Chapter 134 Young MVP (Daily Chapter)

The NBA was suspended for a long time during the 1998-99 season, which had a huge impact on Philadelphia.

Valentine's Day in 1999 was supposed to be the day when Philadelphia hosted the All-Star Game, and it was originally planned to be a celebrity feast:

Moses Malone, Juliet Erving, Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain will all be together.

As a result, the day turned into an ordinary regular season game, and Philadelphia suffered a huge loss!

After Michael Jordan retired, it had an impact on many ball markets, and Philadelphia was one of them.

Dick Ebersole, chairman of NBC Sports Network, made a point after broadcasting McNamara's retirement ceremony:

"We must create a new generation of stars!"

Philadelphia responded positively to this. Although the long shutdown kept fans away from the game for a long time, as long as the stars are there, there will always be fans who buy tickets to support it.

The 76ers have good expectations, taking advantage of the NBA star-making movement to launch their core player Allen Iverson!

It is a pity that old fans seem to have become accustomed to the NBA represented by Michael Jordan, and many people do not like this little player with a distinctive personality.

Young fans in Philadelphia like Iverson's unruly character, his increasingly distinctive hip-hop attire, and they yearn for the beautiful life in which he leads his followers all night long every day.

Old-school fans are just the opposite. The two sides are naturally opposed to each other, which makes Iverson's evaluation appear at two extremes.

On the night of May 12th, after a day off, the 76ers returned to their home court and lost again.

Allen Iverson played 45 minutes, shooting 13 of 26, 1 of 6 from beyond the three-point line, 8 of 9 free throws, and scored 35 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 3 turnovers.

102:90, the Knicks team with multiple rotations easily defeated their opponents again.

With a big score of 3:0, the 76ers were eventually swept.

At the First United Center, Philadelphia fans who have been waiting for many years are a little disappointed.

Without the All-Stars, the anticipated playoffs ended early, and all expectations were dashed!

The negative comments eventually prevailed. No matter what data Iverson produced, most of the people at the post-game press conference were skeptical.

In this series, except for the long rest period in G2, Iverson has tried his best in the other two games.

"Allen, can you tell us the reason why the team lost? Is this related to your playing style on the court?"

"Has too much nightlife affected your state?"

"We see that you don't seem to be fully executing Coach Larry Brown's game plan. Can you explain why?"

"Does paying too much attention to appearance distract from your basketball spirit?"

"Allen, Lee is about to win the MVP this season. What do you think of this?"

"."

The last question caused Iverson, who was wearing a black casual suit and a gold chain, to frown. He said a few hasty remarks and quickly left the press conference.

The Philadelphia media that had praised him in the past were questioning it at this moment, and Iverson found it difficult to accept such a result.

Losing and settling old scores is a traditional skill of media reporters. In the NBA, losers usually have no say.

Compared to Iverson's treatment, Li You is much better.

Among the three games in the first round, except for G3, which played slightly longer, the remaining two games were played in three quarters.

Averaged 31.0 minutes per game, and averaged 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.0 turnovers in three games.

The shooting percentage is no different from the regular season, and the overall efficiency is a little higher.

Based on the content of the game, the sports media all know that the Knicks did not exert their strength at all, with 9 players rotating, and the two sides are not teams of the same level at all.

In the morning, the NBA announced the best coach of the season, and head coach Mike Dunleavy of the Trail Blazers successfully won the award.

The individual awards will soon be the regular season Most Valuable Player Award, so after Li You came to the press conference, the media in the audience started to flatter him:

"Lee, congratulations on winning this season's MVP!"

As soon as the New York Post reporter finished speaking, Li You, who was wearing a dark blue formal suit, interrupted with a smile:

"Thank you for your blessing, but the award has not been announced yet!"

The New York media who followed him to Philadelphia laughed again. Everyone knew that there was no suspense about this award.

"The Knicks seem to have found the game state. Lee, talk about your expectations for the team!"

The Philadelphia media on the side were furious when they saw New York Times reporters starting to trade business blows on their own territory.

"Of course it's the championship. The Knicks are still the strongest team in the league. We are all confident of winning the championship again!"

Li You also cooperated and started to brag, and the two sides chatted more and more happily. Seeing that the Philadelphia reporter was extremely angry, he secretly blamed the 76ers for not living up to expectations.

