So I am the god of basketball?

Chapter 93 We are the champions

The place where miracles are born.

This was the NBA's promotional slogan from 07 to 12.

The NBA has changed about seven or eight slogans since 76, and "Where Amazing Happens" should be the most classic slogan among them.

Meng Lang used it at this moment, which can only be said to be an incomparable fit.

"Let 3 chase 4" is really a "miraculous" reversal!

Coupled with what he said before shouting this slogan:

Never underestimate the heart of a championship!

It is the best interpretation of "the place where miracles are born".

Where did the miracle come from?

Isn't it because that championship heart is always burning?

For a moment, the photographers and reporters who were rushing around felt their scalps go numb after listening to Meng Lang's words.

Tomjanovich on the sidelines felt that something had passed away from his body...

This is destined to become a classic shot in the NBA Finals!

Meng Lang stopped talking because the Magic players had gathered around him, lifted him up and threw him in the air.

Excited shouts filled the silent Conner Arena, vividly explaining what "people's joys and sorrows are not connected to each other."

Their shouts were particularly jarring in this arena.

But thousands of miles away, the Orlando Arena responded to their shouts with deafening cheers.

Even if they are not present, it does not affect the Orlando people in this arena who are so excited that they shed tears, they are so excited that they hug each other, they are so excited that they shout and can't control themselves.

Orlando Magic…

After such a shocking reversal, they ushered in their first championship in team history!

This is something that most Orlando people, no, probably all Orlando people and all NBA fans, never thought of.

This is how the Magic won their first championship in team history!

Orlando is destined to be sleepless tonight.

Looking back to the arena, the celebration continues.

Kenny Smith came over and said hello to Meng Lang: "Man, you deserve this championship. You contributed a shocking performance!"

After the sixth game, many people said that he was a "waste" for being so ravaged by Meng Lang. He didn't refute, because in front of Meng Lang, he was indeed a waste.

Before, he didn't believe that anyone would be defeated by his opponent in a series.

Now he believes it.

Because Meng Lang defeated him in one series.

To be precise, 4 games.

Meng Lang nodded in agreement and replied: "In two days, I will give you a wooden fish. If you have nothing else to do, knock it. This is a gift for your entire team."

I was about to win the championship, but the "Buddha's Light" suddenly lit up. Tell me about this, please memorize it more!

It’s time to knock on the wooden fish more and accumulate some merit.

"Eh?"

It's just that Kenny Smith obviously doesn't know what a wooden fish is.

Except for Kenny Smith, among the remaining Rockets players, only "Alien" Carlisle was waiting to express congratulations to Meng Lang. Other Rockets players, especially Olajuwon, had already been at the first place when the buzzer sounded. After a while, he walked into the players tunnel with his head lowered.

It is also understandable that after all, it is such a painful "realization", and it is indeed difficult to accept it for a while.

Meng Lang forgave them generously.

All members of the Magic team then put on the prepared "championship T-shirts" on the bench. At this time, the staff also cleared the center of the court. They were invited to the center of the stage, where David Stern had been waiting for a long time. Entering the scene with the O'Brien Trophy.

For a moment, all the Magic players' eyes were focused on the championship trophy.

For them, who have never won a championship, the feeling at this moment is wonderful and indescribable.

Shaquille O'Neal couldn't help but rub his hands, wishing he could immediately stride forward to meet him, hold the championship trophy in both hands, then raise it above his head, and then...severely "destroy" it with his big lips!

Only in this way can he fully express his inner excitement.

However, when David Stern and the championship trophy arrived in front of them, Meng Lang was pushed to the center of the team by the rest of the Magic team, while Shaq, who was originally in the center, was pushed to the side.

This……

Shaq, who is sensitive, has a slightly stiffer smile.

But at this time, who cares whether his smile is stiff or not. David Stern picked up the microphone and announced directly: "In the 1993-1994 season, the NBA championship winner was...the Orlando Magic. Let us congratulate them!"

"Now, hold up your trophy!"

Following a loud shout from the host, Meng Lang stepped forward as a representative and held the glittering O'Brien Cup in his hands.

David Stern then whispered: "Congratulations, dream!"

His little eyes showed an unstoppable look of satisfaction.

A staff member had just informed him of the two slogans Meng Lang shouted at the end of the game. Let alone others, even the NBA president who was "humming to fight against the Cardinal", after listening to Meng Lang's slogans Finally, my scalp felt numb for a while.

These two sentences are so classic!

