Champion Rules

Chapter 118, Section 114: Being a Champion is a Comprehensive Experience (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
Stephen A. Smith finally composed himself and lifted his tear-streaked face from his palm.

This tough-guy commentator, known for his sharp and biting remarks, was completely different from his television persona, having lost all his usual edge.

His tie hung askew on his wrinkled shirt, and his bloodshot, swollen eyes resembled a deep pool washed by a torrential rain.

A large hand patted his back at that moment. Stephen A. Smith looked up and saw Spike Lee.

Two elderly New York men, who had witnessed countless Knicks defeats, smiled at each other through their tears and embraced.

Needless to say, the bitterness accumulated over 33 years was transformed into the warmth of their embrace, allowing them to achieve an emotional resonance—a silent comfort between older men.

An old man helps another old man.

The camera pans across the sidelines, and amidst the falling blue and orange confetti, the eternal New York captain Willis Reed sits on the bench.

When he gave his all to win the Knicks' second championship in 1973, he could never have imagined that he would have to wait 33 years for his third title.

As one of the NBA's largest market teams, the New York Knicks' past 33 years have undoubtedly been a failure and a dark period.

Despite having the best conditions and environment, the team failed to use a championship to further elevate its status.

In fact, it is precisely because the New York Knicks' history is not glorious enough that the historical status of New York legends such as Willis Reed is always underestimated.

Today's fans only know that Hakeem Olajuwon had a Grand Slam season, but how many people remember that Willis Reed in 1970 was the first player in NBA history to be named NBA All-Star Game MVP, NBA Regular Season MVP, and NBA Finals MVP in the same season, and to be selected to the All-NBA Team and the NBA All-Defensive Team?

Because the Knicks don't have a high historical standing, his legacy is often overshadowed by the glory of his successors.

Willis Reed's fans spoke out in his defense, while Willis Reed himself was heartbroken that his beloved team had been unable to achieve success for so long.

Finally, the 33-year curse came to an end.

The tough guy who limped onto the court in Game 7 of the Finals and battled Wilt Chamberlain for 25 minutes without uttering a sound was now wiping the corner of his eye with his thumb.

The dampness on this tough man's fingertips is not only a cheer for the new generation, but also a release from the shackles of his life's devotion.

He wore number 19, and his jersey hangs from the dome of Madison Square Garden. Now he admits that Lynch deserved to wear number 20.

20 > 19.

He's so young; he's destined to surpass himself.

He will make the history of the New York Knicks shine brightly from now on.

At this moment, Stephen A. Smith, Spike Lee, and Willis Reed are just one of millions of New York fans immersed in immense happiness.

Countless others like them across New York City also tasted this sweetness after 33 years.

In the 2004 NBA draft, when the "Smiling Assassin" brought back the young Caesar who had swept across Europe, and when Lynch scored 40 points in his first NBA game, all of New York City vaguely felt that the city's darkness was about to be dispelled.

To be honest, not many people could have predicted it would happen so quickly.

In just his second season as a professional, at just 20 years old, Lynch has lived up to expectations.

Meanwhile, the owner of the number 20 jersey was receiving the Finals MVP trophy from David Stern. In the Finals MVP voting, no player could take even a single vote away from him.

Beside Lynch, the NBA commissioner's smile shone brighter than the spotlight on the dome. He knew all too well that a New York championship was more significant than ten more championships for the Spurs and Pistons.

Big cities, the Chinese market, championships, and superstars—this combination is enough to elevate the NBA's commercial value to a whole new level.

When the neon lights at the Crossroads of the World shine for the NBA champion, when the luxury shop windows on Fifth Avenue change to blue and orange, when the massive market of 1.3 billion people cheers for Lynch, all of this fuels the expansion of the NBA's commercial empire.

Lynch lifted not only a trophy, but also a new fulcrum to leverage the global basketball economy.

This was the influence that once belonged exclusively to Michael Jordan!

"Lynch, will I see you here again next year?" David Stern asked with a smile, this was the first time he had ever hoped so much that a team could win back-to-back championships.

Lynch shrugged: "If I hadn't been thrown off the Empire State Building by crazy New York fans during the championship parade, I think you'd still be here next year, David."

After the awards ceremony ended, Lynch held up the gleaming Larry O'Brien Trophy with both hands and walked straight to the burly figure in the second row of the audience who was trembling as he stood up.

Lynch admitted that when he first arrived in New York, he, like most fans outside of New York, knew very little about the New York legend.

