LeBron Jas stood on the empty court, strangely surrounded by darkness, an abyss seed to have no end.
On the other half of the court, a shadowy figure could be vaguely seen.
Jas cautiously approached, discovering the figure wearing an Atlanta Hawks jersey, number 23.
The owner of the jersey seed to sense soone approaching, he turned around with a grim smile: "If you can’t defeat , you can’t escape that curse!"
Imdiately, the figure vanished, and the whole court plunged downward like a broken elevator.
The intense feeling of weightlessness made LeBron Jas suddenly open his eyes.
It turned out to be just a nightmare.
No court, no shadowy figure.
Only that lingering voice.
"If you can’t defeat , you can’t escape that curse!"
This was April 2004, when Michael Jordan’s Atlanta Hawks crushed LeBron Jas’ Cavaliers and said that to him.
A year had passed, and Jas could hardly rember the details of that ga.
But he always rembered that mont, rembered Michael Jordan’s backward glance and that sentence.
Everyone knows what "that curse" ans, Michael Jordan couldn’t break free from it, Shaq couldn’t break free. Now, it’s Vince Carter and Kobe’s turn.
Will it be his turn?
Everything LeBron Jas was doing was to ensure those tragedies did not repeat themselves on him.
A 1 1 contract seed like the optimal solution.
As Rich Paul would say: it either makes Daniel Gilbert frantically build a roster around LeBron, or they would kick him aside if the Cavaliers fail.
Jas wondered if the phrase "kick aside" was too harsh, after all, it was his hotown team.
But if it really ca to that, he would not hesitate.
LeBron Jas’s contract controversy gained him so exposure after exiting early.
Yet, fans’ focus remained on the playoffs.
And the most significant regular season awards.
This year, the most prestigious awards, DPOY and MVP, no longer had Roger’s na.
DPOY returned to Ben Wallace, truly the most perfect defensive player of the early 21st century.
MVP went to Kevin Garnett. Since Roger first won MVP in the 96-97 season, three people took MVP from him. Coincidentally, all three were power forwards. (99 Karl Malone, 03 Duncan, 05 KG)
In the past nine seasons, Roger claid six MVPs, including one three-peat MVP, so the aesthetic fatigue factor existed.
This is the sa reason no one likes watching the sa leading actress’s movie over and over.
But that’s not the only reason.
The main reason is that the Knicks were too dazzling this season.
The Knicks’ 68-win record left other teams far behind, plus Garnett’s arrival made a significant improvent, a crucial bonus point.
In MVP selection, a player’s impact on the team is a major evaluation criterion.
This is why Steve Nash was able to take MVP from Shaq, because Nash made a 29-win team achieve 62 wins, whereas the Heat were already a playoff team before acquiring Shaq.
The Knicks were also a playoff team last season, but the surge from 42 wins to 68 wins cannot be ignored.
Roger was not disappointed, or rather, he was disappointed earlier.
Reebok notified Roger of this news as soon as the League announced it.
But Roger quickly cald down, a fact was that once you beco a superstar and claim all the awards, the only asure left is the number of championships.
More MVPs and DPOYs beca embellishnts, but not decisive.
This is why Roger and Jordan could be set apart from nas like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, and Karl Malone.
They all had brilliant stats, nurous personal honors.
But championships beca the dividing line.
Kevin Garnett, winning MVP for the first ti in his career, was thrilled.
"You know, Sherry Garnett is like the other grandmamas from the Black neighborhoods, loves shopping discount stores, likes buying fake diamonds to make herself sparkle. But in my heart, she’s a great lady. Raising us on barely better than nothing dollars.
Of course, I must thank Roger, the young wolves from Minneapolis will never forget the days protected by the Wolf King in snowy nights."
At the MVP award ceremony, this man, often seen as a tough guy image, the locker room leader of the Knicks, had tears in his eyes.
However, no one would bla him for expressing his emotions. It was indeed a mont worth celebrating.
But what Roger couldn’t understand was that Los Angeles fans were also expressing their emotions.
Overnight, all Los Angeles fans beca ecstatic.
Because since the 96-97 season when Roger first won MVP, every season he missed MVP, he also missed the championship.
Aricans have always liked creating this "fatalism", losing MVP ans Roger inevitably loses the championship, this seed to be his destiny.
And Los Angeles fans believed, Roger would stop short with the Lakers.
In Series G1, the Lakers’ victory seed to turn this "fatalism" into reality.
Kobe scored 36 points in G1, his performance deserved the third place on the MVP leaderboard.
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