The Pelicans' championship celebration came to a spectacular close.
For all Pelicans fans, this was their most thrilling and celebratory day.
But attentive fans might have noticed that at the end of the parade, neither owner Benson nor Head Coach Stevens mentioned continuing their championship streak as they had in the past.
It seemed like nothing more than a coincidence, but a post Tang Tian made on Twitter the next day shocked everyone.
"Thank you to the fans who have supported the Pelicans in the past, present, and future. I will temporarily retire from the NBA and join the team's management, spending more time with my family. I have always been with you."
The post was not long, but it exploded across the league like a bomb.
Tang Tian had announced his retirement from the NBA just after completing four consecutive championships!
This was comparable to Jordan retiring after completing his first three-peat!
Social media crashed the instant the tweet appeared.
When it recovered, nearly every trending topic was covered by news of Tang Tian's retirement.
"This has to be fake, right? Tang retired at twenty-seven after winning four straight titles?! Impossible. His account must have been hacked!"
"It has to be fake. Tang Tian would definitely hold a press conference to announce something this big! Who just posts it directly on Twitter?"
"I don't think it's possible either. Do you know how many commercial endorsements Tang has right now? How many of them require him to play as an active player?"
"Agreed. No one turns their back on money. If Tang retires, he'll lose more than half of his commercial value. No sane person would do that!"
"Damn, I think Little Handsome hacked Tang's account!"
"That's very possible! Jealousy twists people, and Little Handsome is so good at making