The longest river

Chapter 163 A Bad News and a Good News
"Negative energy from Shaquille O'Neal +777".

"Negative energy from Michael Jordan +1008".

"Negative energy from Karl Malone +999".

"Positive energy from Reggie Miller +1314".

……

The moment Stern made the announcement, a series of notification sounds rang in Yang Shuai's mind.

His opponents and teammates experienced tremendous emotional fluctuations at that moment.

After Stern finished speaking, he handed the microphone to Johnson, and then handed the Finals MVP trophy to Yang Shuai.

After accepting the trophy, Yang Shuai pulled Miller to his side.

"You deserve the FMVP award."

Yang Shuai gave Miller the utmost respect.

Miller smiled broadly when he heard this. Although he had said before that Yang Shuai deserved the award, who would be unhappy about such respect?
Johnson took the microphone and began the interviews, starting with Simon.

Simon recounted the hardships they've faced over the years, showcasing the Pacers' perseverance.

Then the microphone was handed to Bird's mouth.

"You won the championship in your first year as a coach, Larry, what do you have to say now?"

Before Bird could even answer, the cheers from the crowd were already deafening.

Johnson's questions alone are enough to make him look pretentious.

"I didn't do anything, it was my teammates who did it. Believe me, Ernie, you can succeed in my position too."

Bird's words successfully amused Johnson, as Johnson had previously made a similar joke during a commentary.

"This is an incredible team. They are no worse than the team I played for back then. This championship is just the beginning."

Bird's next words drew another round of cheers from the audience.

The microphone finally reached Yang Shuai.

"Hansen, you are the MVP. When you received the trophy just now, you said Reggie was your MVP."

Johnson was quite clever; he expressed a similar meaning but skillfully avoided some sensitive issues.

“Reggie is our leader. His playing through injury inspired us all. His defensive contributions tonight were key to our victory. This MVP trophy is half his.”

Yang Shuai's words reignited the fans' emotions, and Miller turned around and gave Yang Shuai a heartfelt hug.

If it were just polite talk, Yang Shuai's previous statement would have been sufficient, but the fact that he's saying it again shows that he genuinely respects Miller.

The Pacers' championship is a team championship.

"Reggie, is there anything you want to say?"

Johnson finally handed the microphone to Miller, whose eyes were already red with emotion.

"Many people think it's impossible for us to do it, but we have proven one thing with our perseverance year after year: as long as you keep working hard and give it your all, you will eventually succeed."

Miller's words drew cheers from the players behind him.

Confetti rained down again, and it was time for the champions to celebrate.

After the awards ceremony, the team members went to celebrate with their families. The championship night was a precious night for everyone.

However, Yang Shuai has already gone to a local hospital in Salt Lake City for a check-up.

While he was undergoing his check-up, the Pacers' general manager Walsh, head coach Bird, assistant coach Carlisle, as well as Vaccaro, Paul, Rondo, Ray Johnson, and DiFrancisco were all there.

The hospital was packed with people.

After the initial excitement of winning the championship, they all looked worried.

Yang Shuai has already shown enough talent, and now the only thing that can stop him is injury.

He has had some minor injuries every year since entering the NBA, but this one seems to be more serious.

Lying on the MRI table, Yang Shuai was actually a little nervous.

Because there is no such thing as "injury immunity" in the system that can solve injuries once and for all.

When he suffered an injury, some of his abilities on the system panel would decrease, but they would gradually recover as his injury healed and he trained.

However, he is unsure whether he can recover from a serious injury.

Waiting for test results is agonizing for everyone.

Finally, Yang Shuai, Walsh, Bird, and Vaccaro entered a small room.

The doctor announced the test results to them.

There is bad news and good news.

The good news is that Yang Shuai did not suffer any soft tissue injury to his Achilles tendon or ligaments.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief.

For players, this is the source of joint stability and explosive power, and it is an injury that is difficult to fully recover from with current medicine.

While there are exceptions like Wilkins, exceptions are still exceptions.

Bird couldn't help but reach out and pat Yang Shuai on the shoulder.

As someone whose life has been ravaged by injuries, he was genuinely afraid that Yang Shuai would perish.

The bad news is that Yang Shuai suffered a fracture in his left foot, and it was a rather serious fracture.

Yang Shuai will need at least 6 months to recover.

In other words, Yang Shuai will not be able to return to the court until around January next year.

This will affect his performance next season.

Overall, Yang Shuai was quite lucky, and he had a whole summer to recover. In fact, theoretically, a non-comminuted fracture can even make the bone stronger than before.

Once the test results were confirmed, they boarded a private plane bound for Cleveland.

The medical technology there is much better than in Salt Lake City and Indianapolis.

Ray Johnson, DiFrancisco, and Vaccaro flew with him.

Have you heard of Tim Grover?

Vaccaro then mentioned someone.

"All I knew was that he was Michael's trainer." Yang Shuai was quite surprised to learn this, because the profession of trainer is usually behind the scenes.

Grover was attending some event where he argued about who was the greatest of all time, Jordan or James.

He gave a very simple and straightforward example.

"We've all heard stories of people robbing Jordan shoes, but have you ever heard of someone getting into trouble because of a pair of LeBron James shoes?"

Yang Shuai only found out he was Jordan's trainer because he thought he was very interesting.

