Don't talk trash to him.

Chapter 132 We are the champions!
There are no twists and turns.

The reason why "water dispensers" are called "water dispensers" is that, to some extent, they are no different from caddies. ——Some of them are marginalized and can't even play in the team's training games.

Only some players with special body shapes will, at certain moments, participate in tactical drills as the core players of the opposing team who need to be targeted.

For example, Battelle previously played the role of "O'Neal" in the Spurs.

He was just asked to act as "O'Neal", but he really thought of himself as "O'Neal" and kept showing off all day long.

He can't even play in training games, let alone get playing time. When such a player reaches the finals stage, his first reaction is diarrhea.

The Pacers successfully established a 15-point advantage and then led all the way to the end.

There are only 30 seconds left in the game.

The atmosphere at the scene was not affected by the "Conseco incident" in the previous game. Starting from 5 minutes left in the game, cheers came one after another, slowly getting louder and louder until they finally filled the entire stadium.

Su Wan stood up and applauded with the last minute left in the game.

The moment he stood up, the others sitting on the bench, including O'Neal Jr., stood up one after another and applauded continuously.

"Congratulations, Reggie, for lifting the Larry O'Brien Trophy in your final year of your career. You're lucky, man!"

This is the last round, no more fighting.

Reggie Miller was standing next to Suwan.

Su Wan congratulates in advance.

This doesn't count as popping champagne at halftime, does it?
After all, they were leading by more than 10 points and there were less than 20 seconds left. Even if they called McGrady over, it would be too late!
No, the "McGrady moment" only applies to the regular season. He performed poorly most of the time in the playoffs, and his performance got worse every year. In Suwan's opinion, this year is his most promising year.

But this time they still fell in the Western Conference Finals.

Of course, if Su Wan had traveled through time, there would have been fans who would have said that he was daydreaming about making it to the Western Conference Finals.

Maddie...

That’s the image!
If they want to make up for this score difference, they need at least two "Miller moments" to have hope.

But precisely, the one who is leading at this moment is Miller himself, who created the "Miller Moment".

When Reggie Miller heard Su Wan's advance congratulations, a strange emotion flowed in his eyes.

Since he started playing in the NBA in 1987, for 17 years, he hopes to hear these words in June almost every year.

But it never came true.

Before the start of this season, he said to himself with relief:
In this last year, give it one more try. No matter if you succeed or not, as long as you have no regrets.

But when the Pacers encountered the "Palace of Auburn Hills" that night, Miller was so frustrated that he had nowhere to vent, and he realized that he was not relieved.

Yes, I have been working hard for this championship trophy for 17 years, but in the end I still didn’t get it. How can I leave with relief?

That was the darkest moment of his career. No matter how many setbacks he encountered in the 90s, he thought it was okay and he could just start over again! Maybe he knew at that time that he still had a chance.

But this time, he has no chance!

But unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better from this moment on.

The Pacers suddenly found their rhythm and slowly got back on track. The spirit of the entire team returned, the support of the fans returned, and even the strength of the team was restored.

They have become one of the teams capable of competing for the championship again.

Until tonight, it will be complete.

The beginning of all these changes starts with Su Wan, the 04th pick in the first round of 10 and a phenomenal rookie in the league.

"Su..."

"Ok?"

"Nothing, congratulations, you won the championship in your rookie season." Reggie Miller wanted to say, the greatest luck in my career is meeting you in my last season. But this is too corny, he couldn't say such words to his wife, let alone to Su Wan, a grown man.

Su Wan shrugged and said indifferently: "Isn't this thing given to everyone who joins the alliance?"

"..."

Ok!

This is also what Reggie Miller is worried about.

To be sentimental with this newcomer would be to give him material to laugh at himself for the rest of his life.

Miller was sure that if he really said what was in his heart, Su Wan would laugh at him for the rest of his life.

The buzzer sounded, the game ended with a score of 87 to 67, and the Pacers won Game 5 of the series.

In the ESPN studio, Bill Walton smiled and announced loudly: "Let us congratulate the Pacers for winning the first championship trophy in team history. The 2004-2005 season belongs to... the Indiana Pacers!"

He knows very well the feeling of breaking the team's first championship.

He and his teammates won the Trail Blazers' first championship in team history that year.

And the process of them lifting the championship trophy was quite legendary.

After falling behind 0-2 at the start, the team won four games in a row and reversed the situation to win the 4 NBA Finals.

After the game they drank champagne in victory.

But in Bill Walton's memory, the symbolic buzzer sound and the moment they officially won the championship trophy made the feeling a hundred times and a thousand times better.

He believes that the Pacers players must feel similarly.

The game wasn't over yet, but the cheers were already deafening at the Conseco Fieldhouse, which at that moment had become the most lively place in the world.

