Champions Creed

Chapter 105 104: At the age of 19, he is already a ruler (asking for monthly tickets!)
Olajuwon and Drexler shook hands and hugged Roger and O'Neal respectively.

When Dream saw 18-year-old Roger on the stage of the finals last year, he thought it was outrageous enough. An 18-year-old rookie led the Bulls to beat the Knicks and enter the finals without Michael Jordan. There is nothing more outrageous than this in the world.

Don’t even mention Roger leading the team to the finals. If Pippen had any good scoring performance, the media would have exaggerated it as “Pippen leading the 18-year-old rookie to the finals.”

But the fact is that the 18-year-old rookie led Pippen to the finals. You can imagine how outrageous this is.

As a result, this year, Dream encountered something even more outrageous. The 19-year-old Roger took a team that had previously only been eliminated in the first round and directly won the championship.

Olajuwon thought back to his sophomore self, who also reached the finals with a third-year center and No. 1 pick.

Although he was selected into the All-Defensive Second Team in his rookie season and the All-Second Team in his sophomore season, it was just paying the tuition fee to reach the finals.

Dream still remembers that a teammate named Mitchell Wiggins said that if they won the championship, they would have another child, and if it was a boy, they would name him Andrew. Now, it is not known whether this child named Andrew Wiggins exists.

Moreover, Dream was already 23 years old when he was in his sophomore year. What about Roger? He was still more than two months away from his 20th birthday.

This guy is really outrageous.

Although the league has seen a surge in Jordan successors in the past two seasons, the 95 draft will soon feature another player, Jerry Stackhouse, who is known as a "true North Carolina Jordan".

But Da Meng believes that only the one in front of him is the real thing!

Only he has the opportunity to replicate or even surpass Michael Jordan's achievements!
Finally, Olajuwon said to Roger, "See you next year," and left the court with Drexler.

The miracle of the Houston Rockets came to an end in front of Roger and the Shark.

Orlando's magic is even more magical than Houston's!

Walking into the player tunnel, Dream was still trying to comfort his good brother who had been with him in college: "Clyde, don't be so depressed. You and I actually have the same honor."

Drexler looked up at Da Meng and sighed: "How can it be the same?"

Da Meng smiled and said, "Now, we both have two runners-up."

"WQNMLGB!" Drexler and Dream had a very friendly communication. After all, the two were good brothers who had been together since college. It was normal to greet each other's family while communicating, right?
At this point, all Rockets players left the court. The Compaq Center now completely belonged to the Orlando Magic.

After experiencing the excitement at the end of the game, O'Neal suddenly sat on the bench, buried his face in the towel and cried, repeating his grandmother's name.

Those who often win championships know that when people are extremely happy, they always suddenly become very emotional.

Shark has always wanted to repay his grandmother. He wants to buy her a big house and give her a lot of money.

But grandma rejected them all. Her only request to Shark was: "I just want to see you succeed, that's enough, Shaquille."

Thinking of this sentence now, it undoubtedly hit the softest part of Shark's heart, making all his memories turn into tears.

He did it. He did it in what might have been the last period of his grandmother’s life.

Roger's reaction was completely opposite to O'Neal's. He was completely confused when the game just ended, but now that he came to his senses, he became extremely arrogant.

Roger jumped onto the technical table again, just like he did after the Eastern Conference Finals, wearing a championship cap and tugging at his jersey amid the flying streamers.

It was great, really great. Because Roger knew very well that a lot of people were angry about his victory!
He just wanted to make those people angry!
Because he was a high school student, he was not eligible for the top three picks in the draft, and even Penny dared to give him the cold shoulder at the draft.

After that, Nike’s statement during the negotiations, “We don’t want Penny to be unhappy,” irritated Roger for the first time.

After entering the NBA, Scott Pippen treated himself as a clown and had no respect.

Pat Riley treated himself as a little kid and a breakthrough point to defeat the Bulls.

Michael Jordan was so high and mighty that he thought he could humiliate a high school kid who was the fourth pick in the draft.

Finally, Roger led the team to the finals with great difficulty, but what happened? The team turned around and traded him away.

Jordan didn't play a single game, but the media all over the world were saying, "Ah, Jordan is still the best, Roger is a waste."

Roger had been putting up with this shit all along.

Now what? Look who the fuck is standing on the podium now! ?

Who the hell is number one! ?

