It was Rod Thorn, the then vice president of the league, who told the truth: "I thought this dunk contest would be bad, but I didn't expect it to be so bad! Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it!"

Fortunately, this embarrassing dunk contest did not make a positive contribution to the 50 superstar ceremony night the next day, but it also did not make any negative contribution.

On the night of the All-Star game, the night of the ceremony for the top 50 superstars, the TV ratings were still very high, and the fans at the scene were also very enthusiastic.

As the youngest 50-star star, Shay wore the Lakers' 50-star superstar commemorative jacket and chatted happily with many Lakers celebrities, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

But in this happy atmosphere, everyone was whispering to each other.

Because everyone is actually curious about one thing - who will stand in the C position when we take a group photo later!

Although the official has already determined it, saying that the ranking of these 50 superstars is in no particular order.

But since ancient times, there is no first in literature and no second in martial arts. These 50 people really don't care who is third, fourth, tenth or twentieth, but they still care very much about who is first.

In fact, people have debated this topic countless times before.

Considering that NBA television broadcast ratings reached their peak in the 1990s, there is no doubt that Shea and Jordan are the two most popular stars at this stage.

Therefore, Shai and Jordan are the two most likely to stand in the C position.

And Jordan even believes that he must be the one standing in the C position.

Although Shay is indeed very good this season, after all, he has more qualifications and more personal honors.

So when the top 50 superstars took a group photo after the introduction ceremony, Jordan strode in very confidently and walked to the middle.

Shay stood next to the magician and made no sound.

Just when everyone was about to take a group photo with smiles on their faces, a league staff member in a suit ran out and muttered a few words to the photographer.

Then, the photographer actually started to adjust his position, asking Jordan to move slightly to the side and letting Shay go to the middle!

Although the league says that the rankings are in no particular order, the league has always had hints about the number one ranking.

In the original history, when the top 50 superstars took a group photo, Bill Russell, the King of the Rings, moved to the C position. However, after the subsequent positions were adjusted, the league moved Jordan to the C position, leaving the King of the Rings a little further back.

Among the 75 major superstars to appear in the future, Jordan was scheduled to be the last one among all players to appear.

These are enough to explain the problem.

The alliance seemed to say nothing, but it said everything.

And in this history, the person who was asked to change positions actually became Jordan!

With his shocked eyes, Jordan saw the staff pushing Shay to the middle, with Jordan slightly to the side, and Bird and Magic on either side of the two people.

What this seating arrangement means is very clear!

Looking at the readjusted position, Stern also smiled with satisfaction.

In this way, the youngest of the top 50 superstars has become the top 50 superstars standing in the middle of the group photo!

This is indeed not a hint, this is simply an explicit statement!

Amid the flashing lights and the cheers of fans, 49 superstars, except for "Pistol" Maravich, who died young, completed this historic group photo.

In the middle of the group photo is a yellow-skinned face that is paralyzed by laughter.

Xiao Yugan looked at the group photo of the top 50 superstars and felt like crying.

I would have been in the Top 50 without damn Shay!

Kobe was very secretly determined that when the top 60, 70, and 75 players are selected in the future, he will also be among them!

Jordan, who was slightly further away from Shay, left a classic look. He was the only one among the 49 superstars who didn't smile.

Because of this photo incident, it was almost officially announced by the league that Shay will succeed Jordan as the active No. 1 player!

It’s amazing that Jordan can laugh!

Of course, Stern's certification does not mean that Shay will definitely be able to secure the first place.

If Shea loses in this year's finals, the most Stern can do is explain, "There is no C position, it's just that the top 50 superstars are ranked in no particular order," and he can get away perfectly.

But for Shay, if he loses with such high expectations.

That would be the same as the highly anticipated Big Three losing to the Mavericks in the future, and they would be laughed at for the rest of their lives!

Sometimes having too high expectations is not necessarily a good thing.

Hope can lift you very high, but also make you fall painfully.

However, Shay will not let himself fall from a high place!