Various cheers rang out one after another.

The Indiana people at the scene seemed to have forgotten their fatigue and continued to tear their throats.

Then the cheers gradually became uniform and unified:
"Killer Miller!"

"Killer Miller!"

"Killer Miller!"

"Terminator Miller" is Reggie Miller's nickname, and Indiana people like to call him that.

Because they knew very well what kind of "big heart" and "killing with one sword" ability Reggie Miller possessed back then.

It was just bad luck and the team's strength was always a little lacking, so Miller never won the O'Brien Cup.

But the good thing is...

God was also moved by his 17 years of persistence and brought Suwan to this city, bringing his career to a perfect end.

Miller's sister Cheryl Miller also came to the scene today to witness the most important moment of her brother's career.

Listening to the cheers from the audience, she started crying before Reggie Miller did.

Miller saw this and rushed over to hug his sister.

This photo was recorded by Irene, and she felt that she could use this photo to compete for the "Top Ten Heartwarming Moments in Sports in 05".

The cheers at the scene became louder and louder. After Miller, it was Suwan's turn.

At this moment, the Indiana people were all red-faced and angry. It can be described in four words:

Totally crazy!

Reggie Miller represents the Pacers of the past.

They expect Miller to end with a happy ending.

This is a thank you for his 17 years of commitment to this city.

Their feelings towards Su Wan were somewhat different.

Let’s put it this way:

Indiana's future now rests on Suwan.

They have regarded Suwan as the "spiritual symbol" of this city.

Amid cheers, all members of the Pacers put on championship T-shirts.

"Me, do I have it too?"

Artest became shy again.

But he did not resist and let his teammates put on the championship T-shirt for him.

Suddenly he had an urge to cry, and turned around to hug Su Wan and cry bitterly.

This season, he has been feeling very anxious.

He was also afraid that he had ruined the Pacers' most promising season.

Now he could finally vent his emotions.

Su Wan quickly stopped him: "You can hold the O'Brien Cup and cry slowly later."

The presence of David Stern and the O'Brien Cup has made this stadium even more popular.

The noise at the scene could no longer be suppressed.

No wonder they are so excited.

After all, it is the first championship in team history.

Some fans even shouted until they were out of oxygen, but they kept shouting “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh”!
When the O'Brien Cup came within reach, the Pacers became restless. Reggie Miller's hands were shaking unconsciously.

In previous years, I just watched others hold the trophy.

This time it's finally his turn!

For some reason, there was a layer of mist in his eyes.

17 years!

There has never been a season in which he could stand so close to the championship trophy and look at it as he does now.

So big!
So flashy!
It is no longer a question of beauty or not.

It's really that rare kind...

17 years, worth it!

"The NBA 2004-2005 season championship belongs to...the Indiana Pacers!"

David Stern picked up the microphone and announced the champion with a smile on his face. The rest of the Pacers team pushed Miller toward the O'Brien Cup, making him the first Pacer to touch the championship trophy.

Reggie Miller still wanted to be humble, he felt that Suwan was the one who should be the first to lift the trophy.

As a result, Su Wan spoiled the mood again and said, "Reggie, I'm 19 years old, more than twice younger than you!"

Fuck you!

Reggie Miller immediately lost his intention to be humble.

The moment he held up the O'Brien Cup, the whole audience cheered again.

It was Rick Carlisle's turn to speak. He recounted the difficulties along the way, from the Palace of Auburn Hills to Conseco this time. Finally, he said: "This is the most resilient team I have ever seen!"

Note that he said “seen” rather than “brought”.

Because in his opinion, he was only responsible for the tactical part, but in terms of spirit, it was not him who led the team forward.

Yes……

Suwan!

"I see the shadow of Michael Jordan in him, and I believe he will become one of the best No. 2s of this era in the future!"

The statement was shocking, and reporters at the scene wrote down Carlisle's words.

After him, it was Larry Bird's turn to speak.

He talked about the mental journey of acquiring Su Wan in the trade, and as usual, he said pretentiously: "Many people think that I was very nervous when I made that deal, but in fact, I never thought that my deal would fail, let alone be nervous. I never made a wrong decision. Su Wan also proved this!"

The two people mentioned Suwan at the same time, and the reason was very simple, that was the turning point of the Pacers this season.

As they spoke, the envelope containing the winner of the Finals Most Valuable Player Award was handed to David Stern.

Su Wan was not nervous.

There are many reasons why he won the Finals MVP:

场均24.5分5.5篮板4.5助攻2.5抢断2盖帽。

Among them, scoring, steals and blocks are the highest in the Pacers.

He is the core of the Pacers' tactical system.

Whether it is the "assist rebounding style" or the pick-and-roll tactics, or the defensive counterattack tactics with the "small ball concept", the ball is basically concentrated in his hands.

