The 2019 NBA Awards returned once again to Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.
Over the previous two years, this awards ceremony introduced by Adam Silver had not been particularly successful.
Not only were the ratings dismal, but neither fans nor players could work up much enthusiasm for it.
After all, handing out regular-season awards after the champion had already been decided felt a bit like hindsight.
Last year, even Harden could not be bothered to show up, which showed just how watered-down the ceremony was.
But this time, things were completely different.
Even before this year's awards ceremony began, it had already drawn enormous attention. TNT, as always, secured the broadcast rights. This year, they no longer had to worry about low ratings.
Because this year's NBA Awards had one major suspense—could Link win his third straight regular-season MVP?
Of course, if there was only a gimmick and no main character, then there would still be nothing to look forward to at this year's ceremony.
No matter how grandly it was staged, it would only end up as awkward as the previous two years.
After all, who wanted to watch a movie without a protagonist? Who wanted to watch Silver come out and accept the award on Link's behalf?
So, beyond that biggest question, another reason this year's ceremony drew so much attention was that Link would be attending the event for the first time!
When Link announced that he would attend this year's ceremony, the previously lifeless event instantly caught fire.
All the fans eagerly awaited the ceremony, and beyond the fans, many NBA stars also announced that they would attend this year's event.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Stephen Curry, and even Kobe Bryant had all announced that they would attend this year's awards gala as guests.
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