Especially “Where Miracles Happen”…

The current slogan of the NBA was just changed in 92:

I love this game!

But after listening to Meng Lang's words, he felt that this was more representative of the alliance!

As a result, his affection for Meng Lang further deepened.

He has a structure and culture, which is fundamentally different from most of the "big old black guys" in the NBA. Even he loves to fight. But when "a scholar meets a soldier", is it possible to just talk about the truth?

Ok……

What "love the house and the bird"!

"Beauty is in the eyes of beholder". If you like a person, everything can be explained.

The ratings Meng Lang saved for the NBA in this round of finals, as well as his slogans, made David Stern look upon him with admiration.

Meng Lang's eyes were slightly dazed as he lifted the heavy championship trophy.

It was only then that he finally realized that he had won the championship.

In his rookie season, he "let 3 chase 4", defeated Olajuwon's Rockets and won the first championship of his career.

These four phrases, no matter how they match up, are a very cool thing.

And now, what Meng Lang has done is, in his rookie season, he faced Olajuwon's Rockets and won the first championship of his career after losing 3 games first!

What basketball novel dares to do such a big job right from the beginning!

Rao was the soul of a middle-aged man named Meng Lang. At this moment, he was extremely excited by a feeling of ecstasy that could not be described in words.

He raised the championship trophy high above his head and roared loudly:

"we are the champion!"

Be the NBA champion!

The alliance that was unreachable in his previous life, now he is standing on the highest stage, raising his arms and shouting!

It made him feel like a dream.

What responded to him was the shouts of all the Magic players behind him.

And in Orlando, which he couldn't hear, what responded to him was the roar of the whole city.

Some excited Orlandoans even pulled their equipment out of the warehouse.

Not anymore!

Not anymore!

It would be impossible not to celebrate this carnival with a "zero dollar purchase" tonight!

Meng Lang's words made their already restless mood even more restless.

In the tunnel of the home team players, Olajuwon watched the O'Brien Cup that he should have won be lifted by Meng Lang. He was already heartbroken and thought about how he had been double-teamed in the game just now, but he was so heartbroken. Feelings of powerlessness.

He hated this feeling!

I want help, I must help!

He turned around and looked. Behind him was the Rockets' home team locker room. Sitting inside was a bunch of "wasted flowers" who might not be able to start in other teams. He looked at the elevator not far away. Go up to the 4th floor via the elevator, where is the Rockets general manager's office.

He was so angry that he could no longer restrain himself and walked straight towards the elevator. He knew very well that he would be questioned by the Houston media and fans tomorrow, so now, he needed the Rockets management to give him first. An explanation.

On the court, the O'Bright Cup now passed from Meng Lang's hands to the Magic's Pat Williams. He spoke as a representative of the Magic team's owners. In fact, he was the one more qualified to speak as the owner. Because the Magic team can be formed in Orlando, he is the first leader.

His face was full of joy and happiness, not only because the Magic won the first championship in team history in less than 6 years after its establishment. This record should be the shortest time for any new NBA team to win the championship.

Also because...

"When the draft ended, everyone was questioning my choice. I shouldn't have traded Chris Webber for Anfernee Hardaway, and I shouldn't have traded two first-round picks and a second-round pick for Meng Lang... ...But now, they have used their performance in the finals to prove that there is no problem with my choice. I respect Chris Webber very much, but if they just use the 'No. 1 pick' to select him, then we will not win the championship this year. !”

Hardaway inherited the "Meng-style steal" in the fourth quarter of Game 6 of the series, which was the last straw for the Rockets. Since then, the Rockets have been completely in chaos.

During the entire finals, Hardaway's final contribution was 16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 8.6 assists and 2.2 steals per game, data that is only available to the league's first-line point guards.

Not to mention Meng Lang. Without his performance, there would be no possibility of reversal!

总决赛7场比赛，加上最后一场的23分4篮板5助攻，孟浪场均可以贡献28分4.3篮板3.2助攻1.7抢断，投篮命中率52.6%，三分球命中率47.6%。

Not only is the data good, but the efficiency is also good.

You know, this is still the average of 7 games. If you start counting from the 4th game of the finals, you will find that Meng Lang's efficiency is even more terrifying, a stable "180" club, or even a "200" club.

Of course, even these data cannot reflect the actual impact Meng Lang had in the reversal process.

A top pitcher's ability to pull out the formation can be referred to Stephen Curry. You must know that Meng Lang's height and talents in all aspects are much better than Curry. Let's put it this way, if Curry had Meng Lang's static talent, his achievements would definitely not be as simple as "President Hill goalkeeper".

