Champion Rules

Chapter 413, page 409: The Final Arena (Seeking monthly votes!)

Kevin Durant couldn't watch any longer.

Ever since David McMenamin told him the inside scoop on MVP voting, he thought Kevin Durant on TV who said he still had a chance to win MVP was a complete idiot.

David McMenamin's information cannot be guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but it is unlikely to be too far off.

The relationship between players and reporters, and the relationship between reporters themselves, can never be generalized.

David McMenamin may not have had a good relationship with Lynch, but that doesn't mean he didn't have a good relationship with the journalists who supported Lynch.

In this matter, those people had no reason to lie to David.

Kevin Durant couldn't hide his disappointment; his performance this season had indeed been good, and he had even topped the MVP rankings at one point.

He found it hard to accept that the MVP selection he had been looking forward to would end like this.

Kevin Durant's phone rang at that moment. He wanted to hang up, but the name "Andre Iguodala" on the caller ID made him pause slightly.

"Hello." His voice was low and tired.

"Hey Kevin! Open the door, we're at your doorstep!"

"you?"

“Me, Stephen, James, Serge, and us.”

After hanging up the phone, Durant got up and walked towards the door.

The moment I pushed open the door, those familiar figures were indeed standing outside the courtyard fence.

Looking at those people, Kevin Durant's lips, which had been taut for almost 24 hours, finally curled into a slight smile.

This was the first time he smiled since learning the cruel inside story about the MVP voting.

He warmly invited everyone into the house, and the visiting teammates were very casual about it.

Stephen Curry sprawled on the sofa as if he were at home, letting out a comfortable sigh.

Andre Iguodala glanced at the TV program, calmly picked up the remote, and decisively pressed the power button, instantly turning the screen dark.

Serge Ibaka, the king of culinary disasters, placed a heavy bag on the counter: "I'll show off my skills tonight. What would you like to eat? Snake meat? Or bull penis?"

James Harden grabbed a few magazines and threw them into Durant's room: "Here, KD, I'll put them on your bed."

Their arrival instantly brought the lifeless house to life.

This is why Kevin Durant loves the Oklahoma City Thunder so much.

He gets along well with almost all of his teammates, and they trust and are close to each other.

Well, Kevin Durant still doesn't really like head coach Steve Kerr; he was just forced to embrace that guy's passing and cutting system this season.

But this is merely a minor flaw in a perfect picture, and its merits outweigh its flaws.

He felt genuinely happy playing for the Thunder.

"What brings you here?" Kevin Durant asked, feigning ignorance.

“I’ve heard the rumors,” Stephen Curry said, lying on the sofa with his hands behind his head. “They’re saying Lynch is going to be the unanimous MVP for the second time in his career. Fuck, that’s insane.”

"Ha, even you know?" Durant shook his head with a wry smile, his disappointment written all over his face. "Rumors spread fast, don't you think."

"The reach wasn't actually very wide, but don't forget, I'm a Reebok spokesperson just like Lynch, and I also know many journalists who are close to Reebok."

“Alright, Stephen, let’s not talk about this anymore,” Andre Iguodala cut the subject at the right moment. “First of all, everything we know right now is just rumors. Secondly, the MVP trophy has never been a guarantee of ultimate victory.”

Andre Iguodala's last words made Kevin Durant instinctively clench his fists:
"Yes, yes. Even if I'm not the best player this season, we're still the best team. 69 wins, guys, 69 wins is the raw strength! Even if Lynch racks up so many triple-doubles, his Knicks record can't compare to ours!"

James Harden nodded: "We shut out the Spurs this season, while they almost pushed the Knicks to the brink last season. We will win, and the MVP award will be Lynch's retirement gift."

The group grew increasingly animated, the atmosphere lively, until Serge Ibaka's booming voice rang out from the kitchen, instantly extinguishing everyone's enthusiasm:
"I've made up my mind, guys, tonight we're having a snake meat and bull penis pizza!"

The air froze for a dozen seconds, then, as if a starting gun had been fired, the four of them immediately ran toward the door.

Only Serge Ibaka's loud laughter could be heard coming from the kitchen:
"You have to eat, you have to eat, hahahaha."

Kevin Durant ran into the yard, his huge nostrils flared, and took a breath of fresh air.

“No matter what,” he growled into the Oklahoma City night sky, as if trying to convince himself, “Oklahoma City will never bow down to Lynch’s retirement tour!”

He forced himself to believe that he had let go of his obsession with MVP and that the scales of victory were still on their side.

New York, a completely different atmosphere.

Lynch is watching the European league final from ten years ago.

Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, ​​El Clásico.

The video had extremely low resolution, with pixels jumping around on the screen. But the images in his mind were incredibly clear, every single moment vivid in his mind.

