Twenty years later, Michael Jordan was recognized as the "number one player in the League."
But from a League managent perspective, NBA’s number one had to be David Stern!
In 1984, the NBA’s value plunged to 15.5 million USD, on the brink of bankruptcy. David Stern, a lawyer by trade, assud the role of commissioner during this ti, and a series of reforms revived the League.
To create buzz, he transford the All-Star Ga into the All-Star Weekend, adding technical competitions such as the "Dunk Contest" and "Three-Point Shooting Contest," allowing players to engage with fans in a variety of ways.
Another major initiative was, of course, the "Christmas Day Gas"!
During Christmas, when the other three major North Arican sports leagues had no gas scheduled, 2-3 headlining "key battles" were arranged to increase the NBA’s competitiveness nationwide. — As it turned out, besides the players cursing on that day, there were no issues. Over a decade, the "Christmas Day Gas," just like All-Star Weekend, had beco a "golden signboard" for the NBA.
Many families made watching the "Christmas Day Gas" their Christmas entertainnt.
This year David Stern had arranged two "Christmas Day Gas."
One was the Heat Team vs. the Lakers.
It would be the first on-court encounter between Kobe and O’Neal since their split; the love-hate relationship between them made this match highly anticipated.
Previously, the League had also promoted this match as a "Christmas feast."
But an otherwise ordinary night in mid-November rendered all the League’s promotion efforts futile. Now, the interest in this ga paled compared to the other spotlighted battle:
Pacers vs. Pistons!
The first encounter between the two teams since the "Auburn Palace incident," this ti at the Pacers’ ho. Everyone wanted to see if the teams would unleash a second "all-out brawl" during the "Christmas Day Gas"!
Indeed, basketball’s viewership rates cannot compete with MMA...
David Stern wished he could slap himself.
Why had he scheduled these two teams for a "Christmas Day Ga"?
And then he rembered—he thought both teams had a rough style of play, a classic approach, reminiscent of the ’90s, and wanted to have a "nostalgia kill" on Christmas. Now, whether it was nostalgia or not, if the two teams really brawled on the Christmas stage, the owners of the League’s 30 teams might kill him.
He imdiately organized a series of asures, urging the Pacers’ executives to upgrade the arena security systems and commanding the dia to avoid stirring the pot and inciting the players’ emotions before the ga.
Donnie Walsh quickly executed David Stern’s orders.
Conseco Arena had a hundred security guards dispatched temporarily for the ga, forming a periter at every corner of the arena. Ten security guards were also arranged behind the Pistons’ bench, vigilantly observing the fans’ every move.
Tarpaulins were erected on either side of the visitors’ tunnel to prevent Pacers fans from throwing objects during the Pistons’ entry and exit.
Seats by the court were tied together, preventing even the most impulsive fans from wielding chairs for violence as had happened in Auburn Hills.
Barkley, observing the serious atmosphere on-site, couldn’t help but laugh: "You can feel the Christmas spirit all over the United States, even at the White House, but except at Conseco."
The Pistons’ security asures today were also quite different from before.
Usually, the team’s security detail only included one person, but today there were three more.
Each of these security guards looked as if they were preparing for battle, presumably having settled their affairs with their families before entering the arena.
It wasn’t just the security guards under pressure; the Pistons players were also on edge.
After all, Detroit fans indeed went too far that ti, and even though the punishnt seed like "an equal fifty strokes for both sides,"...
Losing four season ticket holders was nothing; they’d soon be replaced.
But losing four main players, including the core, effectively ant the season was finished.
So, before the ga, Larry Brown kept emphasizing: "No matter what those crazy bitches yell at you, just ignore them and play the ga."
Essentially, he was asking them to "not hit back when hit, not talk back when cursed" by the audience.
Seeing the towering tarpaulins and the increase of ten security guards behind the bench, they finally felt more at ease.
They were at ease, but the visiting Pacers fans were very annoyed.
Many among them were holding back from making trouble!
But now, with their ho arena so protective of the opposing players...
"Booooo..."
The booing erupted continuously and never stopped.
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All sorts of trash-talk poured out of their mouths, and the arena sounded like a cacophony of wailing spirits. Even the so-called "Devil’s Ho Court" of the Energy Cube paled in comparison to Conseco’s atmosphere that night.
However, re trash-talk and boos did not destabilize the Pistons in the slightest.
They seed relaxed and ward up in an orderly fashion before the ga.
The Pacers fans on-site were burning with resentnt. Su Wan entered with the team and noticed the situation.
When the ho players were introduced, Su Wan walked out to the tune of "Extre Ways," causing the crowd to erupt in cheer.
The Pistons players sitting on the bench all took notice, surprised that Su Wan, this newcor, could make the Indiana natives like him so quickly.
Reaching the center of the court, Su Wan didn’t stop but walked towards the sidelines, grabbing a handheld microphone from the comntators, and then leapt onto the scorer’s table.
The stands imdiately filled with murmurs, and everyone couldn’t help but look expectant.
Su Wan’s first table jump was in the Sumr League, when he shouted to the stands, "This is my horse"; his second jump was in his debut professional ga, where he perford the pre-ga ritual of tossing up powder.
These had now beco classic monts for him.
Since joining the Pacers, Su Wan hadn’t jumped onto the scorer’s table, making this jump...
The background music cut out instantly, the noisy scene went silent so suddenly that even the breathing sounds of a woman running at night could be heard clearly.
They awaited Su Wan’s next move.
The "Double Wallace" exchanged glances, seeing the disdain in each other’s eyes; they sneered at Su Wan’s actions.
But then, Su Wan started to speak, aiming directly at them...
"What can I say?"
"Detroit..."
Su Wan’s gaze turned towards the Pistons’ bench, locking eyes with several players as his pointed finger shook continuously at them:
"A bunch of weak chickens who resort to fighting when they can’t win the ga!"
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