Goodwin, I Won't Hold Back Tonight

In a large office on the 15th floor of the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, sat a kind-looking old man, with a bald man in a suit standing beside him.

The old man's eyes were fixed intently on the sports newspaper in front of him.

The sports newspaper featured a snapshot of the exact moment Goodwin hit his go-ahead shot the previous night.

"Adam Silver, what is your take on this rookie, Goodwin?" the old man couldn't help but ask.

Adam Silver was the bald man in the suit.

Adam Silver didn't answer immediately; instead, he pondered for a moment before saying, "His appearance is excellent, and his basketball skills are quite good as well. Although he has only played two games, he has hit key shots in both. I think we can promote him."

In Adam Silver's view, since Commissioner David Stern was asking for his opinion, it proved that the Commissioner already felt Goodwin had potential.

Commissioner David Stern nodded.

Seeing this, the corners of Adam Silver's mouth curled up slightly; it seemed his guess was correct.

"Goodwin's image is indeed excellent. I heard that after yesterday's battle, tickets for the next Boston Celtics game sold out instantly, and the secondary market prices are even being bid up very high," Commissioner David Stern said with a smile.

This season was extremely important for the NBA!

The previous season's NBA Finals had hit a historic low. It was the San Antonio Spurs versus the New Jersey Nets. While the New Jersey Nets were quite formidable, they only had two All-Star level players and no high-profile superstars. The San Antonio Spurs' style of play was relatively conservative, and on top of that, the New Jersey Nets offered little resistance throughout the series, making it less than entertaining. Only 9.86 million people across the United States watched that season's Finals.

This gave Commissioner David Stern a massive headache, and an even more painful issue arose during the offseason: the heir to Jordan—Kobe Bryant—got into trouble.

June 30, 2003: Kobe flew to Eagle, Colorado, to undergo knee surgery in nearby Vail; Kobe checked into the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards; a 19-year-old female front desk clerk gave Kobe a tour. She later went to Kobe's hotel room, where she alleged he raped her.

In an instant, Kobe was mired in a public relations crisis, and his popularity plummeted.

For the rest of the season, he would have to frequently travel back and forth between the basketball court and the courtroom.

The other elite superstars couldn't fill Kobe's void in the short term. After all, Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal had completed a three-peat, holding three championship rings, which directly overshadowed the other three shooting guards of the same era—Iverson, McGrady, and Vince Carter.

This season, the other three shooting guards were also putting up great stats for their respective teams, but unfortunately, their team records were a bit lackluster—a case of starting with a roar and ending with a whimper.

Therefore, under these circumstances, Commissioner David Stern desperately needed players to step up and compensate for the loss of Kobe.

Originally, Commissioner David Stern had his eyes on the number one pick LeBron James and the third pick Carmelo Anthony, constantly providing them with resources. They certainly lived up to the hype; so far, LeBron James was averaging 20.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, while Carmelo Anthony was averaging 21 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 2.8 assists.

Barring any surprises, the Rookie of the Year would be chosen between these two.

Beyond LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, the rest of the 2003 rookie class was also quite impressive, such as the fifth pick selected by the Miami Heat, Wade, who was averaging 16 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists, and the fourth pick selected by the Toronto Raptors, Bosh, who was averaging 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks...

This rookie class was blooming in all directions, which couldn't help but make Commissioner David Stern feel gratified.

Just then, Goodwin burst onto the scene, leading his team to defeat the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers with a go-ahead shot, instantly pulling everyone back to the 2003 NCAA final.

At the same time, Goodwin possessed an advantage that others lacked—his looks.

That was why Commissioner David Stern had his eye on Goodwin.

"Adam Silver, go make the arrangements."

"Very well, Commissioner David Stern." After answering, Adam Silver walked out of the office.

Commissioner David Stern looked at the picture in the newspaper on his desk and muttered to himself, "Goodwin, I hope you won't let me down."

Ever since he gained female fans, Goodwin had been living in a state of happy agony.

Being flirted with every day left Goodwin feeling refreshed, but the moment he returned to the practice facility, he was immediately met with a "beating" from his teammates.

Infuriated, Goodwin couldn't help but curse, "You think if you bully me, you'll get female fans? Keep dreaming."

Boston Celtics players: "..."

It was hunting time!

"Brothers, get him!"

In an instant, Goodwin's screams echoed throughout the entire practice facility.

Assistant coach Jack, not far away, said, "Coach Doc Rivers, shouldn't we stop them?"

Doc Rivers quickly shook his head: "Are you kidding? If I weren't the head coach, I'd have rushed over to beat him up too." To be honest, Doc Rivers was envious too; who wouldn't want to be surrounded by a group of beauties every day?

Assistant coach Jack: "..."

Assistant coach Jack could only silently watch the beaten Goodwin, thinking to himself: Goodwin, hang in there.

Goodwin: Hang in there, my foot!

The next evening at 7:00 PM, the TD Garden in Boston was packed. Looking closely, one would notice that there were many more female fans in the arena wearing number 20 jerseys.

The moment the announcer introduced Goodwin, the arena wasn't as quiet as usual; instead, the crowd chanted, "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!"... The female fans, in particular, were cheering wildly.

Goodwin ran out, greeting the fans as he went, basking in the cheers.

The arena director knew exactly what the fans wanted to see and immediately put the camera right on Goodwin's face.

Goodwin's entire face appeared on the big screen at the TD Garden.

"Ahhhhh, Goodwin!" "Ahhhhh, Goodwin!" "Ahhhhh, Goodwin!"... This made Goodwin's female fans even more frantic.

The corners of the arena director's mouth curled up slightly; the effect was quite good.

On the other end of the court, Hinrich, who had once been Goodwin's leader, looked at Goodwin with astonishment. His former little brother had completely conquered the home crowd.

Hinrich felt a bit envious of this.

Hinrich was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh overall pick, and so far, he had been contributing 12 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists per game, which was a decent return for the Chicago Bulls using a seventh pick on him.

However, compared to Goodwin's popularity with the Boston Celtics, Hinrich's popularity with the Chicago Bulls could only be described as average.

Currently, the leader of the Chicago Bulls was Jamal Crawford, who was averaging 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game.

During the warm-up, Goodwin took the initiative to run over and greet his former senior, Hinrich, and Hinrich responded in a friendly manner as well.

"Goodwin, I won't be going easy on you tonight."

"Same here."

Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls, the big battle was about to break out!