After the All-Star Weekend, the NBA is also at war again.

Naturally, the media did not forget to hype up the topic of Shay standing in the C position in a group photo of the top 50 superstars.

Not only the media, but even some superstars who were also selected into the top 50 also criticized this arrangement.

Dr. J believes that Big O Oscar Robertson should be the GOAT and the person occupying the C position.

Although Big O only has one ring, he is an incredible triple-double man, averaging triple-doubles per game, which is astonishing data.

It's just that there was no concept of "triple-double" in technical statistics at that time, so his influence was underestimated.

Today, no one can average a triple-double in a single season.

So Dr. J thinks that Big O is the greatest.

Pippen also feels that Shay’s C position is biased:

"Hey, he hasn't surpassed McQueen yet!"

Barkley even dared to say: "I'm not in position C? I don't understand."

It's true that not everyone has the courage to kiss another man's ass.

With this alone, the historical status of my Big Flying Pig can stabilize a lot of people.

However, there are also 50 superstars who support Shay in the C position. Logo Man asked the reporter: "If Shay doesn't stand in the middle, who will? Who is more qualified than the defending champion?"

Magic also spread his hands: "Although Shay now has two fewer championships than me, don't forget that he is only 26 years old. And he has a scoring champion, DPOY, and 60 points in a single game. These are all things I don't have."

Chamberlain was full of praise for Shay: "Shay not only surpassed me on the basketball court, but outside the basketball court, my record is probably in jeopardy."

In short, this 50-year-old group photo is quite controversial. Some people think Shay is qualified, while others call Shay simply Stern’s son.

Stern is wrong, what kind of son is not a son?

That is obviously my biological father!

Without Shea, the NBA would still have nothing to do with the word globalization.

Shay himself did not participate in such a debate. As a party involved, no matter what he said, it would be useless.

What he needs to do now is to play his own game well and make everyone shut up!

As a result, in the remaining 38 games of the 1996-97 season, Shea continued to demonstrate his dominance.

In the spring of 1997, stories of conquest and conquest were written one after another.

One of the highlights of the second half of the season is naturally the battle for the top spot in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

This year, there are still many monster teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Not to mention the Bulls who won 72 games last season, they are still expected to improve their regular season record to 70 wins this season.

The Miami Heat also hope to do the same.

Here in the West, the Lakers are already on their way to 70 wins.

The Jazz, who added Alan Houston, and the Suns, who added the Roaring Gods, are also running wildly on the road to 70 wins.

Although in the end there may be only one team, or even no team, that can achieve the achievement of 70 wins.

But what is certain is that there are at least 5 teams with more than 60 wins this season!

And these five teams will meet each other in the next regular season, so a relationship of mutual interference and mutual restriction is formed.

Therefore, in the second half of the regular season, the battle for the top spot became very fierce.

The Heat were the first to be outclassed, losing consecutive games to the Bulls, Jazz and Suns in the regular season.

The Jazz looked at catching up with the Lakers several times, but they lost in head-to-head duels with the Bulls, Suns and Lakers.

The Suns took the opportunity to overtake the Jazz, but lost to the Bulls and Lakers in direct dialogue in the regular season.

Only the Lakers, except for the fact that they had no chance to meet the Heat, won all the games they faced against their competitors!

Facing the Jazz, Buckley left the game due to six fouls early, so Malone was freed to rush inside and scored 35 points.

But Shay defeated Malone with 45 points in a single game, and contributed a quasi-winner 5.2 seconds before the end of the game!

The Jazz still had a chance to change their fate with 5.2 seconds, but at the critical moment, Shea defended Malone alone, causing Malone's iron-blooded jumper to miss the frame.

After it was over, Shay did not forget to complain: "Why do you always weaken at critical moments?"

After the last time they met, Shea scored 26 points in the fourth quarter and completely defeated the Jazz with 51 points in the game.

Today he had another 45-point performance in a single game.

Throughout the season, the Lakers had 3 wins and 1 loss against the Jazz.
To be continued...