Although Meng Lang's shooting ability has not reached the level of peak Curry.

But his touch and various buff bonuses make his ability to split formations even more terrifying than Stephen Curry.

Don't forget, no team in this era is used to defending three-pointers from the outside.

So, when the media were voting for the Finals MVP, Hardaway subconsciously touched Meng Lang with his elbow:

The finals MVP is definitely yours!

The mean expression made Meng Lang roll his eyes.

From his own point of view, it is still a bit suspense whether he will be awarded the Finals MVP.

Shaquille O'Neal's statistics are not bad. In the first three games, he still averaged 3 points and 23 rebounds per game despite being chased and intercepted by Olajuwon and Thorpe. Although he gave up the ball later, Meng Lang replaced him. In order to attract firepower, his efficiency has increased, so the statistics are not bad. With the 10 points and 28 rebounds in the last game, he averaged 11 points, 23.4 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 3.2 blocks per game.

It's just that the efficiency is a bit worse. The field goal percentage and free throw percentage are the same, both around 52%.

In addition, he has a bonus:

He has been the face of the Orlando Magic since last year.

Referring to the mid-season MVP selection criteria 30 years later, the "facade" status can still play a positive role.

However, there is nothing we can do about it. Who told him that he entered the league in 93, while Shaquille O'Neal entered the league in 92?

Being born 30 seconds earlier is also a "brother".

If this "Anthony Davis" is really taken for granted, he has to accept it calmly.

At least now, he is already doing some psychological construction for himself.

He never cared about the "biggest champion" rhetoric.

Later in 07, Tony Parker won the Finals MVP, but in the eyes of the outside world, the team still belonged to Tim Duncan; after the 15 Finals, Iguodala won the Finals MVP, but there was no media Say the Warriors are Iguodala's team. ——Of course, this does not include a small group of goats. In order to prove that their 4 championships are of higher quality than Curry’s 4 championships, and even more quality than Tim Duncan’s 5 championships. , they resolutely insisted that Curry hugged Iguodala's thigh in 15, Tim Duncan hugged Tony Parker's thigh in 07, and he hugged Leonard's thigh in 14.

But there is one thing they ignored:

Whether it's Tony Parker in 07, Iguodala in 15, or Leonard in 14, these are all Finals MVPs won against their goat team!

What's even more amazing is...

In these three finals, the goat wore three different team jerseys.

The saying that the Finals MVP is the boss of the team is basically correct, but it is not so absolute.

Moreover, according to this logic, the Finals MVP should belong to Shaquille O'Neal, because he is the current calling card of this city.

The envelope containing the results was given to David Stern at this time.

Shaquille O'Neal, who had a stiff smile before, was already expressionless because of nervousness. When Stern took the envelope, he subconsciously held his breath.

He cares so much about this championship MVP.

In his view, this is proof of his team's status.

only……

David Stern took out the results from the envelope, opened it, took a look, and said with joy: "The MVP of the 1993~1994 NBA Finals belongs to...Meng——Lang——!!!"

As the results were announced, Meng Lang smiled.

He was ready to become "Anthony Davis", but the result...

Hey, reporters in this era still know a lot about football!

He smiled and high-fived each of his teammates.

When it was Shaquille O'Neal's turn, his heart was about to break, but he still forced out a forced smile and congratulated Meng Lang: "You're worth it, dream!"

With this forced smile, Meng Lang would still continue to regard Shaq as a friend.

Once again, Shaquille O'Neal is a guy who knows the current affairs very well. He may be a little short-tempered before "the deal is done", but once the matter is settled, he will never openly fall out and will even become good friends with you.

Meng Lang doesn't want to talk about the examples of Yao Ming and Kobe anymore. Let's talk about something new - Tim Duncan!

When Kobe Bryant won the fifth championship of his career, Shaquille O'Neal immediately said: "I am an inside player, and I am competing with Tim Duncan."

And when Tim Duncan won his fifth career championship, he didn't mention comparison at all. It's like this never happened.

Surrounded by his teammates, Meng Lang stood next to the host again. First, he took the Finals MVP trophy from David Stern. Then he looked at the host and picked up the microphone: "Congratulations, Dream, you How do you feel about becoming another player after Magic Johnson who won the Finals MVP in his rookie season?"

