Any team in NBA history with more than one MVP was generally not to be trifled with.
The Showtime-era Lakers had more than one MVP on their roster, and they ultimately shared the 1980s with Bird.
The previous team to have two MVPs at once was the Cleveland Cavaliers more than a decade ago, with the "Shark Emperor" duo.
Although the Cavaliers' record back then was not ideal, no one dared underestimate that pairing.
But now, when Link and Rose—the two special MVPs—joined forces, people surprisingly did not think much of it.
Link was one of the players with the most MVP awards in NBA history, while Rose was the youngest MVP in the league.
Yet that summer, no one believed this MVP duo could accomplish anything.
But over the last two games, people had begun to see the power of these two MVPs.
Link could dominate for most of a game, and whenever he went to the bench in the rotation, Rose could always take over that dominance.
Against the Clippers, Link handled the league's strongest wing, while Rose took care of the league's best sixth man.
Against the Pacers, the two of them had joined forces to beat their opponents so badly they could not tell which way was up.
It was as if Link and Rose had divided up the work beforehand, always seamlessly taking control of the game together.
After two games, the Link-Rose double-MVP pairing began receiving widespread praise.
If Rose could perform brilliantly with the Grizzlies and ultimately lift the championship trophy alongside Link, the script would be absolutely perfect.
Everyone looked forward to Link and Rose reaching the pinnacle together.
However, on November 27, when the Grizzlies hosted the Lakers in a revenge game, that brief beauty was shattered.
In the brutal NBA,