The reason Vaccaro mentioned Grover is quite simple: Jordan also suffered a severe fracture of the navicular bone in his left foot during his sophomore year, which sidelined him for nearly five months.

It was around that time that Jordan recruited a trainer, and Grover eventually became Jordan's trainer and helped him build a body of steel, after which Jordan never suffered another major injury.

"You want Grover to help me?" Yang Shuai understood what Vaccaro meant.

Vaccaro nodded.

He had a close relationship with Jordan, and he must have known Grover as well.

"Would Michael agree?"

You might think Vaccaro's suggestion would be good if Jordan had already retired by now, but Jordan is not only still active, he has also just been defeated by him.

No, it wasn't just that I was defeated by him, it was that I was humiliated by him. He even jumped onto the Chicago scorer's table and shouted, "Fuck the basketball god!"

Jordan's 10086 negative energy was the most direct reflection of the other person's mood.

Moreover, after so many interactions, Yang Shuai has a full understanding of how petty Jordan is.

He couldn't understand why Jordan would have his trainer help him.

“If it were someone else, I don’t think Michael would necessarily agree, but if it were you, he definitely wouldn’t refuse.”

"Michael thinks so highly of me?" Yang Shuai didn't feel that Jordan valued him at all. Could it be that Jordan was a masochist?

“It’s not that he thinks highly of you, it’s because you beat him before, and he wants to win back, just like he beat the Pistons and the Magic.”

After hearing what Vaccaro said, Yang Shuai understood a little.

This is related to a person's personality; failure is something that is difficult for many people to accept.

Let's not compare him to those who run away after failing; take Ewing for example. After a series of failures, he also began to doubt his life.

But Jordan was the kind of player who, even after being beaten by the Pistons for three years in a row, could still fight back and win in the fourth year.

This includes the previous loss to the Magic.

For Jordan, failure was the biggest driving force.

"Then let's do as you say."

Yang Shuai is a very decisive person. Since Vaccaro thinks it's feasible, let's give it a try.

Moreover, this doesn't mean he has to have Vaccaro as his trainer; it's impossible for him to still be Jordan's trainer.

If possible, it would be better to have DiFrancisco communicate with him, since communication between trainers is much more useful than his own.

On the night of his arrival in Cleveland, Yang Shuai underwent surgery at the best local hospital.

The surgery was a success, and Yang Shuai received many congratulatory messages.

Kobe's text message was eye-catching: Tell me as soon as you can play again, I'm ready to challenge for the Finals MVP!
This guy's mind is filled with nothing but basketball.

After that, many people came to Cleveland to visit Yang Shuai.

Scott was the first to arrive. This man, who was his mentor on the Pacers, will also announce his retirement after this season.

His initial choice proved to be correct, and he received a perfect farewell.

Judging from the results, he and Yang Shuai were able to help each other.

Garnett arrived just as he bumped into Billups.

Yang Shuai hadn't seen Billups for a long time since they last ate Rocky Mountain oysters, so they inevitably had a chat about their recent situation.

Billups' performance this season at the University of Colorado is an improvement over last season. He averaged 19.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, leading the team to its best record in franchise history, and also performed well in Junior Madness.

Most importantly, he is already preparing to participate in this year's draft.

Moreover, thanks to his outstanding performance in Madness 3, he is very confident that he can enter the top three.

If we exclude Duncan, this year, like their previous year, is a genuinely weak year.

Yang Shuai recalled that the draft lottery for this year's draft had already ended in April, and the Spurs won the first overall pick. Auerbach was so angry that he announced his retirement.

Then, as for second and third place, it seems to be the 76ers and the Celtics. If Billups really makes it into the top three, then no matter which team they are on, they will face each other on the court quite a lot next season.

After Billups left, Garnett stayed behind with Yang Shuai to discuss an early contract extension.

His agent is ready to secure him the biggest contract in history.

Yang Shuai has now won the Finals MVP, so he should seize the opportunity even more.

A few days later, the Pacers held a grand championship parade in Indianapolis, which Yang Shuai was unable to attend due to his recovery from surgery.

Then the 1997 NBA Draft was held in Charlotte.

Duncan was selected as the number one pick in the 1997 NBA draft without any doubt, and the Spurs successfully formed a twin-tower lineup with Duncan and David Robinson.

Billups was selected third overall by the Celtics.

When Yang Shuai learned of the result, he suddenly remembered something: Pierce was also a Celtics player. Pierce and Billups were going to be teammates?
In addition, Yang Shuai's former rivals have also entered the league one after another.

Antonio Daniels, whom he faced in his senior year of high school and who was once hailed as "the next Ohio NBA player," was selected fourth overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Ron Mercer, whom he had met at the McDonald's All-Star Game and who had also participated in the Three-Point Contest, was selected by the Celtics with the 7th overall pick.

Tim Thomas, whom he met in the AAU finals, was selected 8th overall by the Nets and then immediately traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Then Nike signed Tracy McGrady, the Kings' sixth overall pick in high school, to a five-year, $10 million contract.

“I don’t like people comparing me to Hansen and Kobe. I’d rather strive to be the next Michael.”

McGrady's comments at the draft also sparked heated discussions.

It is rumored that the Bulls are interested in trading Pippen for McGrady.

When July 1st arrives, the NBA's new season free agency market opens.

Yang Shuai also faced the critical moment of renewing his contract ahead of schedule at this time.

(End of this chapter)