After the game ended, He Ximeng immediately ran to the sideline VIP box and embraced Tink to congratulate him.
"That was a beautiful game! I can't help but suggest to the Blazers management that we bring you to Rip City..."
He Ximeng knew that Mr. Tink wasn't joking. Tink was a loyal Blazers fan and a season ticket holder in the VIP section. Due to his relationship with Nike, he had close ties with the Blazers' top brass. When He Ximeng was participating in the draft, Tink had asked him if he wanted him to recommend him to the Blazers management...
However, He Ximeng himself wasn't particularly fond of the Blazers. At the time, he was solely focused on going to San Antonio, so he politely declined Tink's kind offer.
Now that Tink was bringing it up again, it made He Ximeng a little embarrassed.
"Thank you for your praise! The Blazers have no shortage of excellent promising rookies internally..."
"Excellent what! They're all a bunch of muscle-heads... I don't understand, what is Bob planning to do by hoarding so many inside players? Play American football? Our current guard line really lacks a point guard with outstanding organizational skills like you... How about it, want to seriously consider it? If I say so, Bob should seriously consider it for a minute..."
Bob Whitsitt was the current general manager of the Blazers.
"I'm doing great with the Lakers..." He Ximeng politely declined Tink again and proactively changed the subject, "Have you finalized the design plan for the Simon Dynasty I?"
As soon as the topic of shoe design came up, Tink immediately put aside the matter of recruiting He Ximeng. He began to enthusiastically explain the final draft of the Tang series of the Simon Dynasty I, which they were collaborating on.
"Everything is ready, all that's left is for you to make it into the All-Star Game..."
Uh, it seemed like He Ximeng making it into the All-Star Game was still a distant prospect.
At the very least, He Ximeng had to become a starting player for the Lakers first, right?
He wondered if he could achieve that goal after the season ended and before the next one began.
After bidding farewell to Mr. Tink, He Ximeng returned to Los Angeles with the team.
Because they had finished the first round three days early with a 3-1 victory, the Lakers had three days of rest.
He Ximeng, who had abstained for a week, didn't even wait for Kayla to tempt him before eagerly pouncing on her... Kayla seemed to think that a short separation was quite nice...
While He Ximeng was at home, the results of the other matchups in the league also came out.
Some of the matchups ended even earlier than the Lakers'.
For example, the Jazz swept the Clippers 3-0, the Rockets swept the Timberwolves 3-0, the Bulls swept the Bullets 3-0, and the Knicks swept the Hornets 3-0!
Others matchups ended later than the Lakers', going into a decisive Game 5.
The Suns, led by Kidd, almost upset the SuperSonics led by Payton.
The Pistons, led by Hill, almost upset the Hawks led by Mutombo.
The Magic, led by Anfernee Hardaway, almost upset the Heat led by Mourning.
With the first round concluded, the Eastern Conference Semifinals would see the Hawks challenge the Bulls, and the Heat would face the Knicks.
In the Western Conference Semifinals, the Rockets would challenge the Jazz, and the Lakers would face the SuperSonics.
However, before the semifinals officially began, the regular season awards were successively announced.
The most prestigious Regular Season MVP award was not given to Jordan, but to Malone!
Malone played in all 82 games this season, averaging 27.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.6 blocks, leading the Jazz to a 64-18 record, second only to the Bulls, ranking second in the league and first in the Western Conference.
Jordan also played all 82 games this season, with averages of 29.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.5 blocks, leading the Bulls to a 69-13 record, ranking first in the league!
Uh... when compared like this, whether it's average stats or team record, Malone seems inferior to Jordan...
But the league, with its eyes closed, gave the MVP to Malone, clearly for balance... Although Jordan had established a de facto monopoly, in order to make the games more exciting, more watchable, and to create suspense, the league strongly pushed Malone to emerge and challenge Jordan...
Alas... poor Mailman, who had finally defeated strong opponents like Olajuwon, Ewing, Barkley, and David Robinson, but could never overcome the hurdle of Jordan...
The Defensive Player of the Year award went to Mutombo of the Hawks.
The Most Improved Player award went to Isaac Austin of the Heat.
He Ximeng was nominated for both Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year.
However, in the Rookie of the Year voting, he lost to Iverson of the 76ers.
Iverson's averages in his rookie season were 23.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks, far ahead of other rookies, undoubtedly crushing other candidates, including He Ximeng.
But in the Sixth Man of the Year voting, He Ximeng successfully defeated John Starks of the Knicks!
Starks played 77 games this season, 76 of them off the bench, averaging 13.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.1 blocks.
He Ximeng played 82 games this season, all of them off the bench, averaging 14.1 points, 6.2 assists, 1.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks.
Although their scoring averages were similar, He Ximeng's assists were double that of John Starks! With his excellent organizational skills, He Ximeng ultimately defeated his opponent, winning this season's Sixth Man of the Year award and setting two league records!
The first record: He Ximeng is the first point guard in league history to receive this honor!
Historically, the first point guard to win Sixth Man of the Year was Bobby Jackson in the 2002-2003 season.
The second record: He Ximeng is the first rookie in league history to receive this honor!
Historically, the first rookie to win Sixth Man of the Year was Ben Gordon in the 2004-2005 season.
He Ximeng originally didn't have high expectations for this, as he was destined to become a starting point guard for a championship team in the future... Sixth Man was for bench players, and his aspirations were not there...
However, since he unexpectedly received this honor, He Ximeng decided to consider it a windfall and accept it for now...