Sports Medicine Master System

Chapter 444: Chapter 380: A Gift Straight to the Heart

New York NBA Headquarters.

Inside the media hall on the 17th floor, more than twenty reporters from various media outlets were waiting for the press conference to begin.

Today was a routine press conference. Stern would be making an appearance to answer some questions about the process of establishing the new Charlotte team.

The main purpose was to announce their progress.

For instance, the new team’s name. The previous public vote by the citizens of Charlotte had resulted in three finalist names.

Bobcats, Dragons, and Flight.

There was also the mascot and a series of other team branding elements to be finalized.

However, the waiting reporters were clearly more concerned with other matters.

"My sources tell me the NBA wants Chen to leave the Suns by inducting him into the Hall of Fame. That way, he can no longer be involved in the Suns’ daily operations," one reporter confidently revealed to his colleague.

The reporter next to him clearly scoffed at this "scoop."

"Anyone could have guessed the league’s intentions. Still, it’s pretty bold of them to just put Chen Yu in the Hall of Fame like that."

The media was in an uproar. Even the mighty Spurs, with two-time MVP Duncan, had been swept out of the playoffs by the Suns. The Suns’ power sent shivers down the entire league’s spine.

What was more troubling was that the Suns were projected to remain this dominant for the foreseeable future.

Therefore, the media widely believed that Stern wouldn’t just sit by and do nothing. He was bound to make a move.

They just hadn’t expected his first move to be inducting Chen Yu into the Hall of Fame.

A nearby reporter caught the subtext in that comment and glanced at the speaker. As expected, it was a reporter from Cleveland.

Cleveland’s fans and media had always held a grudge over the Suns getting the number one draft pick last year.

Even though they had gotten the number one pick again this year.

Look at what the Cleveland reporters were saying: if they had gotten Yao Ming last year and James this year, they would have immediately formed a powerhouse lineup comparable to the former OK Duo. Within two years, they could have brought Cleveland its first championship trophy.

In their minds, the Suns had become despicable thieves who had stolen their championship.

"What, are you saying Chen’s contributions to the league don’t deserve a place in the Hall of Fame?" the reporter retorted, then looked at the other journalists around him.

The surrounding reporters nodded in agreement.

Putting everything else aside, based on Chen Yu’s contributions alone, his induction into the Hall of Fame was well-deserved.

As everyone was chatting, the host entered the room.

Shortly after, Stern strode into the media hall.

The proceedings were focused on announcements. Stern, full of energy, revealed some details about the establishment of the new team.

After the announcements, the session moved on to Q&A.

Unexpectedly, the first reporter who stood up asked about Chen Yu’s induction into the Hall of Fame. He asked if it was appropriate to suddenly add Chen Yu when the Hall of Fame class had already been decided.

Stern’s expression changed slightly, but he had anticipated this question. It had been two days since he’d released the news, and he felt it was time to give a formal response.

"Of course it’s appropriate. Chen is a great doctor. He has combined the fields of medicine and sports and is the world’s foremost authority on sports medicine. In his two-plus years working for the league, he has made tremendous contributions to its development."

"We believe he should be in the Hall of Fame, so that his contributions will be forever remembered by future generations."

Stern’s answer clearly didn’t satisfy the reporters.

Another reporter immediately stood up and asked, "David, is the league doing this because you don’t want Chen Yu to be the Suns’ team doctor anymore? His presence has already drastically affected the competitive balance between the teams."

Everyone in the room stared at Stern with piercing intensity.

Stern was silent for a full ten seconds before giving a slight nod. "Yes, we do indeed have concerns in that regard."

The moment he said that, the reporters in the room nearly erupted.

The media and fans had been discussing it endlessly, but it had all been just speculation.

But now, Stern, the man at the helm of the great ship that was the NBA, had admitted it with a clear answer for the first time.

Many reporters’ eyes lit up. They had their headlines for the next couple of days.

On stage, Stern waved his hand to quiet the commotion, still maintaining his smile. "Of course, we merely have this concern; we are not trying to impose any restrictions. I’ll say it again: Chen’s contributions to the league are immense. He helps the league develop in a better, more positive direction. We would never target him."

"However, precisely because we’ve seen his enormous benefit to the league, we have another idea. We want Chen to take on greater responsibility. He is currently the head of the league’s health management department. We are considering a higher position for him, so he can shoulder more responsibility and make the league even better."

Stern beat around the bush and said a lot of fluff, but the reporters below understood him perfectly.

Stern was going to promote Chen Yu!

Chen Yu’s health management department was newly established two years ago as a separate entity. Within the New York Headquarters, it didn’t have a clear superior.

If you had to name a superior, there was only one: Stern.

In the past, any penalties Chen Yu imposed on league teams or the creation and promotion of various measures were all reported directly to Stern by Chen Yu before being implemented.

So, if he were promoted again, what position could he possibly be promoted to?

The reporters present wracked their brains and could only think of one possibility.

Vice President of the league!

Beneath Stern, the President, there were a bunch of Vice Presidents, each responsible for a specific area of affairs.

It was obvious, then, that Chen Yu could only be promoted to Vice President, specifically in charge of the league’s medical affairs.

Many of the reporters couldn’t help but gasp.

First the Hall of Fame, then a promotion to Vice President. Stern was kicking him upstairs.

