Chapter 72

On November 20, 1993, at 11:30 PM, the media room at Madison Square Garden was already packed to the brim. Although New York is the largest city in the United States, with the most developed media industry, it was rare for such a large media room to be so crowded, with people even standing in the corridors outside.

This was not a game between the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls, and Michael Jordan was not participating. It was not even a playoff game, but just a regular season match between the top team in the East and the second-best team in the West. Although it was a clash of strong teams, it certainly would not have caused such a huge sensation.

In fact, if the game had ended normally, it would not have caused much of a stir. However, the key was whether the game ended normally. Of course not. When Lin Han scored 13 points in the last 35 seconds to secure a win against the New York Knicks, media outlets that had little interest in the game began to converge from all directions. Many of the media present were not particularly interested in the game or even the NBA, such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York correspondent of the Xinhua News Agency from the other side of the ocean.

Clearly, this game, due to Lin Han, had transcended the scope of an NBA game. Although Lin Han's performance in the previous seven games was extremely impressive, it had not yet truly convinced everyone. Even his teammates did not know how long Lin Han could maintain his crazy performance or if he would lose his luck and fall from grace.

After all, Lin Han lacked speed, strength, and a great vertical jump. His technical skills were not outstanding, and he dared not dribble much on the NBA court. This rookie could only be a constant shooting machine. Who knew if this machine would stop working once the opponents got used to it? In short, Lin Han had been complaining about why he could not gain recognition from the media and experts. No matter how many points he scored, the experts and media would mock him. This was not just because they disliked his playing style, but more importantly, Lin Han's talent was indeed not great.

If a player like Lin Han could succeed in the NBA, wouldn't that be a slap in the face of these experts? A player they had belittled as having no basketball talent ultimately succeeded. Where would their authority be? So even if Lin Han had done well, they would still nitpick. Did these experts not know that Lin Han's record of averaging over 40 points in the first seven games was something that even Jordan, Chamberlain, and Abdul-Jabbar had not achieved? They certainly knew. These experts were more aware of Lin Han's current terrifying data than anyone else. But knowing it, what could they do? The most shameless people in the world are those who deliberately act foolish, just like how they treated Jordan in the past. Did they not know that Jordan could lead his team to victory even when he scored high? They knew, but whenever Jordan lost, they would say he scored too much. When Jordan started getting triple-doubles, did they not know that Jordan had changed? They knew, but they would still say Jordan's shots were too few and he lacked aggression.

However, such nitpicking could sometimes have a significant impact. For example, even though Lin Han's data was terrifying, it still made almost everyone hesitant about his NBA future. Now, after Lin Han performed a miracle against the NBA's toughest and most iron-blooded team, even if the experts continued to nitpick and act foolish, their influence was diminishing. After all, this was not just any ordinary event; it was a miracle. This Chinese player had almost performed a miracle in the NBA! In the entire history of the NBA, who could have achieved this? Even in the entire history of American professional sports, how many people had performed such a perfect heroism story like Lin Han did today?

Therefore, it was only after this miracle that Lin Han's value was truly recognized, rather than being swayed by the NBA experts. Perhaps from today, Lin Han, who did not fit the mainstream values of the NBA, had no talent or ability but whose data made people gasp, would truly begin his NBA journey. Lin Han's value was finally recognized by the media across the United States and even the world. If he could maintain his performance, he would become one of the most unique figures in American sports, and the value he possessed would shock everyone. No one here was a fool, so after the game ended, so many people wanted to share in this freshly baked 'big pizza' of Lin Han.

"Here they come, Pat Riley and Jerry Sloan are here!"

Just as the media, who had been waiting for almost an hour, were starting to get restless, the sudden commotion among the front-row reporters quickly spread to all the media present.

Although Lin Han, the main character of this event, did not attend the post-game press conference, which disappointed the reporters who had come from all directions, they almost hated the Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan, who had issued a media ban or media protection order for Lin Han. Except for the post-game TV interview, Lin Han refused all media interviews. Even the NBA seemed to have tacitly approved this, as Lin Han was the first to skip the media activities after being named the best player of several post-game events.

"What bad luck, why should the Wall Street Journal be in the front row? That was our spot. And why should the Xinhua News Agency from the other side of the ocean also be in the front row? Have they ever covered the NBA before? This is unfair, extremely unfair. David Stern's favoritism will ruin the NBA."

"Give it a rest, you're just a third-rate tabloid, while they are major newspapers. It's already good that you got inside. Look at the crowd still standing outside."

After Pat Riley and Jerry Sloan arrived, the atmosphere on the scene became chaotic, making Pat Riley, who already looked unhappy, even more displeased. Jerry Sloan, on the other hand, still maintained a smile, just like the New York Knicks' star player Patrick Ewing before the game. This was the composure of a winner.