At the time, he was a super rookie who completely ended the era of Dejan Bodiroga.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

In the blink of an eye, he is about to end the era of Michael Jordan.

And his own era. Beside him, Teodosic watched very intently: "Look back then, damn, how young we were."

Lin Qi snorted: "Don't even mention us, you were already very old back then. From the first day I met you, you've looked like this old man."

"Screw you, LeBron James is the old one, I'm just precocious."

The two watched the match, the outcome of which they had long foreseen. On the screen, the deafening roar of "Hala Madrid" from Real Madrid fans gradually faded. But the resounding echo seemed to linger in the quiet room, resonating in their memories.

Lately, Lynch has found himself increasingly drawn into the river of memories, a habit he had never had before.

He will rewatch those key battles that go down in history; just yesterday, he rewatched the 2004 NBA Draft.

He understood that this stemmed in part from the fact that he was about to say goodbye to all of this.

His career, though not long, was dazzling enough.

Since 2009, Lynch has never known what failure tastes like again.

He is getting close to his ultimate goal. If he can achieve his goal this season, he can make his name last forever!
That was the ending Lynch had always dreamed of.

“Lynch,” Theo interrupted Lynch’s thoughts, “would you make a comeback after a few years like Michael Jordan?”

“No, buddy,” Lynch replied decisively, leaving no room for negotiation. “If I have truly achieved that ultimate goal, why would I give those noisy guys another chance to judge me?”

"I don't believe it. I don't believe that someone like you can tolerate a life without competition at the age of 28."

“It’s really unbearable. I’ll still be competing, just not as a player anymore. I want to see if my ‘championship rules’ are really that effective.”

"Just a heads up, neither Larry nor Magic Johnson's coaching careers ended very well."

"They are who they are."

As the two were talking, Kyrie Irving called.

"Lynch, have you seen the updates on social media?"

"No, what happened?"

"This is insane! 27 teams' official social media accounts and the league's official social media account posted the same message at the same time! Damn, go see for yourself!"

Lin Qi hung up the phone and turned on his mobile phone.

I then realized that the internet had already exploded.

The official NBA account pinned a carefully edited tribute video with a simple yet touching caption: Stay with us!
27 NBA teams posted the same update at the same time.

The entire league, regardless of how badly he had previously crushed them, was now calling out one name—Lynch.

This is an unprecedented spectacle, with the entire league urging a player who is about to retire to stay.

The alliance launched this campaign with a simple goal: Adam Silver had backed down.

Negotiations for the new television broadcasting contract had been going poorly, and he knew that only Lynch could change things.

This overwhelming effort to retain him is both a commercial compromise and the ultimate recognition of his dominance by the entire basketball world.

Lin Qi's fingertips slid across the screen, reading the passionate messages, and he smiled with satisfaction.

Ten years of hard work, and this resounding call to stay from the league is the best reward for his career.

“The league can’t do without you,” Theo said, holding his phone and shrugging. “The day you retire might cause an even bigger sensation than MJ.”

"Then give them the best final performance."

Lin Qi turned off his phone screen; his mind was made up.

Just then, LeBron James' pre-playoff interview came on TV, and as always, it featured his signature, left-right brain-twisting, and often frown-inducing way of speaking:

“I think Lynch and I are role models for modern basketball. I wouldn’t say that my all-around playing style inspired Lynch and made him more inclined to lead his teammates. But I’m sure I was one of the factors that influenced him.”

Theo, sitting on the sofa, paid no attention to LeBron James' interview on TV, and instead asked himself, "Linch, 27 teams tried to keep you, so which three teams didn't?"

"Need I say more? Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Oklahoma City Thunder."

"Oh, it seems they really want a war."

Lynch stared at LeBron James' face on the television screen and nodded: "Yes, that's exactly what I want."

He stood up, stretched his limbs, as if he were about to step into the final arena.

"Alright, Milos, go back and get some rest."

Lynch patted Teodosic on the shoulder
"Time to get to work."
-
Lynch hasn't responded to the league's calls for him to stay. I think we might really have to say goodbye to one of the brightest stars in basketball history forever after this year's playoffs. — Charles Barkley on the probability of Lynch's retirement.

I bet Lynch will be back within three years, we'll see. — Shaquille O'Neal offered a different perspective.

The Denver Nuggets sent people to scout Serbian big man Nikola Jokic, and they were surprised to find that, as a professional player, he couldn't do a plank at all. — Denver Post

In what way did LeBron inspire Lynch? Perhaps in business operations, after all, the Crab Potato combo appeared much later than his Hennessy collaboration. — Stephen A. Smith's sarcastic remark about LeBron James.

The only tribute Lynch can take away from here is the deafening boos from the fans and my victory. — Chris Paul in a Fox Sports interview before the playoffs.

(End of this chapter)