At this time, everyone in the Knicks locker room was in a state of winning and smiling.

Ewing shot 4 of 13 in the G2 game and successfully rebounded tonight, shooting 7 of 15 and scoring a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Although the gorilla also smiled at this time, he was somewhat jealous of Li You's achievements.

Ewing felt even more sad when he thought that he had not won the MVP in his career, and it was not too much for a while.

Larry Johnson doesn’t have so many ideas. He is more concerned about his opponents in the next round:

"The Magic are going to lose again. Anfernee Hardaway shouldn't play with an injury. At present, it seems that it will be difficult for him to return to his peak condition."

Troubled by back injuries, Larry Johnson felt the same way as Hooker. He also said goodbye to the All-Stars because of injuries.

Alan Houston reflected on the regular season matchup with the Hawks, and finally responded confidently:

"Although the opponent has Mutombo inside, in the past two years, we have won more and lost less. The semi-finals should not cause too much trouble."

Afterwards, the atmosphere team also began to predict the opponents in the Eastern Conference finals, and soon everyone reached an agreement:

"The Pacers are going to the Eastern Conference Finals!"

Sprewell saw that the Knicks team was so swollen that they were just short of a loan championship. He twitched his lips and simply remained silent.

On May 13, after the Knicks returned to New York, they returned to their daily training in the afternoon.

Several other groups of games in the Eastern Conference have fallen into a relatively anxious state, which also gave the Knicks a precious three days of rest.

In several Western Conference games, the Trail Blazers swept the Suns and successfully advanced to the semifinals last night.

The coaching staff began to watch the tapes of the Hawks' recent games. It was only a matter of time before the Magic lost.

Old Charles and the team management brought the Knicks stars to the training center in Tarrytown. The MVP was about to be announced, and everyone had to prepare for the next press conference.

Li You actually kept a low profile during this period. After expressing his attitude towards the May 8 incident, Mark Bartelstein turned down most interview requests for him.

For press conferences, usually only media reporters with good connections are invited.

On the 11th, the man in the White House publicly apologized, and the demonstrations in New York ended temporarily.

Away from politics, Mark Bartelstein hopes that Li You can be like Michael Jordan, who can make a lot of money without offending anyone.

"The second MVP in team history, Li, we have prepared the best contract extension conditions for you during the offseason."

"Believe me, the Knicks will never treat their own people badly!"

Old Charles, dressed in formal clothes, smiled and gave his promise, and Grunfield also followed suit. Everyone took this opportunity to see Li You's attitude.

In the new collective bargaining agreement, the rookie contract will become a restricted free agent after the completion of the contract, but Li You signed early and is not affected by this provision.

Therefore, winning the MVP in the contract year makes Li You the big fish this offseason.

"The Knicks are of course my first choice. I like life in New York and the team takes good care of me. I want to achieve more here!"

Li You just smiled and talked about the scene. He planned to take this opportunity to take a walk during the offseason, and Mark Bartelstein would help him get the best treatment.

In the training hall, the Knicks atmosphere team all looked at Li You, and Rashard Lewis even showed an envious expression.

The rookies and lower-level players are still fighting for contracts, but Li You is about to get the privileges of a superstar.

Willis Reed, as the first legendary player in the history of the Knicks to win the MVP, did not speak for the boss at this time.

After the collective bargaining agreement, the relationship between players and management was somewhat tense. As a player, you can't have your butt crooked.

Willis Reed just smiled and patted Li You on the shoulder, followed by He Xini:

"We all believe in the team's sincerity and New York has the best fans in the league."

"."

On May 14, the NBA announced the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the regular season of the 1998-99 season:

Li You of the Knicks successfully won the award!

After the league announced the news, president David Stern also immediately sent his blessing:

"In a difficult season, he led the team to the league's first record!"

"Historical level of efficiency, congratulations to Li for winning the first MVP of his career!"

At 21 years and 134 days old, Li You broke the record set by Wes Unseld of the Bullets in the 1968-69 season at 23 years and 09 days, becoming the youngest MVP in NBA history!

The media hall of the Tarrytown Training Center was crowded with reporters early in the morning. When they saw Li You appear, everyone hurriedly handed over the microphone and kept clicking the cameras in their hands.

Feeling that the reporter beside him wanted to put the microphone into his mouth, Li You hurriedly said:
To be continued...