Before the All-Star main game, a rookie challenge game was held.
The dunk contest and the three-point contest, which had always been there, were canceled.
Because the league felt these two competitions were becoming increasingly boring, failing to attract big-name players or viewers.
The disastrous effect of the 1997 dunk contest made the league determined to cancel these clown-like performances.
So, while Kobe won the 1997 dunk contest championship, even Kobe himself didn’t consider it a remarkable honor.
Because the competition was not intense at all, the moves weren’t impressive, lacked creativity, filled with mistakes and boredom, Kobe even later regretted participating in that dunk contest.
In the rookie game, Celtics center Ilgauskas won the MVP, becoming the first international MVP in the history of the NBA rookie game.
This indicated the league’s intention to further promote NBA internationalization and globalization. It can be said that David Stern is seriously treating the NBA as a business, diligently and thoughtfully, always thinking of promoting the NBA league brand.
Every change in the All-Star game is because it’s the NBA’s flagship, a showcase for promoting itself.
From this point, David Stern is a qualified president, always maintaining a strong belief and desire to work, constantly moving forward in pursuit of his goals.
Therefore, David Stern and Gan Guoyang can achieve a certain tacit understanding because they are the same kind of people from a work perspective.
At the Saturday dinner, Stern and Gan Guoyang and his wife sat together, eating and chatting, looking very close.
Since last summer when Gan Guoyang managed to settle young players and agents, making contract renewals less exaggerated, Stern was very satisfied with the current stable operating environment of the NBA.
This season, Gan Guoyang led the Trail Blazers to create miracles, impacting the Super Bowl ratings with a regular game, greatly boosting NBA’s image. Stern and the entire NBA board were quite satisfied with this situation.
So at the All-Star dinner, of course, the president would sit and dine with the top star.
The two chatted casually until Wang Fuxi left to chat with acquaintances at the next table, and Stern lowered his voice and said, "I heard you’ve been getting close with the White House lately?"
Gan Guoyang replied, "Heard? Who did you hear it from? Shaq?"
"What’s it got to do with Shaq. Anyway, I advise you not to get too close with the White House. You’ll get nothing good out of it."
Gan Guoyang nodded, recently the heat of the Clinton scandal has died down, the President’s honesty and the First Lady’s tolerance led the American people to choose forgiveness.
Although Levinsky continued to explode with sensational stories afterwards, including details of their relationship and that blue dress stained with tadpoles.
But all this only became gossip and a laughing stock over dinner for Americans, leaving Clinton embarrassed, but unable to shake his presidential position.
The prosecutors led by Starr and opposition, even with sufficient evidence collected, couldn’t deliver a fatal blow to Clinton.
They couldn’t understand how the always lying and refusing to admit Clinton couple were so candid and foresighted in advance of self-exposure this time.
A retreating move to advance, ultimately protecting themselves and escaping this disaster.
Rumors quickly circulated that Clinton was advised by a top figure behind the scenes, who informed them in advance of the substantial evidence held by Starr’s side, hence the early self-exposure.
But no one could clarify who this top figure was or how prominent they were.
Stern, always alert and well-informed, surely heard some news from Washington.
"I know, my focus has always been on basketball, I’m not interested in politics and such. Besides, I’m Chinese."
"Precisely because you’re Chinese, you need to be more careful! Someone could use this against you anytime! Sometimes I find it unbelievable myself, our top star, the most influential player, is a Chinese. I wake up in the middle of the night asking myself, this is fucking crazy. But you’re unique, you’re nurtured by American basketball, everyone loves you. But how deep that love is, how deep the hate is, you need to understand this. Be careful."
Stern, when facing Gan Guoyang, always speaks directly and thoroughly, never hiding anything.
Gan Guoyang understood Stern’s point, and he asked, "If something happens to me, will you cover me?"
"What kind of something? Like?"
"Like... for example, I sleep with a hotel waitress in some small place. Then the next day she calls the police, saying I raped her, it becomes widely known, what then?"
"What’s that kind of problem? Of course, I’d support you, figure out a way to handle the lawsuit, or settle it with money, this kind of small matter...unless, the person you slept with is Hillary Clinton, then I’d have to reconsider."
Both laughed, Stern continued, "Moreover, if this kind of thing happens, the real problem you need to solve is with your wife, not whether we support you or not. She’s quite a formidable character."
Gan Guoyang nodded in agreement, realizing in American society, these lower-level issues are often not big problems.
Even the President can be forgiven, for a basketball superstar rolling in the fame arena, having some personal issues is perfectly normal.