Goodwin, I Won't Go Easy on You Tonight

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

The old man stared intently at the sports newspaper in front of him.

The newspaper showed the moment Goodwin had hit the go-ahead shot the night before.

"Adam Silver, what do you think of this rookie, Goodwin?" the old man asked.

Adam Silver was the bald man in the suit.

Silver didn't answer right away. He thought for a moment, then said, "He looks great, and he's got plenty of skill. He's only played two games, but he's hit clutch shots in both. I think we can start promoting him."

Silver figured that since Commissioner David was asking for his opinion, it meant David already thought Goodwin had potential.

David nodded.

Seeing this, Silver's lips curled slightly. Looks like my guess was right.

"Goodwin certainly has the right look. I hear that after yesterday's game, tickets for the Boston Celtics' next game sold out in no time. Even resale prices have gone through the roof," David said with a smile.

This season was incredibly important for the NBA!

Last season's NBA Finals had set a record low in viewership. The San Antonio Spurs had faced the New Jersey Nets. The Nets were a strong team, but they only had two All-Star-caliber players and no major stars with broad appeal. The Spurs, meanwhile, played a more conservative style. On top of that, the Nets had barely put up a fight throughout the series, making it a pretty dull spectacle. Only 9.86 million people across the United States watched that season's Finals.

That had given Commissioner David a major headache. Even worse, during the offseason, Jordan's heir—Kobe Bryant—had gotten into trouble.

On June 30, 2003, Kobe flew to Eagle, Colorado, for knee surgery in nearby Vail. He checked into the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in Edwards, where a 19-year-old front-desk attendant showed him around. She later went to Kobe's hotel room and claimed that he raped her there.

In an instant, Kobe was swept up in a media storm, and his popularity plummeted.

This season, he would also have to keep going back and forth between the court and the courthouse.

The other great shooting guards couldn't make up for Kobe's absence overnight. After all, Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal had completed a three-peat and won three championships, putting him well ahead of the other three shooting guards with similar star power: Allen Iverson, McGrady, and Vince Carter.

The other three shooting guards were all putting up very good numbers for their respective teams this season. Unfortunately, their teams had disappointing records, making their campaigns a bit of a damp squib.

Under the circumstances, Commissioner David desperately needed other players to step up and fill the void left by Kobe.

David had originally set his sights on top pick LeBron James and third pick Carmelo Anthony, giving them plenty of support. They had certainly lived up to expectations 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.

Unless something unexpected happened, the Rookie of the Year award would go to one of them.

Besides LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, other members of the 2003 rookie class were looking good too. Fifth pick Wade, selected by the Miami Heat, was averaging 16 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.5 assists. Chris Bosh, the fourth pick, selected by the Toronto Raptors, was averaging 11.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks...

This rookie class was bursting with talent, which couldn't help but please Commissioner David.

Then Goodwin had come out of nowhere, leading his team to a win over the Eastern Conference's top team, the Indiana Pacers, with a go-ahead shot. He'd brought everyone straight back to the 2003 NCAA championship game.

And Goodwin had something the others didn't—good looks.

That was why Commissioner David had taken an interest in Goodwin.

"Adam Silver, go take care of it."

"All right, Commissioner David," Silver replied, then left the office.

David gazed at the photo in the newspaper and murmured, "Goodwin, I hope you don't disappoint me."

Ever since Goodwin had gained female fans, he'd been both happy and miserable.

Getting groped every day put him in a great mood, but the moment he returned to the practice facility, his teammates would immediately give him a "beating."

Goodwin was so furious that he couldn't help shouting, "You think picking on me will get you female fans too? Keep dreaming!"

The Boston Celtics players: "..."

The hunt was on!

"Get him, bro!"

A moment later, Goodwin's cries rang through the entire practice facility once again.

Nearby, assistant coach Jack asked, "Coach Doc, shouldn't we stop them?"

Doc Rivers quickly shook his head. "Are you kidding? If I weren't the head coach, I'd be over there giving him a beating myself." Honestly, Doc Rivers was jealous too. Who wouldn't want to be surrounded by a bunch of beautiful women every day?

Assistant coach Jack: "..."

Jack could only watch Goodwin get beaten up and silently think, Goodwin, hang in there.

Goodwin: Hang in there my ass!

The next evening at seven, TD Garden in Boston was packed. Look closely, and you'd see plenty of female fans in No. 20 jerseys.

The moment the announcer introduced Goodwin, the crowd didn't stay quiet as usual. Instead, people started shouting, "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!" "Goodwin!"... The female fans were especially loud, cheering like crazy.

Goodwin jogged out to the roar of the crowd, waving to the fans as he ran.

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

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

"Ahhhhh, Goodwin!" "Ahhhhh, Goodwin!" "Ahhhhh, Goodwin!"... The female fans went even wilder.

The arena director's lips curled slightly. That worked pretty well.

At the other end of the court, Hinrich, who had once been Goodwin's big brother on the team, stared at him in astonishment. His former rookie had completely won over the home crowd.

Hinrich couldn't help feeling a little envious.

Hinrich had been selected by the Chicago Bulls with the seventh pick. So far, he was averaging 12 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 6.8 assists, more than justifying the Bulls' decision to draft him seventh.

But compared with Goodwin's popularity in Boston, Hinrich was only moderately popular with Chicago Bulls fans.

The Chicago Bulls' star these days was Jamal Crawford, who was averaging 17.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists.

During warmups, Goodwin took the initiative to run over and greet Hinrich, his former big brother. Hinrich returned the greeting warmly.

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

"Likewise."

Boston Celtics versus Chicago Bulls—the showdown was about to begin!