Most importantly, if he wins the Finals MVP, he will be the first rookie to do so since Magic Johnson.

Johnson set the record 24 years ago.

Such a long time is enough for the league's fans to be renewed, and the league needs a lot of new legendary stories.

But there are also reasons why he can't win the Finals MVP:
He only played in 5 of the 4 finals.

In addition, his thorny image has always been the type of player that David Stern finds troublesome. Although he is the one who resists every time, he has rebelled quite a few times.

This time he is also one of the main persons responsible for the "Conseco Incident".

So it is possible that David Stern doesn't want him to win the Finals MVP.

Even if he has Nike behind him.

But now Nike has only media resources. If it wants to compete with the will of the league president, it will at least have the "Bald Era". After all, this is the era when the sneaker market is not dominated by it alone. Even the league's jersey sponsor is still Adidas.

If David Stern doesn't want to give it to him, then he probably won't get it.

This has precedent in the league.

This is how Magic Johnson won the Finals MVP in his rookie season.

That year, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar averaged 33.4+13.6, while Magic Johnson averaged only 17+10+7. No matter how you look at it, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had the upper hand. But Johnson was awarded the Finals MVP.

No official explanation was given.

It is widely said that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar played only five games and did not travel with the team to Philadelphia in order to recover from his injury in the seventh game of the series. But who would have thought that Johnson, in the form of a "little skyhook", would lead the team to win the championship directly on the road.

When the media voted, they were told they could only vote for the players on the field.

Therefore, even though Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had better statistics, the final Finals MVP still belonged to "Magic" Johnson.

This also made this the only legendary story in NBA history where a rookie won the "Finals MVP".

Suwan's situation is the exact opposite of Johnson's.

It would have been normal for Johnson not to win the "Finals MVP", but he happened to encounter the injury of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Under normal circumstances, Suwan would have been a sure bet for the "Finals MVP", but he encountered the "Conseco incident."

But do you want to ask Su Wan if he regrets it?
Su Wan said with certainty, no!

For him, creating the "Conseco incident" is much more interesting than winning this year's Finals MVP.

Of course, this year only.

Because this year their opponents have no sportsmanship.

They didn't feel that satisfying feeling at all after winning.

If he hadn't taken Reggie Miller's face into consideration, he would have jumped onto the technical table as soon as the game ended and shouted to the Indiana fans, "Wait, this year doesn't count, I'll get you a real O'Brien Cup in the future!"

Moreover, both Iguodala and "young Kawhi" can win the Finals MVP award. In his heart, it is not as valuable as the championship.

Moreover, the standards for judging the status of stars are different in each era.

According to the standards of the 90s, Pippen, who won 6 championships, did not have as high a historical status as Allen Iverson.

In that era, the recognized "team boss" competed with the "team boss".

But I don’t know when “Finals MVP” became the standard for measuring the team leader. Of course, this is indeed a standard, but it is not a hard indicator.

All I can say is that most of the time, it’s the team boss who takes it.

There are also special cases where the ball was taken away by the second or third player on the team.

For example, when Iguodala and Kawhi Leonard won the award in 15 and 14, none of them could be related to the Big Boss.

The most crucial thing is that the voters are 7 senior media professionals and one local reporter from each team, a total of 9 people.

The sample is too small.

How can it be possible that the results of such voting are always correct?

Anyway, as long as it’s not LeBron James who wins the Finals MVP, Su Wan has no objection.

It could be him or Reggie Miller.

From his personal perspective, he even prefers Reggie Miller to win the Finals MVP.

This is the most perfect reward for his 17-year career.

only……

"The winner of the MVP of the 04-05 NBA Finals is... Su Wan!"

In the end, it fell on Su Wan's head.

Well, it seems that neither David Stern nor Nike wants to give up the gimmick of "the second rookie after Magic Johnson to win the Finals MVP in his rookie season"!

No wonder, this gimmick is really big

At this time, Bill Russell had not yet presented the award.

Suwan won the Finals MVP and took the stage. His first words were:
"I think Reggie Miller is more qualified to win this trophy than me. This is the most perfect interpretation of his 17-year professional career. Only those who persevere to the end can emerge as a butterfly!"

“His career is what I aspire to do as well.”

"Oh, I'm not referring to the fact that he didn't win the championship in 16 years!"

"I mean sticking to it, it's a difficult thing, but he did it..."

"So I'd like to leave the rest of the acceptance speech to Reggie!"

Today’s update should be more than 1 words, brothers, please give me your monthly votes!

I really thought about Reggie Miller winning the Finals MVP, but David Stern is more concerned about the gimmick, so this award is unlikely to go to someone else.


(End of this chapter)