Antetokounmpo felt quite nervous when shaking hands with Xu Yong. If I had to make an analogy for that feeling, it would probably be like the scene when James was in the C position at the 75th National Congress and was kicked out, and then saw Jordan enter the venue.

He thought of N possibilities, but he never expected that Xu Yong would actually say such words to him.

The future is his!

Yes, the future belongs to him. Xu Yong is already 30 years old this year. No matter how great a legend is, he will start to decline after he turns 30.

Of course, what’s more important is that Leonard was standing next to him, and Xu Yong said such words to him, which really made him feel honored.

"Thank you, I will try my best!" Antetokounmpo said excitedly.

Xu Yong couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

If it weren’t for the fact that we know the true meaning of this sentence, this scene of a famous rookie’s expectations for a future superstar would be quite heartwarming.

It's just that Leonard's expression is a little strange. After all, strictly speaking, he is the core of this Raptors team.

After completing the handshake ceremony, returning to the locker room to celebrate and then returning to the scene, the championship award ceremony was held on site.

During this process, Jokic seemed very excited. You know, he still remembered clearly that Xu Yong hung his Olympic gold medal in front of his locker in the locker before the season.

However, the most excited person was neither the Mavericks coaching staff nor the Mavericks players, but the Mavericks owner Ballmer.

The manual stipulates that a team can have a maximum of 35 people entering the park. Excluding the players and coaching staff, not many people can come, and the bosses are even fewer.

After all, NBA teams are just one of the industries under most owners. Even if they are not, it is too torturous for them as capitalists to let them stay in the park for three months. Ballmer is one of the few among them.

If you ask what the original motivation is, it is the love for basketball, this big toy. But if you look deeper, the Mavericks, as the No. 1 team in the league and with Xu Yong, are the team most likely to win the championship.

Now he has got what he wanted, and it's only the second year since he bought an NBA team. No one is happier than him.

He excitedly hugged everyone on the Mavericks team, and while hugging Xu Yong, he kept patting Xu Yong's back and chattering non-stop.

Xu Yong enjoys this feeling because compared to a businessman like Lauersdorf, a boss like Ballmer who truly loves basketball is easier to approach.

Moreover, compared with the Mavericks' former owner Mark Cuban, Ballmer has one good point, that is, although he loves the team, he will delegate power to the management instead of intervening.

Let people who are good at something do what they are good at. This is the simplest truth, but also the most difficult reality.

The championship award was first presented on site, followed by the FMVP award ceremony.

It was during this part that not only the players on both sides, but also most of the fans watching the live broadcast became excited.

Because the person presenting the award was Kobe!

Although there have been many rumors before, the league has not made any public statement, so this is an expected surprise for most fans.

Kobe also looked excited. In order to be able to attend the championship award ceremony, he entered the park and started isolation half a month ago.

But the first moment he came in and saw Xu Yong, it seemed that everything was worth it.

They had made a promise, and now was the moment for them to fulfill it.

Tatum is also quite knowledgeable about the ways of the world. Normally, the president would announce the result at such times, but he handed the envelope to Kobe.

Kobe was a little flattered, but he finally took it at Tatum's suggestion.

After opening it, Kobe pretended to be surprised before seriously announcing the result.

"The winner of the 2020 Finals Bill Russell Trophy is...Xu Yong."

In fact, there was no suspense, but Kobe still did enough foreplay.

After the announcement, he picked up the FMVP trophy and handed it to Xu Yong, then hugged him with a smile.

Averaging 30.5 points, 7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 2 steals and 1 block per game, Xu Yong won his sixth FMVP trophy.

"Don't be so nervous, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Xu Yong said to Kobe with a smile when he received the trophy.

Kobe laughed and then hugged Xu Yong tightly.

After receiving the FMVP trophy, Xu Yong also gave a special acceptance speech.

"This past season was a particularly difficult season for us, of course, not only for us, but also for the league and all the fans. We won this trophy as a result of the joint efforts of all of us. It proves that the difficulties brought by the epidemic can be overcome. I think it will also inspire everyone to overcome the epidemic. Finally, I would like to quote a sentence from a science fiction novel in our country: Courage is the hymn of mankind."

Xu Yong's remarks brought an end to the turbulent season of 2019-2020.

Although it was tortuous, the final result was still acceptable.

However, due to the epidemic, the upcoming 2020-2021 season is destined to be extraordinary.

Because the finals will be played in October, and there will be a series of things in between, including the offseason, draft, free agent market, preseason games, etc., which means that the number of games in the new season will be compressed and the season opening time will be postponed.

As early as June this year, before the league proposed closed-door competition, the new season was predicted to start in March 2021. Even at this time, the latest news predicted that it would not start until late January next year.

In this case, there will be at most 50 games in the new season.

And according to the current situation, next season will basically still be played in a park-based format.

All this indicates that the new season may be even more tortuous than this season.

And the Mavericks are also somewhat lacking in the championship this year. Because of the epidemic, they will become the first championship team in history without a championship celebration parade.

But as Xu Yong said, this is part of humanity's victory over the epidemic.

The short offseason is precious.

However, just the day after the end of the season, Wright suggested to Xu Yong that they should hold another closed intensive training during the off-season.

Young people are full of energy, and they have tasted the sweetness of winning a championship.

However, Xu Yong did not agree this time.

He himself is immune to injuries, but others are not.

As a reborn person, he knows that if nothing unexpected happens, the new season will start in December. For the Mavericks, because there are still season training camps and preseason games, they only have a maximum of one month left to rest.

Continuous high intensity can easily lead to injuries.

