Ben Wallace, nicknamed Big Ben, was one of the former Pistons Five Tigers.
His offense had been rough around the edges, but back then, his interior defense was tough and effective.
He had been the defensive cornerstone of the Pistons Five Tigers.
He had won DPOY four times in his career.
He read from the card in his hands:
"The Defensive Player of the Year for this Regular Season is: Wang Yi."
As Nocturne played, Wang Yi made his way back to center court.
After accepting the trophy, he gave his acceptance speech:
"Here, I'd like to thank my mother. Without her, I wouldn't be here. I'll never forget how she waited for me at the school gate after class in elementary school. I'll also never forget how, whenever I came home from the team, she'd prepare a whole table of my favorite dishes."
"I'll never forget how, whenever we talked on the phone, she wanted to chat with me a little longer but worried about the phone bill, so she always spoke very quickly."
"Thank you, Mom."
Wang Yi's words brought tears to the eyes of some fans in the arena.
They also moved countless fans.
And Wang Yi's mother, far away in China, burst into tears.
After Wang Yi returned to the sidelines, the arena went dark once again.
When the lights came back on,
Michael Jordan appeared at center court once more.
Beside him stood the Regular Season MVP trophy.
Jordan's name was engraved on its base.
The trophy had officially been named the Michael Jordan Trophy in 2022.
The Scoring King trophy had also been named after Jordan.
Naming two trophies after the same person was exceedingly rare in the history of world sports.
Michael Jordan didn't use a card. He spoke directly:
"Without a doubt,