakers immediately became the favorite to compete for the championship in people's eyes. At the same time, they also retained a high degree of lineup flexibility. In the summer of 04, they had several mid-level contracts expiring, and they would have the ability to introduce free agents by then. As for their attractiveness, , they have never been short of them, but they have had no space to sign them in the past two years.

In the past two weeks, Payton was extremely excited as he watched powerful veterans being acquired by the new club one by one.

As a result, the neighbor held it in for half a month and finally came up with a big move and brought Kidd back!

It's not that Payton thinks that the Lakers have no chance of winning the championship, but he feels that from the perspective of running-in, they can complete the running-in more easily. They must improve the triangle offense around the OK combination, with clear goals, and the Clippers Airborne a tactical core is almost equivalent to starting over.

From this point of view, their probability of winning the championship in the new season is higher than that of their next door neighbors.

However, what he wants is not a high probability of winning, he wants to ensure that he wins!
Now that he has lowered his face and embraced his thighs, he must increase his probability of winning the championship to the highest level, otherwise he would not have considered the Clippers in the first place. Jordan had not yet announced his retirement when he considered the Clippers.

If he had not given up joining the Clippers because of Campbell leaving the team, Malone would have joined, then the Lakers would not have had him, and the progress of rebuilding the championship lineup would have slowed down, and the Clippers would have become the dominant player in the Western Conference...

After all, Payton is still between the two heroes in Angel City, and Malone regrets it even more.

He took the cake that Big Bird painted - Clifford Robinson's contract extension negotiations with the Magic did not go smoothly and he is likely to leave the team. The Magic may enter a period of decline after two consecutive championships; the Nets do not have a top insider, which is not a concern. , and Kidd may not stay in the Nets; the Pistons are top-heavy, weak inside, and even the introduction of Campbell is difficult to cure; the Raptors management is wavering and has vision problems...

The Pacers, with players such as Tinsley, Reggie Miller, Larry Hughes, Raheem, Al Harrington... are the most promising team in the Eastern Conference to break through in the new season.

Big Bird's prediction is correct. Clifford Robinson and Kidd are both gone. The Magic may really decline a lot in the new season, and the Nets will be completely useless.

But one of the two joined the Lakers and the other joined the Clippers!

Fortunately, Big Bird is still reliable. Not long after Malone became autistic, a signing from the Pacers made him instantly happy.

On July 2003, 7, the Pacers and Bucks officially announced the trade.

The Pacers sent Al Harrington, Jeff Foster, and Primoz Brezek in exchange for Brad Miller, who signed a starting salary 725 million U.S. dollars, a seven-year contract worth a total of 7 million U.S. dollars.

After reaching the Finals in 2000, the Pacers rebuilt for three years and formed a luxurious lineup of Tinsley, Reggie Miller, Larry Hughes, Raheem, Malone, and Brad Miller!
The Clippers, Lakers, and Pacers, three teams have become the big winners this summer!

There are teams that are making all the difference in the free market, and there are also teams that are miserable this summer.

For the Trail Blazers, Pippen and Sabonis decided to retire. Pippen signed a non-guaranteed short contract with the Bulls and prepared to return to the court and retire. The Bulls also invited Jordan to join, but Jordan chose to refuse.

Pippen and Sabonis are the two leaders of the Trail Blazers. Without Sabonis, Sabonis retired for a year due to national issues and had a huge impact on the Trail Blazers. Now they both retire together. , plus the little flying squirrel collapsed at 30...

You can't find a worse team than this team!

Maurice Cheeks looked at the luxurious lineup in his hand and didn't know what to do for a moment!
...

In August, Li Ao's legal age reached 8 years old. After finishing the last round of business activities in China and returning to his hometown to plant vegetables for a few days, he returned to Los Angeles with his aunt, the hospital assistant, his mother, and little Roy.

Early the next morning, he came to Bibby's house and had a casual dinner with Bibby, Old Bibby and his family. Gerald Wallace also came.

Initially, Li Ao was dissatisfied with Bibby being traded.

It's great to bring in Kidd, but using Bibby as a bargaining chip...

But Wally Walker explained that this was Bibby's intention, and Ballmer's intention was also to see Bibby's choice. If Bibby had no intention of leaving the team, they would not proceed with the transaction.

And what Bibi means is that he wants to leave...

"I think like you, when people think of a team, they think of me."

This was the first thing Li Ao said when he called after receiving the news that Bibby had been traded.

Li Ao had no way to refute this, he could only respect his senior brother's wishes and send his blessings.

After more than ten days, he also thought: since he can no longer be a teammate, let's become his opponent!
There is one thing that is different from the original time and space - Stockton did not choose to retire immediately after Malone left the Jazz. Instead, he participated in the introduction of Bibby. After successfully trading Andre Miller for Bibby After that, he stayed on the team for two years and continued to play, assisting Bibby and Andre Miller.

Helping the Clippers acquire Kidd is the Jazz's curved approach to introducing Bibby.

As for why the Jazz don't directly introduce Kidd, they can also give a few first-round picks and role players... only if Kidd is willing to go.

Kidd's rookie contract has expired, and he is unwilling to go to the Jazz. No matter how much chips the Jazz give him, he can't get it back.

Bibby left on his own initiative. Although he was reluctant to leave, he was full of longing for the future. He was in a good mood this summer. He had already won two championships and got more performance opportunities...

It was very difficult for Da Q. When Li Ao arrived at Da Q's house, this student was pretending to be an islander and committing suicide by caesarean section. However, he used a very real plastic knife. After cutting, he would only leave a hole. Yinzi, you won’t be able to see it if you don’t take a picture quickly.

Li Ao complained: "I have a real sword at home, forged with the ancient method of the flower gardener. Can I lend it to you?"

Da Q said aggrievedly: "Boss! I was sold!"

Li Ao rolled his eyes: "I heard that the reason why you want to live or die is because you were dumped by Brandi."

Big Q burst into tears: "Boss, please don't expose my scars, okay! I am now in the stadium and I have failed both in clearing the stadium!"

"Where are you frustrated on the court? Kittles has retired. If you go to the Nets, you can start directly. You are the main substitute for two championships. You are about to enter the last year of your rookie contract. It is just right to go to a bad team. You can brush up the data and compete for a big contract. When the time comes, you can choose a big city team and she will come back to you right away."

"Yes, she is indeed that kind of person..."

Da Q instantly felt less uncomfortable. He thought about the reason...

He knew very well that Brandy was with him not because of his strange appearance or because of his tacky energy coming from the bottom of society, but because he was on a popular team like the Clippers. Take a fancy to his performance on the court.

As long as he can perform well, play in a big city team, and regain attention, he will come back.

(End of this chapter)