When selected as the Most Valuable Player of this year's Finals, it wasn't Manu Ginobili of the Spurs, nor was it Duncan, but rather He Xi Meng of the Celtics!
Not only were the Spurs fans in attendance bewildered, but all the fans watching on television were equally stunned.
"Shouldn't the Finals MVP be awarded to the team that won the championship? Does a losing team also qualify to be selected?"
All the fans posed this question.
"First, the Finals MVP is awarded to the player who performed the best in the Finals. There is no explicit rule stating it must be awarded to the winning team.
Second, the league established the FMVP award in the 1968-1969 season. That year, the league's first FMVP winner, Jerry West, was selected as a loser!
In that year's Finals, Jerry West led the Lakers in a fierce battle against Russell's Celtics!
Ultimately, in the decisive Game 7, Jerry West scored 42 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. Unfortunately, the Lakers still lost to the Celtics and missed out on that year's championship.
However, Jerry West's explosive performance conquered everyone, and he was subsequently selected as that year's Finals MVP!
Of course, 38 years have passed since Jerry West!
In the previous 37 seasons, all FMVPs came from the championship-winning teams.
Jerry West was once the sole individual in this aspect of the league.
But now, He Xi Meng has broken this league history that has been dormant for 37 years, becoming the second player in the league, after Jerry West, to be selected as FMVP as the runner-up..."
The Spurs' courtside commentator immediately chimed in, helping David Stern explain to the fans in attendance, and also to those watching on television, the criteria for selecting the FMVP and whether a star player from a losing team was eligible to be selected as FMVP.
After listening to the commentator's explanation, the Spurs fans in attendance finally understood.
Then, they looked at the stats of He Xi Meng's performance in this game displayed on the big screen: 63 points, 12 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 turnover...
Applause gradually began to erupt from the crowd, eventually culminating in the entire audience chanting He Xi Meng's name in unison!
At this moment, the home arena of San Antonio felt like a flashback to three years ago. At that time, He Xi Meng was still wearing the Spurs' number 4 jersey, receiving the honor of the entire crowd chanting MVP, just as he was now...
He Xi Meng achieved legendary status in one game, comparable to the legends, becoming the second individual in another area of the league!
Thus, the 2006-2007 season officially concluded.
The Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics three teams had monopolized all the championships for nine seasons after the Bulls dynasty.
This caused considerable dissatisfaction among other teams.
Why could the Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics three teams monopolize the O'Brien Cup?
Most people attributed it to one primary reason: Buddy Ball!
The core lineup of the Lakers' championship was O'Neal + Kobe + He Xi Meng, wasn't that Buddy Ball?
The core lineup of the Spurs' championship was Duncan + He Xi Meng + Yao Ming. Now it's Duncan + Ginobili + Parker, wasn't that Buddy Ball?
The core lineup of the Celtics was He Xi Meng + Yao Ming + Carter, wasn't that Buddy Ball?
Simply put, to contend for a championship, a single star wasn't enough, and a duo was already outdated. A "Big Three" had become the league's standard!
Ultimately, basketball is a team sport. No matter how strong a single star is, can they be as strong as a combined Big Three?
As this viewpoint was spread by more and more media outlets, most players in the league began to realize it and started seeking their own Buddy Ball partners!
This summer's free agency market already had a significant number of big names available.
With the concept of Buddy Ball spreading, let alone free agents, even star players with existing contracts began to stir, unwilling to be bound by their loyalty any longer...
However, before the official start of the summer trading season, the widely rumored team ownership change in the league finally came to an end!
A consortium from Oregon named Mamba Brothers, having defeated the pBC consortium from Oklahoma, became the new owner of the SuperSonics for $360 million!
This outcome surprised most of the league's fans!
Before the official results were announced, most fans believed that the little-known Mamba Brothers consortium was merely a participant in a formality.
This was because the major owner of the pBC consortium, Bennett, was the son-in-law of North American media giant Edward Gaillard!
With the Gaillard Media Group backing them, how could the pBC consortium possibly lose?
But in the end, the pBC consortium became the runner-up, and Mamba Brothers successfully took over Seattle, becoming the new owners of the SuperSonics!
The media, therefore, frantically tried to uncover the background of this Mamba Brothers consortium. The only information they found was that the major owner of this consortium was the same person as the former owner of a league agency called Superstar Alliance Management: John Knight!
This Superstar Alliance Management had deep ties with the NBA league and represented quite a few superstars. For example, He Xi Meng, Duncan, Yao Ming, and Ginobili were all clients of this company.
However, in order to acquire the SuperSonics, John had severed ties with Superstar Alliance Management and gifted all his shares in the company to his girlfriend, Jill Popovich...
Popovich? Could it be that there was a shadow of the Spurs behind this consortium?
An invisible hand seemed to be covering up the identity of the true owner of the Mamba Brothers consortium.
The various insider rumors reported by the outside world were actually baseless speculation.
His Airness had long known that John was representing a consortium bidding for the SuperSonics, and he was also aware that John's personal relationship with He Xi Meng was no less than his own.
Therefore, when His Airness first learned of the league's higher-ups' approval, confirming John as the new owner of the SuperSonics, he understood that He Xi Meng's departure from the Celtics was irreversible!
When General Manager Collins asked His Airness if they should sign and then trade him to extract He Xi Meng's last bit of trade value.
His Airness firmly shook his head: "Simon hates being traded around! He came to Boston as a free agent, and he should leave Boston as a free agent... Let him freely fulfill his next promise..."
The news that He Xi Meng decided to opt out of his contract and become a free agent immediately became the biggest news of the summer market!
Of course, it was one of the biggest, but not the only one.