April 18th, the day after the regular season ended.
In the Boston Celtics' weight room at the Celtics's training facility, deafening hip-hop music was blaring. Although the team had a day off, the key players still flocked to the gym to maintain their fitness.
When Lin Qi pushed open the glass door, he saw Chris Paul Pierce sitting on the chest press machine, not holding a barbell, but instead holding a copy of the Orlando Sentinel, laughing so hard he was doubled over.
"Lin, come look at this!" Pierce waved the newspaper in his hand with glee as soon as he saw Lin Qi. "Front page! It says that Doc Rivers is the absolute frontrunner for this season's 'General Manager of the Year' because he pulled off one of the greatest 'robberies' in NBA history, tricking the Boston Celtics out of three starters!"
Kevin Garnett, who was cycling nearby, leaned over, glanced at the headline, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Are these media outlets out of their minds? Michael ( Redd ), Brad ( Miller ), and Hedo ( Türkoğlu ) don't get much playing time here. Doc traded several first-round picks for them, and this is called robbery?"
"KG, you don't understand media logic," Gary Payton interjected while stretching. " The Orlando Magic have a 51-31 record this season, firmly in second Eastern Conference! Last summer, when Doc made that trade, the whole league called him an idiot, and he almost got booed off the stage by Orlando fans under immense pressure. But look at him now? Not only did he take a bunch of good players from us, but Jermaine O'Neal, whom he acquired this summer, is now the top favorite for 'Most Improved Player'!"
Gary Payton chuckled, "The results are in, and the signings have paid off. Those media outlets that criticized him before are now lining up to lick his boots. If he doesn't win the Best General Manager award, who will?"
Lin Qi pulled up a chair and sat down, listening to the players' teasing, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes.
The truth is, no one outside the team knows that if Lin Qi hadn't tricked and coaxed Doc Rivers into giving him those players last summer, Doc Rivers would likely have been fired by the Orlando Magic's management for his poor playoff performance. Lin Qi, out of consideration for Doc Rivers' two championships with him, essentially gave his former teammate a free ride, while also acquiring several first-round picks to bolster Boston's draft stock. This, in turn, enhanced Doc Rivers ' reputation.
"Let them write whatever they want," Lin Qi shrugged. " Doc withstood the pressure; the GM of the Year award is a good thing for him, consider it a gift from Boston."
"Besides Doc, that paranoid guy from Chicago is interesting too." Pierce flipped to another page of the sports section and couldn't help but click his tongue. "Did you guys watch the Chicago Bulls ' final game last night? Kobe Brian was absolutely insane! He took 47 shots and scored 41 points! He was so close to snatching the scoring title from Allen Iverson!"
"That paranoid guy is a lunatic, but he was just unlucky." Garnett shook his head, his words dripping with amusement at his fellow human being. "Who told him to run into the equally insane Iverson?"
"And then there's Tracy McGrady from Phoenix." The usually taciturn Grant Hill joined the conversation, " Tracy's played really well this season. But unfortunately, in the Western Conference, the Suns didn't even make the playoffs."
"Alright, stop worrying about others."
A serious voice came from the doorway, and head coach Rick Carlisle walked in carrying a stack of scouting reports.
He glanced at the group of players who were still leisurely gossiping, patted the scouting report in his hand, and poured cold water on their enthusiasm without any mercy.
"Gentlemen, you have time to concern yourself with this gossip. Haven't you realized that you've achieved the best record in the league with 66 wins and 16 losses, but it's highly likely that you'll end up empty-handed this awards season?"
Rick Carlisle's words instantly silenced the weight room.
"What do you mean?" Pierce frowned. "We're the best team in the entire league! If not me for MVP, it should go to KG, right?"
"Not likely," Rick Carlisle ruthlessly shattered their hopes. "Because your stats are too balanced. Chris Paul, you're averaging 26.3 points per game. Kevin, you're averaging 23 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. On any other team, those would be MVP-caliber numbers. But in the voters' eyes, you two are splitting each other's votes, and the team's overall strength is diluting your individual performances."
Upon hearing this, Garnett immediately objected. He turned to Pierce and Gary Payton and shouted, "I told you! It's all your fault! Chris Paul, and Gary, can you guys go a little easier on defense next season?"
Garnett gestured dramatically. "When the opponent drives to the basket from the outside, you guys pretend to slip and let them into the paint! That way, I can come out from the weak side like crazy to help defend and block shots, and grab a few more defensive rebounds! As long as you're willing to sacrifice a little, the MVP or DPOY award is definitely mine!"
"Get lost, Kevin," Pierce said with a sullen laugh.
Garnett turned to Big Ben and said, "Hey bro, let's make a deal. Next season, could you tone it down a bit in the paint and give the other team a break so I can rack up a few more blocks?"
Big Ben put down the dumbbells, his thick lips moved slightly, and he uttered a single word expressionlessly. "Don't even think about it."
A burst of laughter erupted in the weight room.
However, no one expected that just one day later, the league officially shattered Rick Carlisle's prediction of "going home empty-handed" in an extremely high-profile manner.
April 19th, the day after the regular season ended.
While major media outlets were still reviewing the regular season performances of each team and analyzing playoff matchups, an announcement jointly released by the NBA and its data center instantly ignited the entire sports world.
Announcement Regarding the Early Announcement of the 2001-2002 NBA Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) Awards
The announcement not only revealed the final voting results, but also included a heatmap of vote distribution exclusively generated by the league's data center, a high-level model comparison of each team's defensive efficiency, and a detailed breakdown of the judges' votes.
The entire American media was in an uproar. According to past practice, a major award like the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) is usually announced slowly, only after the playoffs have reached the second round or even the conference finals. Why was the result announced less than 24 hours after the regular season ended this year?
Industry insiders and executives quickly realized what was going on. Behind this was the data center that Lin Qi had founded years ago, but which had long since been completely separated and integrated into the league, and was now wholly owned by the NBA.
Lin Qi had completely withdrawn from that company, becoming a complete outsider. But looking at the smooth electronic voting and real-time visualization system in the official announcement, he couldn't help but mutter to himself: He hadn't expected that after the alliance took over the system, the tech geeks who stayed behind wouldn't just have regressed in their skills, but instead optimized the algorithms and automation processes to such an abnormal level, even producing real-time results less than half an hour after the voting deadline.
As for who will win the Defensive Player of the Year award this season, there's actually not much suspense.
When Ben Wallace, who boasts the league's best defensive efficiency and averages 12.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game, topped the list, no one was surprised. Big Ben's suffocating defensive intensity on the court truly earned him the respect of media judges across the United States.
Head coach Rick Carlisle walked into the training hall with a thick stack of video clips, his face grim.
"Alright, everyone stop crowding around looking at that bullshit data report." Rick Carlisle clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
Rick Carlisle walked to the tactics board and drew a heavy circle on it with Mark.
"Three days until the first round of the playoffs. Anyone who dares to slack off in practice, don't blame me for benching them in a suit during the playoffs!"
The playful atmosphere in the training hall instantly tightened, replaced by a suffocatingly tense atmosphere.