In that year's Finals, if not for Varick's desperate sprint from afar in the final moments to contest Michael Lee's shot, and his heroic feat of leaping three times in rapid succession to knock the ball out of bounds during the final rebound… Kansas University would still have had a strong chance to tie the score, or even defeat Syracuse University!
And if Syracuse University had lost the championship that year, Carmelo Anthony might not have secured the third pick in the 2003 NBA Draft!
Thus, after Anthony's championship win that year, many media outlets compared Varick to Anthony as Pippen was to Jordan, praising Varick's importance to Anthony.
From this, it's clear that this guy was quite brilliant during his college years.
However, after entering the NBA, Varick's poor mental fortitude and inconsistent shooting began to become apparent, leading him to struggle for significant playing time and opportunities with the Grizzlies, and his future potential paled in comparison to Pippen's…
This season, Varick averages 4 points and 2 rebounds for the Grizzlies, with his personal performance not being significantly more outstanding than Gerald Green of the Celtics.
Therefore, with Jordan's strong recommendation, the league, operating on the principle of "whoever we invite is an invitation," opted for Gerald Green over Varick.
Jordan's reasoning was simple: last year he recommended Josh Smith for the Slam Dunk Contest, and Josh Smith successfully won the trophy, proving his keen eye for talent.
This year, recommending Gerald Green, whose dunking ability is quite formidable in daily training, Jordan was highly confident he could defeat the defending champion Josh Smith and win this year's Slam Dunk Contest.
Thus, when setting the odds, Jordan boldly placed Gerald Green's odds second!
Josh Smith first, at 1 to 1.2.
Gerald Green second, at 1 to 1.4.
Andre Iguodala third, at 1 to 1.6.
Nate Robinson fourth, at 1 to 2.
Amazing! Jordan's foresight struck again, making the original historical champion the one with the highest odds… Should He Xi Meng bet or not?
Despite the uncertainty of Gerald Green, given the taste of the judges in 2006, He Xi Meng felt that Nate Robinson had a very high probability of becoming the new Dunk King.
While he was contemplating, Jordan sidled up again.
"Last bet, don't tell me you don't want to gamble? Running away after winning is the worst kind of gambler!"
"Uh…" With Jordan saying this, He Xi Meng felt he had no choice but to gamble, even if he didn't want to.
"Speaking of which, after all this gambling, how much do you owe me?" He Xi Meng countered.
Jordan was rendered speechless, but could only sullenly begin to tally for He Xi Meng.
"For the Shooting Stars, you bet on Parker for 60,000, odds of 1 to 2, I owe you 120,000!
For the Skills Challenge, you bet 10,000 on LeBron, but you won the championship yourself, so you lost that 10,000, and I still owe you 110,000!
For the Three-Point Contest, I first bet with you on whether Dirk would make the finals, with a stake of 10,000, and I lost, owing you 120,000!
Then we bet on whether Dirk would win the championship, for 100,000, and I lost again, totaling 220,000 you are owed…"
"Got it! 220,000, all in. If you win, we'll call it even!"
Jordan hesitated and asked He Xi Meng, "Who are you planning to bet on?"
He Xi Meng pointed to the Knicks' number 4 and said, "Him, Nate Robinson!"
"That little guy~" Jordan drew out his words, "That 220,000 isn't enough! If you lose, we'll be tied, and my bet will be for nothing!"
"Then what do you mean?"
"Increase the stakes!"
"How much? At least another 100,000! You can't have me work for nothing…"
Jordan put on a look of arduous effort, leaving He Xi Meng speechless.
"But have you considered what happens if you lose?"
"Impossible!" Jordan waved his hand dismissively, "I've lost for two days, surely I can't lose every single one? Moreover, you've chosen that little guy from the Knicks…"
He Xi Meng sighed, "Are you sure you want to increase the stakes?"
"I am sure, absolutely sure, and certain!" Jordan replied with great conviction.
As Jordan wished, He Xi Meng increased the stake for the final bet to 320,000, satisfying Jordan's desire to win this last round.
The outcome was, of course, that Jordan lost miserably. His two most favored candidates, the defending champion Josh Smith and the Celtics rookie Gerald Green, didn't even make it to the finals.
In the finals, Iguodala performed exceptionally well, but he couldn't match Nate Robinson's aerial acrobatics and earth-shattering dunks at a height of 1.75 meters, earning him significant "upset points." Ultimately, Nate Robinson narrowly defeated Iguodala by one point!
Iverson immediately complained, "This is unfair, we've been robbed! Andre's Dunk King trophy was given to someone else by the referees…"
Jordan resigned himself to his fate, having lost the bet again.
This bet cost him 640,000, plus the previous smaller bets totaling 220,000, he lost a total of 860,000 to He Xi Meng…
The money was secondary, but the feeling of losing bet after bet made Jordan extremely unhappy.
The only time he won a bet against He Xi Meng was when He Xi Meng didn't bet on himself but on James, and Jordan only managed to recoup 10,000!
Compared to the final 860,000, this mere 10,000 seemed, in hindsight, to be deliberately returned by He Xi Meng to Jordan…
Unfortunately, all the individual events were over, leaving only the All-Star Game. Jordan still wanted to bet with He Xi Meng, but He Xi Meng replied with a sly grin, leaving Jordan stumped.
"Are you wanting to bet on which team, East or West, will win, or who will be the All-Star MVP?
Jordan froze, suddenly remembering an important detail: He Xi Meng now seemed to have the ability to influence the course of the All-Star Game.
If Jordan bet on the East to win, He Xi Meng could play lackadaisically on the court, or even cause minor disruptions, making it not impossible for the East to lose to the West.
If Jordan bet on the West to win, He Xi Meng could play seriously and exert effort, helping the East win against the West, which seemed even less difficult.
And if they bet on the MVP selection, He Xi Meng's success rate in causing disruptions would be even higher.
The hottest candidate for this year's All-Star MVP was Kobe Bryant of the Lakers.
This was not only because Kobe was leading the league in scoring all season, but also because before the All-Star Game, Kobe had just achieved the legendary feat of scoring 81 points against the Raptors, astonishing the entire league!
Therefore, Jordan's original intended bet was on the favorite, Kobe!
But was betting on Kobe really reliable?