After the game, Link returned to the locker room.
"Splash!"
"Splash!"
The old-timers, led by Michael Jordan, prepared two large basins of ice water for Link.
"Damn!" Link jumped right up from the shock.
"Haha." His teammates burst into laughter at the sight.
Michael Jordan teased him mercilessly, "Link, you really jumped high just now. If the media saw that, they'd definitely think you're a dunker."
Link rolled his eyes, then asked with a serious face, "Michael, the feeling of posterizing Hakeem was indeed quite good."
Long before this game started, Michael Jordan had been bragging about how wonderful it felt to posterize Olajuwon. Link was almost immune to Michael Jordan's showing off, but the old-timer kept blathering on. Moreover, every few sentences, he would look at Link as if trying to prove that although Link was strong now, he was still far from Jordan's peak.
"Link, there's still a fundamental difference between 40 and 30!" Jordan said again.
"Maybe!" Link spread his hands, his face full of perfunctoriness.
Just as the two were about to argue over this, the team staff told Link, Michael Jordan, and Gerald Wallace that the team had arranged for the three of them to participate in the post-game media interview.
As the god of basketball, Michael Jordan took the initiative to give up the "C" position in tonight's interview. Link sat in the middle, with Michael Jordan on his left and The King of Cats on his right.
"Link, congratulations on becoming the youngest 2,000-point scorer in NBA history, 2 years and 114 days younger than the second-youngest, Kobe Bryant. How do you feel right now?" asked a reporter holding an ESPN logo microphone.
Born on January 31, 1986, Link was only 18 years and 70 days old when he reached the 2,000-point milestone. The previous youngest 2,000-point scorer in the NBA, Kobe Bryant, was 20 years and 184 days old when he achieved this feat.
"Thank you. This is an exciting and inspiring milestone, but compared to it, victory is what's most important," said Link the "Hypocrite".
On the left, Michael Jordan's mouth twitched twice. This was only because they were in public; if it were in private, Michael Jordan would have definitely spat out a mouthful of '86 Lafite. On the right, Gerald Wallace believed Link's words wholeheartedly. The slight admiration in his eyes seemed to say, "Yes, yes, yes! That's right, this is my role model, my idol."
"Link, you completed a poster dunk on Hakeem Olajuwon in tonight's game. He's one of the most dominant Centers in NBA history. What were you thinking at that moment?" asked a media reporter from The Washington Post.
Link the "Hypocrite" went online again, saying with a serious face, "Honestly, after the Steal, I just wanted to quickly slam the basketball into the hoop and get those damn two points for the team. As for Hakeem Olajuwon, he is an NBA legend, but clearly, at 40 years old now, he won't fall from grace just because he was posterized by a junior."
Link's spokesperson-like answer was flawless.
Soon, a media reporter interviewed Michael Jordan and asked a very sharp question that could even affect the harmony of the locker room.
"Michael, honestly, many of our fans want to know, between you in your rookie season and Link, who would be stronger in a 1v1?"
To this question, the answer in Michael Jordan's heart was definitely "I'm stronger." But the current Michael Jordan had the "GOAT burden." Answering too directly would affect his public image. After all, Link was the number one draft pick he had chosen himself, and he was practically his mentor.
However, he couldn't publicly admit to being inferior to the damn rookie next to him, nor would he accept it in his heart.
"In my rookie season, I was quite a bit older than Link. After all, in our era, we had to go to college before entering the NBA. But if it were me at the same age, I probably wouldn't be as good as the current Link. After all, he has learned all my techniques. At 18, I hadn't mastered these techniques yet,"
This answer was indeed clever. It both praised Link and perfectly complimented himself.
Sitting in the C position, Link's mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he grumbled inwardly, "He really knows how to put on a show!"
...
...
With three games left until the end of the regular season, the Washington Wizards went 2-1, winning against the San Antonio Spurs and the SuperSonics, but losing once again to the New Jersey Nets.
In their four meetings with the Nets during the regular season, the Washington Wizards were swept 4-0.
Two days later.
The 2001-2002 NBA regular season came to a successful close.
Eastern and Western Conference standings:
East:
New Jersey Nets, 52-30.
Detroit Pistons, 50-32.
Washington Wizards, 50-32.
Boston Celtics, 43-39.
Orlando Magic, 43-39.
Philadelphia 76ers, 43-39.
Toronto Raptors, 42-40.
Indiana Pacers, 42-40.
The Washington Wizards achieved 50 wins this regular season, 13 more than in the previous timeline, ranking third in the Eastern Conference.
By the way, the remaining 8th to 15th places were: the Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Hawks, New York Knicks, and Jordan's old team.
The Washington Wizards' first-round playoff opponent is the Philadelphia 76ers, led by Allen Iverson.
...
...
Western Conference Top Eight:
Sacramento Kings (61-21), San Antonio Spurs (58-24), Los Angeles Lakers (58-24), Dallas Mavericks (57-25), Minnesota Timberwolves (50-32), Portland Trail Blazers (49-33), Seattle SuperSonics (45-37), Utah Jazz (44-38).