Is your Penny Hardaway okay?
Is your Michael Jordan okay?
I scored 40 points on Penny in the first half, and I swept Jordan 4-0.

So, shut the fuck up!

Roger stood on the technical table and vented his emotions freely. At the same time, Roger's uncle was crying in front of the TV.

Roger's original jersey from the finals that decided the winner of the championship was enough for him to work in his old auto repair shop for two lifetimes. How could he not cry?! ?

Well, that wasn’t the reason why Lu An was crying.

He also became emotional and recalled many things from the past.

The little boy who practiced shooting alone, the little boy who posted various tactics in his room, the boy who wore out his shoes until the soles were thin. Now, he is the NBA champion!

While people were moved to tears by "Forrest Gump" in the cinema, Lu An experienced an even more bizarre story in real life.

Lu An tried hard to control his emotions and wiped away his tears.

Okay, okay, think about something happy.

Roger's big problem has been solved. Now, is it time for me to solve the big problem in my life?

As the uncle of a championship player!

It would be a bit disrespectful to still be single.

At the game, not only the Sharks, but many Magic players also shed tears.

Ron Harper's greatest achievement before this was the "If he had defended Jordan at the time, there might not have been The Shot" award.

Derek McKay's greatest honor is that he was a member of the "1993 Supersonics forward group that stopped the Dream."

Horace Grant was a well-known snitch, the most disliked and often ignored person in the Bulls dynasty.

They used to live in the shadow of those great players, but after today, they have only one identity - true champions!

O'Neal stood up again, his eyes red.

He looked at Roger who was hugging his teammates one by one, and recalled the afternoon when he first met Roger.

At that time, the Shark really didn't expect that a high school student would dare to challenge him, the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

I never imagined that three years later, I would be holding the championship trophy at the same time as him.

At this time, after hugging everyone, Roger stood alone with his arms raised.

O'Neill walked towards Roger, who had his back to him, and wanted to hug him.

At this moment, Roger just put down his arms. Then, as if he could sense something, he turned his head and saw the shark. The two smiled at each other and hugged each other tightly.

This is the tacit understanding between them.

After that, the entire Magic team went up to the podium.

David Stern was happy with the result because the Magic's championship proved that small markets and foreign players could also succeed in the NBA.

Although the Magic received the award, given that it was at their home court, in order to avoid something like "being shot 20 times in the back" happening in the tough state of Texas, Stern still said some nice words before the award ceremony.

"Thank you to the Houston Rockets, this team has reached the finals for two consecutive years, which is a testament to excellence. Houston fans, thank you for your consistent support for this team for 24 years.

Now, let us congratulate the Orlando Magic for winning the 1995 NBA Championship!"

The fans in the stadium burst into boos, and the good words Stern had said before had no effect at all.

But the boos from Houston people can't change anything. The Magic became the champions, that's a fact!

When Rich DeVos received the trophy from Stern, Stern patted him on the shoulder and said, "You have set a good example for the new team, Rich. Keep it up."

Rich DeVos, who was already extremely excited, only wanted to raise the championship trophy above his head and didn't care about Stern's words "hold on tight".

But maybe in a year or two, he will understand the meaning of this sentence.

After that, everyone who received the championship trophy gave a speech.

Roger is a great player. If you have a player who can score 40 points in three consecutive games in the finals, you can't lose the championship. Of course, Shaq is also great. His potential in the interior has caused great trouble for the Rockets' defense. We have two young top players and a bunch of experienced and capable players. Our success is not accidental, and I believe it will not be the last time! There is no need to regret the old times. Everyone can look forward to the infinite possibilities of the new generation! —— DeVos talked about the Magic's first championship.

This is a great epic! I bet that when Michael said "I'm back" a year ago, 90% of the fans thought that the East would fall into his rule again. I bet you all thought that the Chicago Bulls would return to the finals. But we told the world that basketball is a game that speaks with strength, not with the past! ——Brian Hill talked about this year's championship.

