Link sat on the FedExForum floor with a very strange expression on his face.
He wanted to laugh, yet the pain in his ribs forced him to grimace.
The result was an odd expression that looked like he was both smiling and enduring pain.
He looked at the cheering fans, then at his teammates jumping around in excitement, and shook his head.
No matter what, it had all been worth it!
Link got to his feet without appearing overly excited. At that moment, he was perhaps one of the calmest people in the entire arena.
He walked toward James, remembering to bid farewell to and embrace his opponent.
After all, gentlemanly conduct and sportsmanship were things only the victor had the right to discuss.
Link and James had little to say to each other. Their relationship was actually quite strange.
They had faced each other in the Finals for three consecutive years, yet they had never had much of a personal relationship.
During the era of the "black-and-white rivalry," Magic Johnson and Bird were enemies on the court but close friends off it.
In the 1990s, the era of the "Battle of the Gods," Jordan and his opponents were enemies on the court and still enemies off it.
But what about Link and James? They were enemies on the court, yet off the court, they were more like strangers.
James had no desire to build any personal relationship with his archrival, and Link was equally uninterested.
Still, both men knew that their feud was limited to the court. It had not reached the point of mutual hatred.
So after the game, the hostility between them was not all that intense.
The two merely brushed their fingertips together, treating it as a handshake.
Cold—still cold. But Link knew that the feud