Or in other words, the most important thing for the Mavericks this summer is to rest.

Xu Yong also took this time to spend time with their four children.

Xu Hao spends every summer with Xu Yong, playing basketball and honing his skills. Although he is still young, perhaps due to genetic factors, he has a natural strong interest in basketball.

If Xu Yong can play in the NBA until he is 45 years old, then maybe they can really play together as father and son.

Putting everything aside to accompany his family is also the most comfortable time for Xu Yong.

When it came to November, good news began to come.

The big picture is that after more than a year of fighting, although the epidemic is still ongoing, its toxicity has weakened, which provides a glimmer of possibility for the reopening of stadiums in the future.

On a smaller scale, labor and management have reached a consensus that the new season will officially start on December 23.

For fans, especially those in North America, it is a very happy thing to see the new season start before Christmas.

This is also a good thing for the league, because starting the game at this time is almost the same as the start of the last lockout, which was the 2011 season. 72 games in a single season is much better than expected.

On November 18, the 2020 NBA Draft kicked off. Due to the epidemic, this year's draft was held online and ESPN broadcast the entire process live.

This year's draft is a bit special, but it is also one that has attracted a lot of attention from the outside world. The main reason is the top pick favorite Edwards.

This guy, who was once given an autographed jersey by Xu Yong, has shown amazing talent since high school. He has performed even better after entering college. He had already secured this year's No. 1 pick before the outbreak of the epidemic.

In addition to Edwards, there is also James Wiseman, who is praised for his excellent static and dynamic talents, and LaMelo Ball, who has the most outstanding talent among the three players.

Even if you look at it from Xu Yongkai's clairvoyant perspective, this class still has a number of talented rookies such as Haliburton, Vassell, Maxey, Bane, etc., and the overall strength is still very strong.

Xu Yong also paid attention to this draft. What surprised Xu Yong in the end was not the ownership of the top three picks, but that when the draft came to the Mavericks, the Mavericks made an expected choice. They selected Desmond Bane with the 30th pick.

Xu Yong knew a little about Bane, because he had a well-known nickname: Meaty Curry.

As the name implies, his three-point shooting is where he makes his living, but he's strong for his size and tough on defense.

Wright does not have the three-point skill package, and Bane can make up for it in this position.

The reason why he fell to this position is because his physical condition is relatively poor. As a shooting guard, he is relatively short, only 1.93 meters barefoot, comparable to Oladipo.

Moreover, his wingspan is not as long as Oladipo's, and his arms are short. In addition, his strong body lacks flexibility and speed, which all affected his draft position.

But Xu Yong knew that Bane had organizational potential, which was overlooked by scouts.

Therefore, in the Mavericks' organizational structure, it is not impossible for Bane to replace Wright as the starting point guard in the future, and it may even be a better choice.

After all, Wright and DeRozan don't have outside three-point shooting skills, and the offensive space is still relatively crowded in positional warfare. Many times Malone is forced to use Rose as the starting point guard, and even after Rose was injured, he could only use rookie Puer.

In general, the Mavericks have just won the championship, and their lineup tends to be stable, and the core rotation will not actively seek changes.

Moreover, their current team composition is very similar to the Bulls who completed the dynasty before. The core is Xu Yong, the second-in-command Jokic, the third-in-command DeRozan, and some good role players.

For them, DeRozan's rediscovery of himself in last season's playoffs is the biggest reinforcement for the team.

DeRozan also opted out of his contract this summer and signed a four-year, $110 million contract extension with the Mavericks.

Because of the increase in the salary cap, this is a contract extension that is much lower than the maximum salary.

This not only allows the Mavericks to retain their immediate combat effectiveness, but also maintains the flexibility to make future reinforcements, making it a contract that is acceptable to both parties.

As for the Mavericks' opponent in the new season, the Lakers have been looking for a third giant in the summer.

Finally, after a series of efforts, they successfully signed Fred VanVleet with a 4-year, $90 million contract.

Don’t say that VanVleet is embarrassed by the title of a giant. He is already the biggest player the Lakers can sign.

But compared to VanVleet, what is more important to them is to keep Anthony Davis with a five-year maximum salary.

In the new season, the Lakers' Big Three of VanVleet, James and Davis officially set sail.

Although VanVleet's star power is not as high as it used to be, and although James will be 36 years old next season, as long as the Lakers' big men are still there, everything will be fine.

The Warriors and Thunder's lineups haven't changed much, and the Clippers signed Gallinari back to strengthen their outside shooting.

In general, because the connection between seasons and competitions is too short, and there are almost no big fish whose contracts expire this year, the entire free market is relatively calm.

This also makes the outside world generally believe that the Mavericks have a high probability of defending their title in the new season.

However, under this mainstream voice, another voice began to emerge.

Some people believe that the Mavericks' campus championship does not have much value and lacks persuasiveness.

Especially after the release of Patil's championship documentary "Dallas Dynasty: The Beginning" and the huge response it caused, the argument that "the Mavericks were able to win the championship because they trained three months longer than others" began to become popular.

In the era before Xu Yong was reborn, there was a popular argument that the Lakers' championship in the park was questioned because it was James, not Curry, who won the championship.

Interestingly, the person who made this argument was James' agent Rich Paul.

History cannot be assumed, and this argument eventually became the counter-argument of some James fans.

But now the facts have proved that no matter how the strength of the opponents of the park champion changes, no matter who wins the championship, it is inevitable to be questioned.

Because there are no home and away games, these objective factors in closed games are always unavoidable.

In other words, the Mavericks won the championship, but there is only one way for them to win full recognition from the outside world: do it again in the new season.