CHAPTER 1262: CHAPTER 510: TONIGHT IS CHAMPIONSHIP NIGHT! (PART 4)

When the playoffs started, Millsap, still in his development phase, couldn’t hold up from the second round onwards. Coach and Brother Three summoned him, and he had to immediately step up to carry the team’s coordination banner, battling against Gasol and Kwame Brown. He couldn’t falter... Luckily, they got the championship in the end! In his view, all these sacrifices were worth it!

The truly pure ’ornament’ was only Magloire, really only when his center teammate got injured that he had the chance to play for a few minutes. But the Bobcats centers had good injury situations this year; his daily routine was driving his second-hand car to and from work, snagging some nutritional meals from the team, and by the end of the season, his face had rounded out quite a bit, not to mention snagging a championship!

Magloire demonstrated with his actions what ’choice over effort’ truly means!

He turned 31 this May. Last season, although he only played 31 games averaging 1.8 points, it was mainly because neither the Brooklyn Nets nor the Mavericks gave him playing time. In the season before that, he played 81 games, averaging 6 points and 5 rebounds in 21 minutes. Last summer, several teams offered him minimum contracts with promised playing time, but he chose to follow the bad boys. Even though the Bobcats had clearly stated he wouldn’t be part of the rotation, just a backup player, he was hoping to snag a championship as an ornament... and he actually got it!

Magloire: No playing time? So what, buddy, I’m now laughing with the God of Basketball!

Unlike the veterans, Zhang Yang, Felton, Okafor, Millsap, Jarett Jack, Perkins, Alan Anderson, and other young players who had already won the championship in 2007, along with newcomers Afflalo, Pietrus, Ibaka, and other young players, were simply happy and purely enjoying the championship moment.

They could understand the mood of the four veterans but couldn’t truly empathize; they’ll never feel that kind of... Because at this moment, while still young, they’ve already become champions!

Ibaka and Afflalo, these two talented sophomore players, truly understood Brother Three’s previous words at this moment—Do you think I’ve already won MVP, won the championship, and my career no longer has pursuits? Once we win the championship again, you’ll know, a championship will never become a hindrance in your quest to become stronger, it will only make you feel you’re not strong enough. Winning one makes you want a second one, and you’ll want to keep winning forever...

Twenty minutes after the final whistle sounded, Bobcats players came back out of the player tunnel, greeted by the cheers of nearly 7000 fans and the boos of more than 3000 fans. Earlier, they went back to the locker room to wash off their sweat and changed into clean and tidy ’championship edition’ training gear.

This was a new league regulation executed starting last season’s finals, devised by Silver. It seemed like a redundant process but helped the Bulls generate nearly ten million US dollars in revenue last summer. The greater Chicago urban circle sold nearly 100,000 sets of ’championship edition’ training gear in one summer; the league and contractors took away 70% of the money, and the Bulls essentially pocketed nearly 3 million free of charge. When it comes to making money, Silver has plenty of ideas.

Stern came to the sideline and gestured ’please’ toward Bill Russell seated in the stands, with a touch of a classic British gentleman’s vibe.

First was the presentation of the championship trophy. Zhang San shamelessly wedged himself behind the Big Boss. After Carlisle and Felton kissed the trophy, he found an open space to plant a smooch himself, then handed it to Hill.

He also wanted images of himself kissing the trophy, but last year because the ball on the trophy was covered in spit and tears, he rejected it with regret. This time he finally achieved it.

When the trophy was passed back into the hands of owner Jordan, this segment ended, and the nearly 7000 fans started chanting "MVP," drowning out the boos from more than 3000 Lakers fans completely.

Zhang Yang averaged 37.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 2 steals, and 0.8 blocks over 5 games, with a shooting accuracy of 47.1%, averaging 5.4 three-pointers made per game at a 41.5% shooting percentage...

Okafor was the second-best performer, scoring 27 points in tonight’s single game, raising his average from the first 4 games’ 12.25 points to 15.2 points, plus 10.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.8 blocks... Clearly not much competition.

Apart from Zhang Yang, the other Bobcats players’ stats in this finals weren’t remarkable. For the first 4 games, Okafor averaged 12+10, Felton averaged 14+5, and Brad Miller averaged 6+4+4... but their impact wasn’t insignificant. Even Ibaka, at the end of the rotation, made contributions when speed penetration was needed.

The Scoring King’s high ceiling, coupled with outstanding rotation from a deep roster, allowed the Bobcats to play an unstoppable ’Coach’ flow attack-style basketball that even the Lakers couldn’t contain!

Seeing Zhang Yang has about a third of the supporters at the Staples Center audience stands, and recalling Zhang Yang receiving cheers throughout Madison Square Garden... the Jewish fellow: Angel City and Big Apple City are deserving of the greatest high school player ever!

No suspense, this time David Stern pronounced "Zhang Yang" clearly, handing the trophy to Russell.

After shaking hands and hugging Russell, Zhang Yang took over the ’Bill Russell Cup’ and, together with Jordan holding the ’O’Brien Trophy,’ raised the trophies high up, the Bobcats’ 2008-2009 season was etched in history!