But after learning his story, he understood why this guy, whose professional career lasted only ten years, was the spiritual icon of the New York Knicks.

He forced a comeback in the 70th G7 tournament with pain-relieving injections and led the team to victory.

After undergoing knee surgery in 73, he made a forced comeback, burning himself out in the finals to win his second championship.

Considering Willis Reed's height of only 206 cm, it's easy to imagine the shock New York fans felt when he faced off against a historical behemoth like Wilt Chamberlain, dragging his injured leg.

These two championships directly led to Willis Reed's early retirement at the age of 31. It can be said that he dedicated his entire career to the New York Knicks.

He is a representative of the Knicks' tough-guy culture, and he is the soul of the team in the hearts of New Yorkers.

He is a respectable real ring holder.

Lynch handed the championship trophy to Willis Reed: "Now, it's all up to me, Willis. I will carry on your legacy."

Willis Reed smiled and placed one hand on the championship trophy, while countless cameras and video recorders surrounded the two, capturing this historic moment of generational change.

Suddenly, Reed gripped the edge of the trophy tightly, and a sharp glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, just like when he was defending Chamberlain with his injured leg.

“No, no,” he pointed to the arena dome illuminated by spotlights, where nine retired jerseys hung like historical stars in the night sky, “not to inherit the mantle, but to surpass all of us, to make these stars mere embellishments on your crown with an even brighter light. To become the true, one and only King of New York, Lynch.”

"I will."

After embracing Willis Reed, his teammates swarmed around the King of New York once again.

Stephon Marbury took the trophy from Lynch and Willis Reed, hugged it to his chest, and sat down on the ground.

When the reporter pointed the microphone at him, he could only choke back tears and shout, "I am the pride of New York, the pride of New York!"

After going through so much, seeing the gleaming Larry O'Brien Trophy right in front of me, if there's any flaw, it's that my eyes are blurred with tears.

Lynch crouched down and patted the Son of New York on the shoulder: "You're hopeless. Get up, Mr. Pride of New York."

"Damn Lynch, stop making fun of me! Let me cry, damn it, let me be a woman for one night!" Marbury's curses were thick with nasal tone as he clutched the trophy in his arms even tighter.

"Ha, learn from me, I will never cry for a championship."

After saying that, Lin Qi paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something.

Two years ago, he seemed to have said something similar to Teodosic.

He said at the time that he would not cry at the draft.

Yes, Theo must be watching all of this too.

In a daze, the silhouette of that Serbian man was raising a glass to him right in front of him.

Lynch loved nights like this; at that moment, he became greedy.

He wants more.

He certainly didn't want this to be the best night of his career.
-
Morning light filtered through the gaps in the sheer curtains, casting dappled shadows in the messy second bedroom.

Lynch lazily rested his head on his arm, gazing at the waistline that was faintly visible beneath D'Addario's silk nightgown.

It turns out that young women, such as the daughter of a police counterterrorism unit chief and the granddaughter of a congressman, who had strict upbringing, often evaded large amounts of taxes and could not withstand thorough investigation.

They slept in the second bedroom because the oversized bed in the master bedroom had been completely destroyed in the intense battle, as if it had survived a miniature tsunami.

It all comes down to American law.

Under US law, Lynch is prohibited from appearing publicly in any bar or nightclub. Therefore, after spraying champagne in the locker room last night, Lynch did not go to a nightclub with his teammates to celebrate.

He could only pour all his remaining energy into D'Addario.

Upon discovering that Lynch had already woken up, Daddario sat up in bed and combed his hair barefoot on the floor covered with clothes.

She glanced at Lin Qi, her eyes filled with both satisfaction and shyness.

"I'll go prepare breakfast for you."

Lynch reluctantly grabbed her arm: "Don't go, let's order takeout. I want fried chicken. Oh, I haven't had that stuff for two whole months because of the playoffs. My diet has been more monotonous than LeBron James's moves for the past two months."

"Come on, LeBron has way more brothers in the league than you do." Daddario's life has been getting increasingly difficult since he started following Lynch. "Fine, I'll make you breakfast instead. I can make fried chicken too."

"I already said I don't need it."

"Oh, actually I was thinking of changing the sheets in the master bedroom first."

"Oh, it's alright, Aunt Lisa will bring a professional cleaning team." Lin Qi deliberately raised his voice, and as he wished, the other woman rushed over in embarrassment and covered her mouth.

At this moment, he was not the king of Madison Square Garden, but just a 20-year-old who had successfully pulled off a prank.

