On October 28th, the 2003-2004 season officially tipped off.
Among the opening games, the most anticipated matchup was the one between the Phoenix Suns and the Spurs.
Little Emperor James’s career debut was certainly creating a buzz, but he was ultimately just a super rookie.
This game between the Suns and the Spurs, on the other hand, could be seen as a preview of the Western Conference Finals.
The West was packed with powerhouses, but since last season, teams like the Lakers and the King had started to fall behind.
There were only two teams in the top tier: the Phoenix Suns and the Spurs.
Plus, the championship rings were being presented at this game, so how could it not draw a ton of attention?
The game was at eight in the evening.
A little after three in the afternoon, Chen Yu drove the GT40 that Paul Allen had given him, taking Lexi to the US Airways Center.
"Chen, what do you think of this design?"
Lexi handed him the interior design brochure she was holding.
Chen Yu glanced at it, thought for a moment, and said, "As long as you like it."
Lexi pouted. "I don’t like it. It’s too pink."
Chen Yu breathed a silent sigh of relief. He glanced at Lexi’s serious expression and said, "Lexi, we’re both still young. There’s no need to rush. I don’t think it’s fair to you to have to give up your research right now."
Not long ago, Lexi had suddenly suggested that they plan to have a child.
It had caught Chen Yu completely off guard.
It wasn’t that Chen Yu didn’t like kids; he just felt that his career was just getting started, and having a child would take up a great deal of his energy.
Having a baby wasn’t as simple as just giving birth.
But Lexi felt very strongly about it, and Chen Yu didn’t want to disappoint her, so he could only try to persuade her indirectly.
"There’s nothing unfair about it. Now that you’re not the team doctor anymore, I think we have the energy and the means," Lexi said, turning her head to study Chen Yu warily. "Or are you having second thoughts?"
Chen Yu quickly shook his head and changed the subject. "By the way, have you thought about what you’d want our child to be? A doctor?"
If their child became a doctor, it would be like carrying on his legacy.
Lexi shook her head. "No, being a doctor is too hard."
Just thinking about medical school and her internship years made her shudder.
It was absolute hell.
As they spoke, the two arrived at the US Airways Center.
"That’s weird. Why do I get the feeling their expressions are a bit off?"
Chen Yu frowned as he led Lexi toward the office area.
The team employees they passed along the way all had a strange look in their eyes. It was a look Chen Yu knew all too well—the exact same look his colleagues had during his internship right before they threw him a surprise party.
"David."
Chen Yu spotted David Griffin walking ahead and called out to him, asking if they were hiding something from him.
"Don’t tell me Brian planned another surprise."
Only Brian, with his wild imagination, would always pull these kinds of stunts on him.
"Of course not."
David Griffin said with a grin.
Chen Yu snorted. "David, you should know that I understand psychology."
David Griffin’s expression shifted slightly. He quickly called out to someone in the distance, "Mark, I was just looking for you!"
With that, he hurried away.
Chen Yu sighed. ’Yup, they’ve definitely prepared some kind of surprise for me.’
They had successfully defended their title, his own role had changed, he had stepped down from his position as team doctor, and he had even been inducted into the Hall of Fame. With all this happening right at the ring ceremony, if Brian didn’t pull some stunt, he wouldn’t be Brian.
Lexi guessed, "They probably just prepared a short video for you to thank you for your work with the team over the past two-plus years."
Chen Yu nodded. That was probably it.
The scene was so similar; everything from last year’s ring ceremony still felt like it was yesterday.
Last year, Dan Majerle had been moved to tears, kissing his ring over and over.
This year, Oakley cried too. He slipped the custom championship ring, engraved with his jersey number and initials, onto his ring finger as if it were an engagement ring. Then he stared at it, crying like a big kid.
"Keep working hard, Stephen."
Chen Yu reached out and patted the back of Little Curry, who was beside him, offering a smiling encouragement.
Still with a boyish look, he was wearing Old Curry’s championship ring, his eyes filled with joy and longing.
Chen Yu still remembered this time last year, when the kid had told him that he was going to make it to the NBA and win his own championship ring.
Little Curry nodded firmly, his gaze resolute.
Soon, it was Chen Yu’s turn.
Chen Yu walked onto the court cautiously, on guard for any sudden surprises.
Nothing happened.
When Stern hugged Chen Yu, he even smiled and invited him to watch the game from the top-floor suite later, saying there were some things he wanted to discuss.
He returned with his own custom championship ring, and the ceremony continued.
Chen Yu glanced at Brian, who wasn’t far away.
’That’s not right. Did I guess wrong?’
As the last group of people received their rings, the ceremony came to an end.
It seemed there really was no surprise.
Suddenly, Chen Yu felt a strange sense of disappointment.
Still, it was probably for the best. Chen Yu really couldn’t bring himself to appreciate the kind of surprises Brian came up with.
He turned to head for the players’ tunnel, but just then, the lights throughout the entire arena suddenly went out, plunging everything into darkness.
"Chen, welcome to the family."
A voice suddenly rang out.
Chen Yu was momentarily stunned.
’That’s Brian’s voice.’
