Chapter 517: MVP! What Goes Around Comes Around
After taking a 2 to 0 lead in the series, public opinion swung almost entirely in Phoenix's favor.
Most people believed the Suns advancing was only a matter of time. Some fans went even further and predicted another sweep, just like the first round.
Chen Yan agreed with the part about advancing, but talk of a sweep was pure overpraise.
Dallas had not played badly in Game 2. They had caused Phoenix real problems, and those problems were only going to grow once the series shifted to the Mavericks' home floor for Game 3.
So when a reporter with bad intentions tried to bait him by asking whether he was already thinking about the next round, Chen Yan gave a clean answer.
"I'm only focused on this series until it ends. Nothing else concerns me."
Good karma is something you build up, whether you believe in it or not.
After all, the last player who said something like that still had not made it out of the first round.
...
On May 7, the NBA officially announced the winner of the 2008 regular season MVP award.
Even though he had been mentally prepared, Chen Yan was still overwhelmed the moment he saw his name.
He was only in his second season.
From being a team manager when he first arrived in this world to becoming the MVP on the biggest basketball stage in the world, Chen Yan had needed only 2 years.
It all felt unreal, almost like a dream.
Sometimes, when he woke up in the morning, he still felt a faint sense of disbelief.
He had been given a second life, a fresh start, a cheat, and a chance to chase the dream he had once thought was out of reach.
Chen Yan felt like the luckiest person in the world, and the only way he knew how to repay that luck was to keep training, keep focusing, and squeeze every possible ounce out of the talent and opportunity he had been given.
He left his phone in the bedroom and stayed alone in the living room.
He already knew what was happening on the other end. His phone was definitely exploding with calls and messages. Family, friends, brothers, teammates, everyone would be happy for him.
But in that moment, he wanted silence.
He just wanted to sit there and enjoy a moment that belonged to him alone.
Chen Yan finished with 1152 total points in the voting. Of the 129 media members who cast ballots, 89 placed him first, an overwhelming edge.
The MVP voting rules were straightforward. Every voter selected 5 players. A first place vote was worth 10 points, second place 7, third place 5, fourth place 3, and fifth place 1.
LeBron James of the Cavaliers finished second with 895 points and 30 first place votes.
Last year's MVP, Kobe Bryant, ranked third with 521 points and 3 first place votes.
The headlines exploded immediately.
"Can an Asian really play basketball? The new MVP gives you the answer!"
"The first asian MVP in NBA history!"
"A historic moment, Chinese player Chen Yan wins the highest individual honor in the NBA!"
"The Birth of an MVP! How Chen Yan went from school team reserve to the peak of the sport!"
As soon as the news broke, all of North America lit up.
Chen Yan was now the first asian MVP in league history.
At that point, he no longer represented only his country. He also represented the continued rise of international players and Asian players across the league.
In addition to the MVP, Chen Yan was, of course, selected to the All NBA First Team.
The other 4 players were Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwight Howard.
The All NBA Second Team was Nash, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Tim Duncan, and Yao Ming.
The All NBA Third Team was Billups, Roy, Granger, Garnett, and ONeal.
The All Defensive First Team was led by Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, and Dwight Howard.
The All Defensive Second Team included Wade, Raja Bell, Battier, Artest, and Duncan.
Defensive Player of the Year went to Dwight Howard. With 13.8 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game, plus the fact that he almost singlehandedly anchored Orlando's entire defensive structure, the award was completely deserved.
The moment the awards were announced, fans went wild. Some people even set off fireworks in broad daylight.
For them, this was a day worth remembering forever.
When Chen Yan first entered the league 2 years ago, most fans had only hoped he could survive in the NBA and maybe become a reliable starter.
No one had imagined that 2 years later, he would bring home an MVP.
How could they not lose their minds?
Phoenix fans were just as thrilled.
Now the Suns had 2 MVPs on the roster.
In the past, fans had chanted "Chen Yan MVP" because he played at an MVP level. Starting today, he was the real thing.
...
On May 7, Durant was in a bad mood all day.
His good friend had just won the highest individual honor in basketball, and logically he should have been happy for him.
But Durant simply could not make himself feel happy.
Good looking, insanely talented, rich, buried in endorsements and investments, and at a young age already holding a ring, an FMVP, and an MVP.
Was that not exactly the person Durant had imagined becoming?
But Chen Yan had done it first.
That made it very hard for Durant not to feel jealous.
Later, when Chen Yan finally had time to answer his messages, he wondered why Durant had not congratulated him.
After thinking about it for a while, Chen Yan decided it was probably because Boston was down 0 to 2 against Cleveland. In those 2 games, Durant had scored 17 and 11 points and had been thoroughly outplayed by LeBron.
...
That same night, Chen Yan traveled with the team to Dallas.
They were preparing for Game 3.
The actual MVP ceremony would be held at Phoenix's next home game, giving Chen Yan the chance to accept the trophy in front of a roaring home crowd.
Before tipoff, Barkley said excitedly on the broadcast, "Chen Yan just won the regular season MVP, and Phoenix is full of energy. Basketball is a sport of momentum. The Suns should ride that momentum and take another game."
The final result was 106 to 101.
Under Barkley's famous jinx, Phoenix lost Game 3 exactly as fate would have it.
Chen Yan played with visible emotion in this game and poured in a game high 45 points.
The rest of the Suns were not terrible either. The main reason for the loss was simple.
Dallas's shooters went berserk.
Dirk Nowitzki was the biggest problem. With full offensive freedom restored, he showed the Mavericks crowd exactly what they had been waiting for, scoring 34 points and hitting 6 of his 8 shots from deep.
Ray Allen knocked down 5 3s.
Artest and Terry made 4 each.
Even Kidd drilled 2.
When Mark Cuban saw Chen Yan's slightly disappointed figure after the game, he looked delighted sitting courtside.
What goes around comes around.
So the young man who had spent so much time sending other stars into the empty stats club had finally had a turn as its captain too.
.....
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