After kissing Lynch, Daddario rushed out of the room as if fleeing. While she was gone, Lynch opened the system interface.

After winning the FMVP award last night, the rewarding task was officially completed.

According to the rules, Lynch can now refresh the shop three times in a row and then select three talent rewards.

After refreshing the mall for the first time, Lin Qi was dumbfounded.

These three products are unprecedentedly unconventional.

[Raises offensive tempo to Kyle Anderson level, price: 0 talent points.]

[Raises scoring potential to JR Smith level. Price: 0 talent points.]

[Raises the player's ability to anticipate and anticipate teammates' passes to the level of Nick Young. Price: 0 talent points.]

Lynch:
You're trying to fool me with this free reward?

Especially the last talent, what use is it other than stealing teammates' moves?

Well, this might allow Lynch to anticipate his teammates' passes and create better teamwork.

But with such talent, can he really resist stealing from his teammates?

After taking a closer look, Lynch discovered that his second talent was actually quite useful.

While JR Smith is inconsistent, his scoring explosiveness is undeniable. Once he gets hot, he can unleash firepower comparable to a superstar.

If we consider his scoring bursts on their own, it means that Lynch can occasionally unleash an incredible shooting touch in certain games.

Not bad, the free lottery chance wasn't wasted.

After the next two attempts, the talents that appeared in the shop were much more normal.

Lynch then selected [Andre Robertson's one-on-one defensive footwork] and [Louis Williams' layup] to conclude the task reward calculation.

Last season, Lynch was able to defend players like Carmelo Anthony who weren't particularly explosive, but his one-on-one defense wasn't actually among the league's best.

Therefore, he needs better footwork in one-on-one defense to become a well-rounded player on the defensive end.

As for layups, who says a 208cm tall forward can't do layups?

Lynch's defense is already historically excellent, but his offensive ability is not quite at that abnormal level.

Yes, he developed a post-up offense last season, but his offense is still not among the league's best.

Therefore, he does not reject any talent that could increase his offensive capabilities.

This time, however, Lynch, after receiving the talent reward, did not have the same strong desire to immediately immerse himself in the training facility that he had during the offseason last season.

As he said, winning a championship is a holistic experience. If you're not going to enjoy it, why win?

Lynch decided to take a vacation for himself this year.

He doesn't want to train or play matches for the time being.

He sent a text message to his agent, Misco Raznatovic: "Tell the Chinese Basketball Association that I will not go to Japan to play in the World Championships, and ask them to keep the invitation letter until 2008 and send it to me again."

The phone vibrated almost the instant the send button was released, and a reply came instantly: "Do whatever you want. You're the one who helped them break history while wearing an Olympic gold medal. Those bureaucrats probably won't refuse. Do you need me to come up with a decent excuse?"

The King of New York took a leisurely sip of the remaining champagne on the bedside table: "Just say I'm injured."

"Injured? The whole world knows you're as healthy as a bull! That's a terrible excuse!"

"In North American basketball, getting injured can be a smart thing to do. Learn from Misco."

After sending the text message, Lin Qi got up.

He was about to go to the master bedroom to find D'Addario, who was tidying up the room.

He felt they could do something to strengthen their relationship before breakfast.
-
Lynch's success stung Phil Knight. He stared at the steep rise in Reebok's market capitalization chart, as if he could hear the cracking sound of market share being eroded.

Of course, Lynch's success also stung LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, the "chosen one" on whom capital placed high hopes.

Carmelo Anthony, in particular, will need to go through a long period of adjustment.

Unlike the Knicks, who worked hard to rebuild after their defeat last season, the Detroit Pistons are already facing disintegration and lack the foundation for a comeback.

At least three people will leave Detroit this summer.

Having lost the support of the entire locker room, Larry Brown could not continue in Detroit, and he announced his resignation at the end of the Eastern Conference Finals—that's just a polite way of saying it, because the reality was that he was fired by Joe Dumars.

Negotiations between Ben Wallace and the Pistons have completely broken down, and he will enter the free agent market. There is only one scenario in which he will sign with the Pistons: a sign-and-trade.

After Tayshaun Prince's ambitions were fully exposed during a fight with Rasheed Wallace last season, he could no longer stay in the locker room.

The whole team knows he craves a starting position, but it's impossible for him to start on a team with Carmelo Anthony.

When the team's ace occupies the small forward position, any discussion about starting small forward seems absurd and dangerous.

Therefore, his contract renewal negotiations with the Pistons have come to a complete end.