Whether it was hypocrisy or pretense, composure and dignity always belonged to the winners and the kings, and this was indeed true.

Of course, the chaos on the scene could not last long. Under the arrangement of the staff, order was quickly restored. After all, whether it was a major newspaper or a minor one, the American media were generally more disciplined.

"Mr. Pat Riley, what are your thoughts on this game? When there were 35 seconds left, did you think your team might lose? Did you fail tactically in limiting Lin Han, or did you underestimate him? Did you expect the New York Knicks' arrogance and overconfidence before the game?"

As the host, the New York Times should have defended their team, but in New York, no media would defend Pat Riley. They might defend the Knicks or Ewing, but they hated Pat Riley the most, especially after Lin Han's miracle. The New York media even felt a perverse pleasure, especially when they saw Pat Riley's stunned and unfocused expression at the end of the game, which made them secretly delighted.

In this situation, the New York Times, as the leader of the New York media, would not let Pat Riley off. From the beginning, they made their stance clear: Lin Han's miracle at Madison Square Garden was due to Pat Riley's negligence and mistakes.

As one of the smartest coaches in the league, Pat Riley naturally knew what these guys were thinking. After the New York Times reporter finished asking, Pat Riley's expression could not be described as just displeased; it was almost furious. The humiliation Lin Han had brought him in this game was indeed immense.

"Why did this game turn out this way? Is this my problem? You can think whatever you want," Pat Riley said. Then, perhaps thinking of something else, his tone, which had been slightly calmer, immediately became intense, and his face even looked fierce. "How the hell would I know a player could score 13 points in 30 seconds? Did I want the game to turn out this way? When there was less than a minute left, we were leading the Jazz, one of the strongest teams in the West, by 8 points. We led the entire game from the start. Do you think this is my tactical failure? Even you, did you think this would happen today?"

A series of rhetorical questions almost left all the reporters unprepared. However, Pat Riley was used to big scenes and quickly regained control of his emotions.

"I apologize, but I don't think this game's failure has anything to do with us. My tactics were very successful. We led for 47 out of the 48 minutes of the game. My players performed very well. The Jazz players' shooting percentage for the entire game was less than 35%, and Lin Han's shooting percentage for the first 47 minutes was 7 out of 22, less than one-third."

"But, unfortunately, in the last minute, we lost to God. Lin Han is an excellent player, and I admit I underestimated him, but that's not the reason. In the last moment, he borrowed a minute from God."

"When you face such a player, there's almost nothing you can do. You can only watch as he stabs you in the chest, pierces your heart, and you are powerless."

After Pat Riley calmly finished speaking, he got up and left. This game had been a humiliation for him since it ended, and he did not know how long he would carry this humiliation. For the proud Pat Riley, he did not want to answer any questions about today's game.

Of course, everyone could understand Pat Riley's angry departure. His failure in this game was indeed too bizarre or too unbelievable. As for Jerry Sloan, watching the best coach in the league end up like this, his eyes were smiling.

As the best mid-career coach in the league, Jerry Sloan's greatest wish was to bring down the best coach in the league, Pat Riley. This was almost an impossible task in the past, as their abilities and the teams they coached were not on the same level. But now, at least in this game, Jerry Sloan felt an endless sense of pleasure and superiority.

"Did I think we could turn the game around in the last moment? Of course, the game isn't over, right? In the NBA, anything can happen as long as we don't give up. As for whether I thought Lin would perform a miracle in the last moment of this game? Of course, it's hard to imagine such a thing happening, but don't forget, he is the current league scoring leader. He can do a lot with his scoring, and now he has proven himself to be one of the greatest scorers on the planet. He used his scoring to pull us out of a desperate situation, and it was indeed a miracle."

"Was there a problem with our tactics? Of course, you can think that, but you can also think otherwise. The final winner was us. We held on until the end, while the New York Knicks panicked."

"Of course, we will consider giving him more responsibility on the team. Didn't you see? In the Jazz, he has the same shooting opportunities as Karl Malone. He has always been a core player on our team."

After Pat Riley angrily left, Jerry Sloan became the biggest star on the stage. Although he was always highly regarded by many experts in his professional field, the media had little interest in him because he coached the Jazz. This game's end was perhaps the most glorious moment of his coaching career so far. If Lin Han could perform a 35-second, 13-point miracle a few more times, he might even win the Coach of the Year award with such exposure, although the season had just begun.

Therefore, at this moment, Jerry Sloan was fully enjoying the glory brought by the end of this game. What about Lin Han?

"Alice, are you kidding me? A single 'McDy Time' costs me 20% of my character value? This is too much, right?!"

After the game ended and Lin Han's 'McDy Time' state disappeared, the system notified him that he had lost 20% of his character value. This surprised Lin Han greatly. After all, in the game against the Heat, he had only 7 out of 29 shots, missing 22 times, and barely gained 0.5% of his character value. After