NBA: The Basketball Miracle

On May 14, at the United Center, Lee witnessed the Bulls advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Chicago fans in the stadium were cheering loudly. This is Michael Jordan, he will never let his fans down!

In Lee's opinion, the Knicks' offense is not systematic at all. After Jeff Van Gundy took office, most of the games were won by relying on iron-blooded defense.

Playing 43 minutes, making 13 of 29 shots, 1 of 2 from beyond the three-point line, 8 of 9 free throws, 35 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 2 turnovers, Michael Jordan scored the highest points of the game again tonight.

John Starks, the "madman" of the Knicks, was in a bad state again. Perhaps Michael Jordan had not forgotten the grudge of being dunked over by him. He spared no effort on the defensive end and completely locked down the Knicks' perimeter.

"Lee, what do you think of this game? The Bulls have a great chance of winning the championship this year. They are the strongest team in the NBA right now."

Priority Sports is headquartered in Chicago. Mark Bartelstein brought Lee here naturally for the subsequent joint tryout, and watching this playoff game is a way to relax.

"The game was slow, the Knicks didn't even have 70 possessions, but they turned the ball over nearly 20 times."

"This is the rhythm the Bulls like. Obviously, the Knicks' backcourt has big problems!"

Leaning on the sofa in the box, Lee, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and a sporty outfit, casually commented on the game.

Mark Bartelstein was in a good mood when he heard Lee's words. He liked this confident attitude.

Another purpose of watching this game tonight is to let Lee understand the Knicks' outside situation.

"We will succeed! Don't worry, Lee. The Bulls still have a last-place pick in the first round this year. Even if we encounter the worst-case scenario, we will not be eliminated!"

Mark Bartelstein once again gave Lee a reassurance and showed some of his energy, which can be regarded as a double insurance.

Lee smiled and nodded, but he felt a little disapproving in his heart. Although it would be good to join the Bulls to curry favor with them, there was a high probability that he would not get playing time.

If there is a choice, the ideal situation is to enter the starting lineup in the rookie season, but the Bulls do not meet this requirement at all.

On May 19, East Rutherford, New Jersey ushered in this year's lottery drawing ceremony.

The NBA lottery drawing is David Stern's masterpiece.

Since 1985, teams that failed to make the playoffs have the same probability of drawing the No. 1 pick. Later, Stern improved it so that teams with worse records had a higher probability of getting the No. 1 pick.

By 1996, the lottery method had been completely stabilized. Each team had a certain number of lottery balls. The worse the record, the more lottery balls they had, and naturally the greater the probability of getting the first pick.

The most nervous person at the scene was the 76ers' president Kroos. Although the situation was good this year and the probability of winning the No. 1 pick was as high as 30%, he would never feel at ease until he got the pick.

The lottery draw was also broadcast live, but facing the camera, Kroos cursed in his heart.

The new general manager of the team was absent from the event because he was celebrating his son's birthday, which forced him to face the camera.

People were coming and going in the hall, and although the management of each team knew that there were inside stories about the draw, the atmosphere created on the scene still made people a little nervous.

David Stern was in a good mood when he walked onto the stage. With Michael Jordan around, the NBA was back on track and the current situation was very good.

What makes Stern even more excited is that he has knocked on the door on the other side of the ocean, and a wider market is beckoning him!

Although everyone knows that the 76ers have a high probability of getting the No. 1 pick, after David Stern finally announced the result, President Cross excitedly hugged the staff beside him.

They will have hope for the team's revival, Allen Iverson already belongs to Philadelphia!

Mark Bartelstein was also watching the lottery ceremony, and as he expected, the Celtics got the No. 6 pick, while the Knicks had three first-round picks.

"It's just as we expected, Lee. Don't worry about the joint tryout. It's just a formality to show our attitude."

Clay Lee nodded. He had also noticed that the players who came to the hotel these days were not very famous.

Unlike the joint tryouts he had in mind, this tryout was most likely just a formality.

Interested teams would send out individual tryout invitations, but more often, agents would come to recommend them.

This is also the reason why players cannot do without agents. Some tryout opportunities are most likely to be internally decided.

Except for absolute geniuses, the competition for ordinary players is already sky-high.

On May 27, the Bulls completed their revenge, defeating the Magic 106:101 on the road, sweeping their opponents 4:0 and reaching the finals again!

Michael Jordan played 44 minutes, shooting 16 of 23, 3 of 4 from beyond the three-point line, 10 of 14 free throws, and scored 45 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, and 4 turnovers!

Anfernee Hardaway and Shaquille O'Neal were swept out, and this was Michael Jordan's perfect revenge.

On June 2, the Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals came to an end, and the Seattle SuperSonics defeated the Utah Jazz with difficulty and successfully entered the Finals!

Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp scored 47 points together, and Scott Tonton and Malone teamed up to score 44 points.

For the spectators, it doesn't matter who makes it to the finals, the Bulls will win the game and win the championship anyway.

Everyone is looking forward to Michael Jordan winning his fourth championship!

On June 4, there were no NBA games that day. Accompanied by Mark Bartelstein, Lee came to Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and witnessed the joint training unique to this era.

Starting in 1985, the original combine was organized by scouts and agents.

At that time, only a few players participated in this kind of tryout. In the 1990s, this tryout activity was supported by the league. With the increase of international players, the tryout was divided into two parts.

Mark Bartelstein, who had received the news long ago, would not let Lee's shortcomings be exposed.

After simply completing the physical test, the two stood on the sidelines and no longer participated in the subsequent 5V5 training.

"The purpose of the tryouts is to show physical fitness, so these guys can't even pass the ball!"

Mark Bartelstein whispered to Lee about the tryout situation. More and more players were present, and scouts were also communicating with the players they were interested in.

Lee nodded without saying anything. Overall, the scene was crowded with people. Even the previous physical examination was quite perfunctory.

"Hey! Don't go too far, man. Wear fewer layers of socks. You're almost ruining your shoes!"

"We are partners, helping each other! Black people should help black people!"

This kind of conversation happened from time to time beside Lee. The person in charge of measuring height was a black staff member. Every black player who came here would be asked to report a few more centimeters.

Lee turned his head and saw a black player about 2 meters tall asking the staff to write 5 centimeters more for him. He was a little disappointed with the mess on the scene:

"They all come here to use the back door, no wonder there are more and more parallel imports!"