I didn't think much about it, I just saw Roger standing there and I passed the ball. I was thinking, damn, if there's anybody who can stop this crazy Rockets comeback, it's Roger! The moment he shot it, I knew it was going to go in, I just knew it! - Horace Grant on the final pass to Roger

I have never seen a leader like Roger. He is like a veteran in his 30s. Playing with him, you would feel that he is already in his 30s. He is so young but such a good leader. I mean not only the performance on the court, not only the last shot. The belief he brought to us on the spiritual level is equally important. In the last timeout, he yelled for us to fight back, fight back! Our whole team was awakened by him at that moment! - Ron Harper on Roger's leadership

Roger and I, our offense is as perfect as the Pythagorean theorem. You all say Michael is the best player, Hakeem is the best player. But it turns out that the best players can't stop us at all! So, we are the best players in the league now! Hey Rich, Roger's three-pointer is definitely worth an eight-digit annual salary, keep this guy! - Shark excitedly hugged Roger's shoulders.

Rich DeVos smiled awkwardly. He didn't like the Sharks talking about contract renewal in public.

He is the boss and he has the final say on how much money to pay.

But now is a time to celebrate, and DeVos didn't think too much about it, and the unhappy mood just passed by.

Finally, the championship trophy was passed to Roger.

Roger held the trophy, which was heavier than he had imagined.

This championship is of great significance to Roger, both physically and psychologically.

It's not just about winning the first championship in your career.

He beautifully defeated the team that abandoned him last season and the former king.

They defeated the team that defeated them in the finals last season beautifully.

Then, he received the highest honor.

This completely eliminated all doubts about Roger.

This made his career take a qualitative leap in the second year!
The colorful man Sag put the microphone to Roger's mouth, and Roger realized what he should say.

Seeing that Roger was a little dazed, Sager simply changed the form of asking questions.

"After tonight, do you have any goals?"

Roger looked at Sager and asked, "How many championships did Michael Jordan win before?"

"Three."

"No Craig, it's not just three championships, it's three consecutive championships. This is the most special thing about Michael and the key to his status."

"So, your next goal is to catch up with Michael?"

"No, I want to surpass him!"

This answer is extremely arrogant and very unorthodox.

If someone else said this, the fans would probably laugh at that person for being ignorant of the world.

Michael Jordan did lose this year, but he is at most a down-and-out aristocrat, and not to the point where anyone can surpass him.

But when Roger said this, people didn't feel anything wrong.

Given that Roger is only 19 and the Sharks are still young, anything is possible.

In front of the TV, Jordan stared at the screen in silence.

Obviously, Roger's words just now made this boiled egg very unhappy.

Even the people around him could feel the strong murderous aura he was emitting.

It's like the murderous aura a wild dog exudes when it suddenly stares at you without saying a word.

Even Eric Gordon, who had just finished his Coke and wanted another one, knew that it was best not to mess with Michael Jordan at this time, otherwise he might stick a straw up your nostrils.

Even Reggie Miller didn't provoke Jordan. It's true that he likes to compete with Jordan. But if he teases Jordan now, it's not a matter of competition. He bets that Jordan will punch him.

He can compete with Jordan on the court, but now, he is just here to make some extra money by making movies, so it's not worth it.

At the scene, Roger ended the interview reluctantly.

In fact, he still has a lot to say. Now that he is the champion, he can boldly express many of his opinions.

But this championship ceremony belongs to everyone after all, and he can't take up everyone's time alone.

After several other players finished their interviews, David Stern picked up a small envelope and took a look at it.

Sager immediately moved on to the next step: "Then, please invite league president David Stern to read out the voting results for this season's Finals MVP, and Mr. Bill Russell will present the award to him!"

Stern took the microphone: "There is no doubt that he played a dominant performance in the finals and scored the shot that decided the championship. Let us congratulate Roger, he is the 1995 NBA Finals MVP and the youngest FMVP in NBA history!"

Roger took over the Finals MVP trophy, scored 40+ in three consecutive games, averaging 39 points, 4.2 assists and 2 steals per game. Roger's performance in the Finals was impeccable.

Of course, Shark's 24+12 was also great. In fact, he received 2 FMVP votes.

But Roger's scoring performance was so explosive. The Shark and Olajuwon just exploded against each other, but Roger completely blew up the Rockets' entire outside line.

O'Neal watched Roger raise the FMVP trophy without any reaction.

He clapped and smiled like everyone else.

However, sharks also have something in their eyes that others don’t have—desire.

But soon, the desire was diluted by the championship trophy in hand.

The championship trophy is the most important thing. I don't think anyone thinks I'm the same as Pippen, right? Well, even if I don't win the Finals MVP this year, I'm sure there will be opportunities in the future.

Shark looked at the trophy in his hand and started French kissing it.

