The annual awards ceremony without its main protagonist was, unsurprisingly, roasted mercilessly by the fans.
But the fans did not blame Link. Instead, they pinned all the blame on Silver.
Everyone could see that Silver and Link did not get along. Moreover, Silver's attempt to deliberately extend the Finals series had been utterly disgusting.
Even the fans could not stand such a thing, so Link, the one being targeted, naturally found it even more unacceptable.
Therefore, it was only natural that he refused to give Silver any face.
Besides, Link's daughter had only just been born, and she truly needed him by her side.
With those two reasons, blaming Link for not attending was simply unreasonable.
Silver, on the other hand, had put together this awards ceremony, and aside from its flashy appearance, it was completely useless.
With the championship and NBA Finals MVP already decided, awards like Rookie of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year instantly became insignificant.
And Link was not the only superstar who failed to attend.
James, Durant, Curry, and others had also stayed away.
That showed that true superstars simply did not care about the buzz surrounding this awards ceremony. Unlike the Oscars or football award ceremonies, where every big name fought to attend.
The NBA's ceremony was stuck in an awkward position: the biggest names disdained attending, while those who did attend were not the biggest names.
And after this first time, major stars would certainly continue to skip it in the future.
Silver's annual awards ceremony had turned out completely different from what he had imagined.
But no matter what, the 2016-17 season had at least ended safely. Though it was not perfect in Silver's eyes, the season had not been without gains.
Link and the Grizzlies were the biggest winners