Reborn in 96, I started by taking charge of the Dallas Mavericks.

With the regular season coming to a close, the various honors of the 96-97 regular season are about to be announced.

This year, the most media attention wasn't focused on the regular season MVP, but rather on the Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year.

In the end, Kobe Bryant undoubtedly defeated Allen Iverson to win the Rookie of the Year award for the 96-97 season, which also fulfilled one of Chen Fang's wishes.

Unsurprisingly, Chen Fang won the Coach of the Year award, leading his team to a 67-15 record in his first year as a coach, ranking first in the Western Conference.

Such an impressive record led to Chen Fang being unanimously elected as the best coach.

In addition, the regular season MVP was awarded to Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls, marking his second consecutive year receiving this honor and his fifth time lifting the regular season MVP trophy.

It's worth mentioning that the 96-97 regular season MVP should have gone to Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz.

Unfortunately, the Jazz's record was outshone by the Mavericks, and Karl Malone's individual stats weren't as impressive as Jordan's, ultimately costing him the regular season MVP award.

Another highly prestigious individual honor, the Best Defensive Player award, went to Dikembe Mutombo.

This marks Dikembe Mutombo's return to the Defensive Player of the Year award after a year's absence.

At the same time, the All-NBA First, Second, and Third Teams, the All-Defensive First, Second, and Third Teams, the All-Rookie Team, as well as the Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, Scoring Champion, Rebounding Champion, Assist Champion, and a series of other honors were also announced.

Chen Fang skipped all the awards and first checked the Best Rookie Team.

The good news is that four Mavericks players were selected to the All-Rookie First Team and Second Team.

Kobe Bryant and Ben Wallace were both named to the All-Rookie First Team. Other players named to the All-Rookie First Team included Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers, Antoine Walker of the Boston Celtics, and Shareef Abdul-Rahim of the Vancouver Grizzlies.

In addition, Nash and Peja were selected to the All-Rookie Second Team, the other three being Stephon Marbury from the Timberwolves, Marcus Camby from the Grizzlies, and Ray Allen from the Bucks.

At the same time, Kobe was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and Ben Wallace was named to the All-Defensive Third Team.

With the addition of Chen Fang as the best coach, the Mavericks had a very successful regular season in 96-97.

Having secured their honors, they are now poised to face the test of the playoffs.

The success in the regular season is nothing; on the contrary, it is just the beginning. The real test has only just begun.

……

June 24th, US time.

The NBA playoffs officially began in the 1996-1997 season.

The top-ranked Mavericks in the Western Conference will host the Phoenix Suns.

The Mavericks' return to the playoffs after a six-year absence has sent Dallas fans into a frenzy.

Even before the game started, the area around the Tuanyuan Gymnasium was already packed with people.

Enthusiastic fans gathered at the stadium entrance, waiting for the game to begin.

At this point, there were still nearly 5 hours before the match was scheduled to begin.

Meanwhile, both teams are making their final pre-match preparations.

"Today is the day we return to the playoffs. We had a good season, but that doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels. On the contrary, this is just the beginning."

"Tonight, we're going to give back to our fans with a resounding victory. Can you do it?"

Inside the training hall, Chen Fang loudly asked the crowd in front of him.

"can!"

Everyone answered in unison.

"It's too light, can you handle it?"

Chen Fang put his hand to his ear, indicating that he couldn't hear.

"Yes, we can do it!"

This time, everyone shouted so loudly that it seemed they wanted to lift the roof off the training hall.

8 PM, Tuanyuan Gymnasium!

The fans have already entered the stadium, and the entire stadium is packed.

Everywhere you look, you see fans wearing Mavericks jerseys.

If you look down from above, you'll see that the entire stadium is a sea of ​​blue.

Even the players in the backstage locker room could hear the crazy shouts of the fans in the stadium!

"Guys, can you hear the fans chanting?"

"They've all come to support you, so you can't let them down."

Chen Fang gave a final pre-match pep talk in the locker room, and then waved his hand as the players began to enter the field.

Most of the players on this young Mavericks team are making their first playoff appearance, so they're bound to be a little nervous before the games.

But when they heard the cheers from the fans in the stadium, their tension vanished almost entirely.

Like them, this was Chen Fang's first game in the playoffs.

However, unlike the players, Chen Fang was not nervous at all; instead, he was filled with fighting spirit.

"Suns, let's make you the first stepping stone on the Mavericks' road to the championship."

With the DJ's roaring introduction, the players from both sides began to enter the field.

The starting lineups for both teams were then displayed on the large screen at the stadium.

The Mavericks continued with their usual lineup after the All-Star break.

Point Guard: Stephen Nash.

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant.

Small forward: Bruce Bowen.

Power Forward: Ben Wallace.

Center: Rasheed Wallace.

For the Suns, their starting lineup is as follows.

Point Guard: Kevin Johnson.

Shooting Guard: Rex Chapman.

Small forward: Waiman Tisdale.

Power Forward: Danny Manning.

Center: Holt Rod Williams.

As the Mavericks' playoff opener, this game was attended by many superstars, including not only Mavericks players from history, but also many Hollywood and music stars.

Charlize and Jessica were also present to cheer on the Mavericks.

In addition to celebrities attending the match, CCTV Sports also sent a professional commentary team to the venue to provide live commentary on the game.

The two commentators are Zhang Weiping and Xu Jicheng, who are very familiar to Chinese football fans.

In addition, the NBA officially authorized TNT to broadcast the game live across the entire globe.

"The starting lineups for both teams have been released. Looking at these lineups, Coach Xu, could you predict the outcome of this series?"

Before the match even started, the two commentators began to analyze the starting lineups of both teams.

"Looking at the starting lineups of both teams, I feel that the Mavericks will sweep the Suns 3-0."

Coach Xu is very outspoken and not afraid of offending Suns fans at all.

Of course, the reason he dared to say that is that the vast majority of people watching basketball in China are Mavericks fans, and a small portion are Bulls fans.

As for the current Suns team, hardly anyone knows them.