Champion Creed

Camby was teasing about the iconic moment when Mutombo said something and was immediately dunked on by Roger.

"Seriously Marcus, why haven't you left yet?" Mutombo wasn't angry; he just sat down and started changing into casual clothes, never minding when teammates made fun of him.

Sitting on the chair, Camby leaned forward with his hands on his knees, "Dikembe, what do you call the greatest reward?"

Mutombo paused while putting on his jacket, looking at the locker room ceiling lights as if reminiscing.

"What do you call the greatest reward? Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a fool who went to a team that no one would go to, in the most boring city in the world, for the sake of a championship. That fool gave it his all, got to the finals with the team, yearning for a championship and a chance.

He gave his all in every game, even if he had to rely on painkillers to sleep after being knocked around by a big guy on the opposing team; even if he was so exhausted after every game that he felt like his body was falling apart, he never backed down.

Because he believed that as long as he worked hard, there would be a reward.

But for two consecutive years, the fool's efforts were in vain; he lost in the finals to the same person twice, never even close to victory.

All those sacrifices, all that effort and perseverance did not earn him any reward; all that was left to him were beautiful fantasies.

After the second finals ended, he sat on the floor hugging his legs, crying like a child who hasn't grown up.

The coach went over, patted the fool on the shoulder, and said: "Don't cry, you did your best."

Yes, he did his best, a phrase many like to use to comfort others, but it is the saddest and most hurtful thing. He couldn't do any better, yet he was still far from victory.

From that moment, the fool understood that not every player in this world has a chance to win the championship. Even with the same effort, resilience, and dedication, some people will never win the championship; opportunities don't just always come with efforts.

The championship... only a small number of lucky people can experience that happiness."

After speaking, Dikembe Mutombo was silent for a moment, then stared at Camby:

"That fool is me; the one who beat me was Roger. I fought Roger in Salt Lake City for two years and lost badly both times. Those were two series that, no matter how you exerted yourself, disregarded life and death, and were willing to sacrifice everything, you just couldn't win. So, you ask what the best gift is? It's the championship! Or the chance to win one!

Not everyone has the opportunity to reach the championship; some are defeated by injuries, some by themselves, some by a single call, some by an opponent's jump shot.

And now, this opportunity is in our hands, we are playing with the person who understands most about winning championships in the world, we have a chance to exchange for that ultimate gift. So don't waste it, Marcus, seize the opportunity to get the ultimate reward."

Finishing, Dikembe Mutombo stood up to leave the locker room, "Coming?"

"Yeah," Marcus Camby agreed and glanced at Roger's locker.

The greatest reward, huh?

He would definitely claim that grand prize!

The next day, pictures of Tim Duncan being dunked on by Roger were all over the newspapers.

Roger was really curious why the NBA didn't have technical stats for "being dunked on" and "mileage covered," he really wanted to know who these people were. After all, Duncan was on the front page of the newspaper way too often for being dunked on.

Roger felt that if he went to the All-Star party, he'd meet ten guys who have dunked on Duncan.

As for mileage covered, it could accurately show who is the most hardworking and covers the most distance on the court.

However, Tim Duncan's embarrassment didn't last long because, three days later, a game put the Cleveland Cavaliers at the center of attention across the U.S., and everyone forgot the scene where Duncan got dunked on.

The game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Milwaukee Bucks wasn't considered a heavyweight match.

Since Michael Reed was in Atlanta, the Bucks had no star player; the most notable player was 1997's number two pick, Keith Van Horn.

This ordinarily uneventful game was red-hot because LeBron James shone, putting up versatile stats of 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists, with only two turnovers.

Michael Jordan, on the other hand, miraculously scored 41 points — considering he was a 40-year-old player, it was unbelievable.

Before this, the oldest player to score 40 points was Karl Malone. At the end of last season, the Mailman had an encouraging 40 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals against the Magic Team; he was already 39 years and 231 days old.

And Jordan was a full year older than him and had been away from the game for six years.

Apart from the impressive numbers from Michael Jordan and LeBron James, the Cavaliers also broke out of their losing streak, achieving their longest three-game winning streak of the season, with a current record of 5 wins and 6 losses!

Although the record is still "negative," it's a lot better than the previous painful start of 2 wins and 6 losses.

For Cavaliers fans, this game was triple happiness.

As one of the biggest draw teams this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers' three-game winning streak, LeBron's near triple-double, and Jordan's 41 points were enough to make the fans forget the scene of Tim Duncan being dunked on three days ago.