Although he is a restricted free agent, Joe Dumars will most likely not match any contract related to Tayshaun Prince in order to maintain locker room stability.

You could say that Lynch broke up this legendary blue-collar team.

Where these Pistons players, destined to leave, will go has become a hot topic of discussion this summer.

Fans didn't have to wait long for the answer. Three days after the New York Knicks won the championship, the Cleveland Plain Dealer broke the news that the Cavaliers were close to signing Larry Brown, the iron-willed coach who had just experienced a locker room upheaval in Detroit, and who was very likely to take the helm in Cleveland again.

After the Cavaliers were swept by Lynch in the playoffs last season, head coach Mike Brown became the poor guy who bore all the responsibility.

Furthermore, he was fired the very next day after LeBron James assured him he wouldn't be fired.

The Cavaliers have been searching for a new head coach who can unlock the full potential of LeBron James, and Larry Brown, whose resume is second only to Phil Jackson in the 21st-century league, has become the top choice.

Cavaliers owner Daniel Gilbert was willing to offer a multi-million dollar annual salary to bring in the veteran coach.

He believed that if Carmelo Anthony could succeed under him, there was no reason why LeBron James couldn't.

And so, Larry Brown joined the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavaliers general manager Danny Ferry even granted him some privileges, such as having some say in the draft and trades.

On the day the news was officially announced, Carmelo Anthony's text message was piercing the Cleveland night through electromagnetic waves.

The Detroit Pistons' star forward was almost bluntly blunt in his text message: "Watch out for that old dog, he's no good!"

LeBron James stared at the glowing screen of his phone and replied to the text: "Don't worry, Melo. I know what he did to you and the Pistons. Hiring him as head coach was entirely a management decision. I will never give him my heart."

After putting down his phone, LBJ glanced at the veteran coach in front of him.

"There's no need to test me, Larry. You can work with me with confidence. I'm the one who brought you here. If it weren't for my instructions, the management wouldn't have signed you so readily. We may have had some misunderstandings at the 2004 Olympics, but that's okay. Now we need to open our hearts. Larry, what can you bring to Cleveland?"

Larry Brown didn't beat around the bush; he didn't come to Cleveland to retire, and the Cleveland company paid a high price to bring him here, certainly not to play in the Eastern Conference semifinals again.

He wants to turn LBJ into a champion, he wants to turn Cleveland into a champion city, and he wants to become the most successful head coach of the 21st century.

“You know, Danny gave me the key to assembling the championship puzzle in the transfer market. So, I can at least tell you that I can bring you Tayshaun Prince, who will soon be wearing the burgundy jersey.”

We'll also trade away Larry, who's overpaid but incompetent. He won't drag you down with his lousy, stale shooting percentage (less than 30%) anymore.

I know you want to kill Lynch, and so do I, which is why I'm sitting here.

We will take concrete actions and achieve our goal.

"As long as you follow me, LeBron, as long as you follow me."

The old general's gaze was cold and stern. He couldn't possibly not hate the guy who shattered his dynasty, and he couldn't possibly not hate the melon who made him lose face.

They don't respect themselves, so he'll make LeBron the winner!
But he had one request.

He squinted at the young Cleveland scion, pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, and his hawk-like gaze seemed to pierce through him: "Don't think I don't know why Mike got fired. If you want to win, you'd better not try to pull any tricks on me like your good friend Melo did behind my back."

LeBron James flashed his signature sunny smile: "Don't worry, this will never happen, Larry, never."
-
From a purely commercial perspective, Lynch's championship title surpasses Jordan's. — China's Basketball Pioneer Daily

Tayshaun Prince has reached a verbal agreement with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the two sides will officially sign him once free agency begins. —ESPN Online News.

The championship parade in New York was the grandest in NBA history; parades in other cities paled in comparison! Reportedly, the parade resulted in 1323 thefts, $1.2 million in public property damage, and over 10,000 people left drunk in the streets. But, to hell with it, when I saw Lynch waving the championship trophy from a double-decker bus, when I saw true New York fans weeping with joy, it was all worth it. —Stephen A. Smith Radio

Coach Lenny Wilkens officially announced his retirement during his speech at the championship parade. Best wishes to him! Currently, Flip Saunders is very close to taking over as head coach of the New York Knicks; we'll wait and see. —The New York Times

(Thanks to the generous donors "Bear Kid's Whip Kick" and "Love Is Right Before Your Eyes" for their generous donations, I'm so grateful!)

(End of this chapter)