The next moment, the large LED screen in the center of the court suddenly lit up.
Chen Yu whipped his head around.
A video had appeared on the big screen.
The angle was from a security camera.
It showed Brian’s office. He was standing up and shaking hands with Chen Yu.
A memory stirred in Chen Yu’s mind. ’I remember now. This must be from two years ago, the day I first came to Phoenix and signed my contract as team doctor.’
’I just can’t believe Brian kept this security footage.’
The next moment, the screen went black, and a line of text appeared.
"The wheels of fate began to turn from this moment on."
Chen Yu looked up, the corners of his mouth turning up into a smile. ’I knew it. I guessed right after all.’
Chen Yu knew that bastard Brian all too well; he knew what Brian was going to do before he even did it.
It wasn’t just the official NBA media; every team had a stable of video editors, so the montage was professionally done, full of flashbacks.
Chen Yu standing on the practice court for the first time, supervising the team’s training.
Clifford Robinson climbing out of a cryotherapy chamber, shivering from the cold and shouting that Chen Yu was trying to murder him.
Ewing holding up his number 33 Suns jersey, grinning from ear to ear.
Hardaway, in his first game back, driving to the basket, pulling off a pump fake, and sinking the ball through a tight gap while being guarded by O’Neal.
They even edited in the draft lottery ceremony where they got the number one pick.
Of course, they couldn’t leave out the famous scene of Ewing dancing wildly in front of Jordan.
As he watched, the memories from the past two-plus years flooded back into Chen Yu’s mind like a tidal wave.
Before he knew it, his eyes had started to moisten.
The four-minute-plus video came to an abrupt end as the background music faded out.
In the darkness, another line of text suddenly appeared on the screen.
"Chen Yu, you will forever be the greatest team doctor in our franchise’s history!"
The next moment, high above the arena floor, a shower of sparks suddenly erupted.
Then, a beam of light pierced through the darkness, illuminating the spot where the sparks had appeared.
A purple short-sleeved shirt, the kind often worn by the Suns’ staff, was hanging there unexpectedly.
It was hanging alongside the retired jerseys of Suns legends like Walter Davis and Kevin Johnson.
Chen Yu blinked, his face a mask of shock.
’That bastard Brian... is he retiring my jersey?’
NBA teams didn’t just retire jerseys for players. Coaches, and even staff members, could have their jerseys retired if their contributions to the team were significant enough.
It was a tremendous honor that would be forever recorded in the franchise’s history.
From now on, any fan who entered the US Airways Center could look up and see his jersey.
Brian had appeared in the middle of the court at some point.
Under a spotlight, Brian held a microphone and looked at Chen Yu with a grin. "Chen, this is an honor you deserve. We are going to permanently retire the number 2 jersey for you to commemorate your contributions to the team over these past two seasons."
It all clicked for Chen Yu. Now he understood why his work uniform had the number 2 printed on it.
His heart swelled with immense excitement.
When other staff members had their jerseys retired, the number usually wasn’t retired with it.
But this time, Brian was truly retiring the number 2 forever.
"That bastard..."
Hearing the applause echoing through the arena and seeing Brian wave him over, beckoning him to come onto the court and say a few words, Chen Yu cursed under his breath and walked over.
’He just has to have his surprises, doesn’t he? He could’ve at least given me some time to prepare.’
Because of this little interlude, Chen Yu, who had originally planned to watch the game from the top-floor suite, ended up taking a seat courtside.
’I’ll go see Stern in the second half.’
"Surprised?"
Brian asked with a grin from his familiar seat.
"It was alright."
Chen Yu pouted, unable to stand Brian’s punchable, self-congratulatory expression. He retorted, "If you put even half the effort you spend on this stuff into managing the team, we would’ve won the championship long ago."
Custom championship rings, retiring jerseys... the guy was all about the pageantry.
"What are you talking about? We *are* the champions," Brian said with a careless shrug. "Besides, we’re already this dominant. If we got any stronger, you’d really not be leaving any hope for the other teams."
Chen Yu was left speechless.
’So punchable. He’s so damn punchable!’
Just as they were speaking, a whistle blew on the court.
It was for O’Neal.
After catching the ball in the low post, he was double-teamed by Mutombo and Duncan. He forced a shot, and Duncan blocked it out of bounds.
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow slightly and murmured, "The Spurs have gotten stronger again."
Expecting a 37-year-old Mutombo to stop O’Neal by himself was completely unrealistic.
But if Mutombo and Duncan teamed up, that was a different story.
Mutombo played body-up defense while Duncan provided help, ready to double-team at any moment.
And in their defense against O’Neal, Duncan was clearly taking the lead role.
Over the summer, Chen Yu felt that Duncan had gotten a lot stronger. The muscle definition in his arms was noticeably clearer.
His offense had also become more ferocious and relentless, constantly overpowering McDyess.
Then there was this number 20.
’I think his name is Ginobili.’
Chen Yu hadn’t paid much attention to him last year, but this year he had even cracked the starting lineup. And he was playing really well—right in front of Chen Yu, he had already sunk two three-pointers from the corner.

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