"Of course it feels great, but this is the result of my hard work with my team. This battle is not won by any one of us. This victory belongs to everyone on this team, Shaq, Anfernee, Nick..." Meng Lang mentioned every player on this team, even the coaching staff, and the management. Finally, he couldn't help laughing at himself, "Wow, this is such an ordinary speech. I Just like the movie actors I wanted to complain about most in the past, they gave out a long list of names. But standing in this position, I understood their feelings. I think so, no one’s success is due to him alone. It's up to people to do it. We can do more things as long as we stay the same as we did this season."

"Well... I have nothing more to say. That's it. It's over. I have to give people in Houston a little more time to prepare for sleep. Otherwise, this night will be very difficult for them!"

Chuck Daly, who had been listening, smiled at this moment.

That's right, this is the Meng Lang he is familiar with!

It’s not his style to be thankful all the time!

press conference.

"The closest we were to a championship, well, I'm not talking about the 12-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game of the series, but when the general manager submitted a trade offer to the Timberwolves on the night of last year's draft. . That was the closest we were to the championship." - Tomjanovich said this as he listened to reporters recall the old story, when the Rockets once intended to acquire Meng Lang in the draft.

"We are not a championship-winning team. In the Rockets, there is only me, and the Magic have Shaq, Anfernee, and most importantly, they have Dream! This is the key, even if the Rockets have a 'death ray' Gun', we already have a championship!" - Obviously, Olajuwon's conversation with the Rockets general manager did not go very smoothly, which led him to speak unabashedly when attending the post-game press conference. And the lineup issue.

"There is no doubt that he will become a great player. When playing against him, I can often feel Bird's original evaluation of Michael." -Kenny Smith proved with practical actions that he really admired Meng Lang .

"Of course, this belongs to him. Everyone knows that without his performance, the Magic would not have a chance of reversal. I am very grateful to the reporters for the three votes, but I have no opinion on the result. Dream deserves this Finals MVP!" - When Shaquille O'Neal was asked if he had any regrets (not winning the Finals MVP).

"This has been an incredible journey, and I will never forget it even decades later. I will tell my children about it. There is no doubt about it... Yes, I will sign a multi-million contract this summer. I think I'm worth so much money. Although we haven't communicated formally yet, I believe there won't be any problems." - The rookie contract Hardaway signed is only for one year, and he will renew his contract with the Magic this summer. contract, he is not worried that he will not be able to get the contract he wants. After all, they just won the championship.

"Is there any difference? Quite simply, this team is more talented!" - Chuck Daly was asked about the biggest difference between leading the Pistons and the Magic to the championship.

Of course, when Meng Lang finished taking a shower and came to the press conference with the trophy, all the media reporters appeared on time.

This is the person who needs to be interviewed the most tonight!

"Dream, how does it feel to win the championship?"

Meng Lang glanced at the reporter who asked the question, but did not respond. Instead, he fiddled with the microphone in front of him and said directly: "Come on, I'm in a hurry. I hope to return to Orlando tonight, so I'll ask you what you want to ask the most. A question, not a question that I don’t need to answer at all.”

"Can you talk about your feelings after winning 4 games in a row?" The reporter added, "Of course, I know you have a championship heart that cannot be underestimated. Apart from that, how do you feel? ?”

Meng Lang: "I'm sorry. At that time, all I was thinking about was how to win the game. I had no other feelings. But now, I do have some feelings. I think I will miss this all-or-nothing feeling. The future is long. We won’t be in trouble like this for a while.”

"You mean you won't fall into a 0-3 situation again?"

"Of course!" Meng Lang has this confidence, "Hardaway and I are both rookies, and we will become more mature. Shaq is only a sophomore. We will become stronger, there is no doubt about it!"

This caused a brief silence.

It wasn't until this moment that they realized how terrifying this Magic team was.

They won the championship, but the three cores have not yet entered their true peak period!

The reporters who had just interviewed Chuck Daly now understood what Daly meant. This Magic team is indeed more talented than the Pistons team that only won two consecutive championships!

"The finals are over. Dream, how are you preparing for the Octagon with Karl Malone? Can you give us a specific time now?"

Here comes the business!

Meng Lang was also in high spirits. This was the same question he was waiting for, and he was ready with the answer: "Of course, I will get everything done before July 7. That day will be the day when Karl Malone and I enter the Octagon. If he dares to challenge!"

　That’s it for today, brothers. Just like the previous book, at the end of each season, give me some time to sort out the transactions of other teams in the off-season. This time I wrote a book from a relatively long time ago. I need a new book. Comparing teams from team to team takes longer.

　　But don’t worry, everyone, the number of words today is small, and there will definitely be more words tomorrow.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)