No, it was more like: promote Chen, kill the Suns.

Once Chen Yu became a Vice President, how could he possibly remain the team doctor for the Suns?

While Stern was answering questions in New York, far away in Phoenix, Chen Yu had already been the target of his players’ jokes for two days.

Out in the East, the battle between the Magic and the Pistons was raging. It looked like it might even go to a Game 7.

This meant the Suns had plenty of time to rest and recuperate.

When Chen Yu walked into the locker room, the bunch of big guys had just finished practice and were busy with their own things.

O’Neal, shirtless, put on a formal tone, cleared his throat with a cough, and began mimicking an acceptance speech to Oakley and the others. "First, I want to thank the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. What a star-studded class for 2003! It’s truly incredible. I am deeply honored to be nominated for the Hall of Fame alongside these people who have made such immense contributions to the sport of basketball."

"Shaq, don’t you laugh. You’ll always be my friend. I want to thank you for your companionship and encouragement this year."

He pointed his right hand forward, as if he were talking to himself from across the room, which made Oakley roar with laughter.

Just then, Rodney Rogers, who was next to Oakley, coughed lightly a couple of times and kept trying to catch O’Neal’s eye.

O’Neal’s face changed. He asked awkwardly, "Chen’s standing behind me, isn’t he."

"What do you think."

Chen Yu snorted, walked up, and patted O’Neal on the waist. "Shaq, I don’t think 350 pounds should be your goal. You should set a bolder target, like 330 pounds. How about we make 330 pounds your goal for the offseason?"

"No, don’t!" At the mention of losing weight, O’Neal’s face twitched, and he quickly begged for mercy. "Chen, I was wrong, okay?"

"And you guys."

Chen Yu ignored O’Neal and turned to Oakley and the others. Just as he was about to speak, someone pushed the door open and came in.

It was Brown, the arena’s head of security.

"Chen, someone sent something for you. They need your signature. Oh, and this came with it." He shook a black box in his hand.

Chen Yu paused for a second and asked who sent it.

Brown shook his head and handed the box over.

It was a high-quality cardboard box. Chen Yu opened it.

"Hey, a car key!" O’Neal exclaimed beside him.

Inside the box, nestled in black foam, lay a car key. The head of the key was engraved with a circular logo.

It was red on top and dark blue on the bottom, with a string of characters written in the middle: FORD.GT.

A Ford GT!

"Chen, someone sent you a car!"

Chen Yu picked up the key and asked Brown where the car was.

Soon, Chen Yu arrived at the arena’s parking lot, with O’Neal and the others tagging along to see the excitement.

In front of them was a parked box truck.

Chen Yu asked the driver who sent it, but the driver wouldn’t say, only that Chen Yu needed to sign for it.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Yu signed his name.

The driver and a staff member immediately went forward and opened the side of the truck’s cargo bay.

The next moment, a blue GT40 appeared before Chen Yu’s eyes.

Chen Yu couldn’t take his eyes off it.

’This looks like an original GT40, not one of the later commercial versions,’ he thought.

O’Neal craned his neck to get a better look, then exclaimed, "Chen, that looks like a Mark I road version!"

’I know,’ Chen Yu thought to himself.

In ’66, Shelby’s heavily modified GT40 made a name for itself overnight at Le Mans.

That same year, to celebrate the victory, Ford made minor modifications to the race version of the GT40 and released the Mark I road version, making it street-legal.

It was a limited edition of only 30 cars worldwide.

And those 30 cars, naturally, ended up in the garages of car collectors and were never sold on the open market.

The one before him was clearly one of them.

A staff member handed him a file folder.

Inside were the complete vehicle documents and collection authentication papers.

Number 17.

’Who could this be?’

Chen Yu couldn’t resist stepping forward to stroke his beloved car.

Whoever it was, they were incredibly thoughtful. The gift had hit him right in his soft spot.

Just as he was about to get in the car to experience it, his phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

But Chen Yu had a strong premonition that the call was from the person who sent the car.

He answered the call, and a gentle voice came from the phone. "Hello Chen, this is Paul Allen."

’It’s him?’

Chen Yu was slightly taken aback.

As the wealthiest man in the NBA, he certainly had the financial means to acquire such a rare car.

"You can call me Paul. And there’s no need to thank me. It just so happens a friend of mine had this car. He wasn’t driving it anyway, and I knew you liked the GT40, so I bought it from him to give to you. Chen, you can consider it a wedding gift."

What could Chen Yu say to that?

He couldn’t exactly refuse it.

A collector’s item like this wasn’t something you could buy just by having money.

Chen Yu said thank you once again.

Of course, Chen Yu also knew why Paul Allen had sent him the car.

Florentino had offered him a villa. One could only say that Paul Allen was a bit more thoughtful with his gifts.

However, leaving Phoenix to join the Pioneers just for a car was obviously not enough.

"Chen, I have another gift for you," Paul Allen added. "I’ll send you an address. You can drive this car over. I guarantee you’ll like it."

"Oh?"

Chen Yu wasn’t curious about what other gift Paul Allen had for him; he was more interested in getting behind the wheel and taking the car for a spin right now.

"Alright, I’ll go check it out."

Chen Yu hung up and quickly received a text message.

The address was on the outskirts of Phoenix, in a specific area Chen Yu didn’t recognize.

But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he could finally take it out on the road.