"Fuck!" Shark said, "It's so damn salty!"

After that, the players returned to the locker room and started a champagne battle under the watchful eyes of some reporters.

Rich DeVos was not stingy in this regard. He ordered hundreds of bottles of champagne early on for the players to drink.

O'Neal's first target was Roger, and the Berber liquid sprayed directly on his face.

Roger immediately fought back and put the ball directly into his mouth. This is the instinct of a shooter.

The most pitiful one was Derek McKay. Due to his lack of experience, he was very embarrassed and couldn't open the champagne.

Seeing that everyone was having a great time while he couldn't open the bottle for a long time, he got anxious: "Hey, wait a minute, damn Shaq, how come you've already opened the second bottle? Wait, I haven't sprayed it out yet, I haven't sprayed it out yet, can someone help me with your hands!"

Everyone let the champagne burn in their eyes, and no one felt it was painful.

After all, it's better to have champagne in your eyes than to have them filled with tears.

Of course, it's not just champagne in the eyes.

But under O'Neal's leadership, he began pouring champagne on his teammates' heads.

When it was Roger's turn, Grant and McKay restrained Roger, but as soon as O'Neill unzipped Roger's pants, his smile disappeared instantly.

Now he knew why Scott Pippen was so undignified.

Under the leadership of O'Neal, the invincible wrecker, more than a hundred bottles of champagne were quickly consumed and the celebration was coming to an end.

At this time, Roger was holding a cigar and the FMVP trophy, and was interviewed by Sports Illustrated columnist Andrew Sharp in a relatively quiet physical therapy room.

Roger had no intention of cultivating his own mouthpiece, and Andrew Sharp was simply pushed to Roger's side by Jordan. Andrew Sharp has been close to Roger since the All-Star freeze incident caused Jordan and Sports Illustrated to break up.

"Roger, congratulations. At the age of 19, you won your first NBA championship. This is a rare achievement. But I want to ask you a question that has nothing to do with the NBA. As a 19-year-old FMVP, are you willing to play for the national team?"

Roger certainly hadn't expected this question.

"The situation is a bit complicated, so it depends on the specific situation. But if you are asking about my personal willingness, I think I am willing to do so, because I am Chinese."

"Why didn't Warner ask you to shoot Space Jam? You had experience shooting The Master before. Did you refuse? Or did the two sides not have any contact at all?"

"There was no contact at all. I think they needed a leading actor like Michael."

"why?"

Roger replied with a sly smile: "Because the players participating in the finals don't have time to shoot, Warner can only, forgive me for saying this, only find actors from the losers."

It was not convenient to say much at the championship award ceremony just now, but now it is his own interview and he is going to go all out.

When Andrew Sharp saw Roger's smirk, he immediately understood what he was saying and started asking some questions that were more suitable for Roger:
"There are so many people who helped you this year. Who do you want to thank?"

"The people I want to thank the most are Michael and Jerry. Without them, the championship in Orlando would have been delayed for who knows how long."

"Do you still hate this deal?"

"I can't say I hate it, but I tell you the truth, I was very unhappy when I was traded. Even if there was someone who was responsible for the Bulls' loss in the finals last season, that person definitely shouldn't be me. I was very unhappy that an old bastard who hadn't played for a year easily squeezed me out as soon as he came back.

Now, I don't have such worries. Because I proved that they were blind. This year, my 4-0 sweep of the Bulls proved this point.

The more honors I receive, the more I prove their stupidity."

"You mentioned Michael. Do you know the inside story? Was trading you really one of the conditions for his return to Chicago?"

Roger waved his hand, "I don't know Andrew, I really don't know. But I can guarantee that my leaving has something to do with Michael Jordan. If he really put forward some bullshit conditions, it would undoubtedly be a stupid condition, a condition that would make his blood pressure soar right now."

After saying that, Roger took a puff of his cigar and blew out smoke rings. Holding the FMVP trophy in his hand and stepping on the O'Brien Cup, he looked like a proud and majestic emperor.

At the age of 19, he is already a ruler.

As a champion, he can speak as wildly as he wants!

Andrew Sharp glanced at the cameraman next to him, and the cameraman nodded, indicating that he had taken a picture of the scene just now.

Sharp immediately decided to use this picture to apply for the cover of the next issue of Sports Illustrated.

This interview, plus this picture.

Ah.

Michael Jordan's eyes would probably bleed.

(End of this chapter)