Chapter 55: The Welcome Ceremony
At seven o'clock in the evening, at the Stamp Center in Los Angeles, a large number of fans have arrived at the game site, waiting for the start of the new season opener.
Most of the people who came to watch the game were Lakers fans, and these two years were the time when the Lakers were in full swing.
In 2008, he rose and lost in the finals, and in 2009, he won the championship with 65 wins and 17 losses in the regular season, and defeated the Magic 4:1 in the finals to win the championship.
Kobe Bryant has finally proven that he can win a championship without a shark.
The Lakers continue to be aiming for a championship in the new season, and they have removed Ariza at the No. 3 position, but added Artest, and the depth of the front line has been further enhanced.
Kobe Bryant is 32 years old, still at the tail of his peak, and the Lakers have a neat lineup, which can be said to be full of vitality and competition.
In the first home game of the opener, the Lakers held a ceremony before the game to present last season's championship rings.
As a top giant, this is their 15th championship in history, so the award ceremony is extremely grand.
Many big-name Hollywood stars on the sidelines were there to cheer for the Lakers' opener.
On a small table in the center of the arena were the gleaming O'Brien Cups and 15 shiny championship rings.
NBA commissioner David Stern personally presided over the ring presentation ceremony, Kobe Bryant appeared in the audience to warm applause, and Lakers legend Jerry West handed the ring to the Lakers player.
Then, the 15th championship flag slowly rose from the center of the court under the watchful eye, and the ceiling of the Stamp Center added another monument to the Lakers.
Next to the championship flag, there are also retired jersey numbers of the Lakers, each of which is star-studded, Chamberlain, Abdul-Jabbar, West, Worthy, Magic Johnson......
And the Clippers don't talk about the championship flag, the division championship flag is not there (Pacific Division), and they haven't retired their jerseys yet!
What a sad and stumbling thing this is, it's normal not to have a championship, and nearly half of the teams in the NBA don't have a championship.
But in your 40-year history, you can't even find a representative player, which is a bit excessive.
You look at the Timberwolves, there's a Garnett, there's a Pacers, there's Reggie Miller, you look at the Jazz, there's Malone and Stockton, right?
This Clippers team really wants nothing, in terms of team history honors, the Lakers' leg hair is thicker than the Clippers' waist.
So the Clippers players watched the Lakers' grand award ceremony on the sidelines, their eyes were blank, and they thought to themselves, where are we, is this Stamps, it feels different from what I remember, it's too brilliant.
The lights are all on, the ring presentation ceremony is over, and the competition is about to begin.
Min Congda sat on the sidelines and watched the whole process of the ceremony, his heart was like water, and he even wanted to sleep.
But the scene was so noisy that if it weren't for watching the Clippers lose with his own eyes, he would have really wanted to go home and rest and watch TV.
By the way, I haven't been in touch with D'Addario for the past two days, and I wonder if she's still in Los Angeles? She said she would be back in New York in a while.
The two chat on the phone every day, and the relationship is slowly heating up, but neither of them has the idea of entering a romantic relationship.
Daddario's mind is on acting, and Min Congda is naturally thinking about the Clippers, and if he loses today, he will have a loss salary of 2,000 yuan.
After three months of suffering, it is not easy to finally get an important income.
While thinking wildly, David Stern, who finished presiding, returned to the stands and sat down next to Min Congda.
Since taking office in 1984, Mr. President has insisted on watching a large number of games every season, experiencing the atmosphere of the NBA in person, and gaining the most intuitive experience and feeling for his work.
Today, the defending champion opens, and of course he will come to the scene to cheer on, and by the way, he will meet the famous smart general manager of the Los Angeles Clippers.
"Mr. Smart, do you have any thoughts when you see the Lakers' award ceremony?" Stern asked aloud.
The sound at the scene is very noisy, and you have to speak loudly.
"I think this ceremony is a bit too long, delaying the official competition, and it can be shorter if there is another time next time."
Min Congda gave his opinion, he really thought so in his heart, why didn't the game start yet.
An embarrassed smile appeared on Stern's face, he wanted to scold Min Congda, but his identity and quality did not allow it.
The last time I hung up the phone, I haven't settled accounts with him, and this kid doesn't play cards according to the routine at all.
And his shit luck is really good, Randolph and others fought with people because of racial discrimination, those white strong men have skinhead backgrounds, and the result is that Randolph and Davis were sentenced to dozens of hours of community service and released.
With the advantage in public opinion, plus the three players are rich and wealthy, and they are escorted by professional lawyers, naturally nothing will happen.
The whites who were beaten were sentenced to six weeks in prison and a month of community service.
After receiving the news, Stern held a press conference in time to show that the league firmly takes an anti-racist stance and supports black players to defend their rights.
However, the level of this team is still too inferior to Min Congda, and before the results of the investigation come out, he stood in line first, firmly defended the interests of black players, and was a proper anti-discrimination fighter, which is really awesome.
Thinking that Sterling trusted him so much, David Stern felt that this Smart Min was definitely not simple.
At this point, the game was about to start, and players from both sides took to the court.
The good news for the Clippers is that Lakers starting power forward Pau Gasol missed the opener due to injury.
It was Lamar Odom who started in place of Gasol, and the starting small forward was new signing Ron Artest.
Artest deliberately changed to a new flat hairstyle and shaved two Chinese characters on his sideburns: champion.
It shows that this year's Lakers are aiming to defend their title and win another championship.
The Clippers started with center Carman, power forward Randolph, small forward Thornton, and guards Eric Gordon and Baron Davis.
Curry sat on the bench as a backup for Davis, and he wore the Clippers' No. 30 jersey and felt noticeably one size smaller than the other players when he warmed up.
For example, the old fish Fisher in the same position, Fisher is as strong as a wild boar, and James can't touch him.
Curry is like an underage fawn, but Curry is actually a little stronger than he was three months ago.
He's gained about 5 pounds, his arms have become stronger, and he hasn't relaxed for a moment while maintaining his three-point shooting and strength training every morning.
Before the game began, Kobe Bryant walked up to Curry on the bench and said, "Boy, you've grown up, I'm wondering if I'll give you a welcome later." ”
As a child, Curry often went to the NBA to watch his dad's games, including Kobe Bryant's games.
If it weren't for the trade, Bryant would have been drafted by the Hornets in 1996, when Dell Curry was with the Hornets.
At that time, Curry was still a small one, and Kobe Bryant was already on the court, winning one victory after another.
Now that Curry is grown up and can play on the same court as Kobe, it's a wonderful feeling.
Curry understands the meaning of the "welcome ceremony", which is a lesson from the old bird to the rookie, so that the rookie can feel the real NBA basketball.
Curry was not afraid and smiled: "I should have given you a welcome ceremony to celebrate your championship." ”
"OK, good, I'll see you later."
"See the real chapter, I'll wait."