The 76ers were quite unfortunate, with a final record of only 19 wins last season, but they ended up with only the 4th pick based on their record.

The final lottery results were: Cavaliers, Bucks, Mavericks, 76ers, Magic, Jazz, Celtics, Kings, Bobcats, Nuggets, Magic, Timberwolves, Suns, Trail Blazers.

After the final lottery results were released, fans on social media were in constant discussion, with the Cavaliers and Mavericks being the most talked about.

And it was two completely opposite extremes of opinion.

"If a 15.6% chance of getting the first pick in 2013 is normal, then a 2.8% chance in 2011 is lucky, and now 1.7%? Sorry, I don't think Lady Luck will always favor one person!"

"Are you guys just jealous of Cleveland's good fortune? These lotteries are all supervised and can't be faked at all!"

"You say it can't be faked, so it can't be faked? The lotteries are all private, and the machines are made by people!"

"Xiao Hua wouldn't be that corrupt, would he?"

"Have you seen the Pelicans play the Clippers, or the Lakers play the Spurs? You wouldn't think it's so impossible then?"

"That's because Los Angeles is a big city; Cleveland is a small city. The league doesn't need to favor them!"

"No, no, you may not know, Cleveland has always been the most tragic city in America. They have never won any league championships. If you look closely, many TV dramas are based on Cleveland."

"If Cleveland gets a championship, wouldn't that be the most inspiring story in America?"

"Bro, you get it! That's why LeBron went there, why they keep getting the first pick! It has nothing to do with Xiao Hua."

"That makes sense. The first two first picks were still in the Stern era!"

"Shhh, be careful, you know too much; you'll be censored!"

"Actually, I think the Mavericks are very lucky this year. It's been a long time since they've had such a high draft pick!"

"Cuban's lucky hand, Dallas has a good chance to rise again next season!"

"Yes, this year's Embiid, Wiggins, Parker, even Gordon and Randle are very good. The Mavericks missed Don Tian last summer, but they won't miss out this time!"

"By the way, why haven't the two brothers who talked the most earlier said anything?"

"They should... be banned?"

"..."

…

The lottery event caused a lot of fan discussion, and the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were also in full swing.

The Pacers caused the Heat a lot of trouble last year, but this year they were obviously a bit overwhelmed.

On the Western side, the Spurs and Grizzlies were locked in a bitter battle. The Grizzlies proved they were definitely the most difficult opponent in the playoffs.

While the conference finals were in full swing, Don Tian wasn't paying attention. After the season ended, he gathered his friends in New York for the annual Hard-Training Brothers training camp.

Butler, Irving, Walker, and Thompson had all finished their respective seasons and arrived one after another.

Butler was still the first to arrive. The Bulls also made it to the conference semifinals this year, but he was still very dissatisfied.

Of course, more importantly, Rose was coming back next season. He had just become the team's core and would face a lot of competition. He needed to make himself stronger.

Lamb and Drummond didn't come this year, but Don Tian pulled two other people into the training camp.

Davis and Whiteside.

Davis's shoulder injury wasn't serious. He would be almost fully recovered after a week or two of rest after the playoffs.

Don Tian brought him in to increase his strength through the training camp.

Davis's mid-range shot was already decent last season, but if the Pelicans ultimately aimed to compete for a championship, that wasn't nearly enough.

He had to develop the ability to score in the low post, so that the Pelicans would have a stable offensive output when Don Tian wasn't on the court.

At the same time, Davis's range development had to begin.

In the small-ball era, an inside player who can shoot three-pointers would greatly help the team's offensive spacing.

Don Tian was a time-traveler, so he could get Davis to start training earlier.

He didn't expect Davis to have range next season, but early training would be a good precaution.

As for Whiteside, his training content was relatively simple: defense and blocking, including controlling fouls and holding his ground.

In his *Mamba Mentality*, Kobe recounted his exchanges with every famous star, and the one with Bill Russell was the most unique.

Russell's understanding of basketball was specialized and refined. In his view, basketball was for five people. If everyone did their job to the extreme, then that team would be an invincible force.

This statement had a historical background, but it had its merits.

It was impossible for everyone on a team to be a ball-handler; after all, there was only one basketball.

So, at most, a team would have two or three ball-handling cores, and the rest would be the functional players that Russell talked about.

Whiteside needed to become such a player, and he also had the potential to be the best at that part.

Of course, most importantly, Whiteside also hoped to become that type of player. His idol was Russell.

The Hard-Training Brothers training camp had begun, and the Eastern and Western Conference Finals were also coming to an end.

The Pacers rallied after falling behind the Heat 0-3, winning two straight games, but were ultimately eliminated by the Heat 4-2.

The Heat made the Finals for the fourth consecutive year, and this was their most promising time.

The conference finals on the Eastern side had ups and downs, but the results were as expected.

But on the Western side, the Grizzlies really gave the Spurs a scare.

They once led the defending champions 3-2, and the intense physical battle took a huge toll on the Spurs.

But Popovich was ultimately cunning. His 2-3 zone defense stifled the Grizzlies' unstable outside game, and he won the next two games in a row, defeating the Grizzlies in Game 7 to successfully advance to the Finals.

This was the third consecutive year that the Spurs and Heat had met in the Finals. They had won the previous two times, and if they won again this time, they would win a three-peat and achieve an undisputed dynasty.

But what cast a shadow over their dynasty was that the entanglement with the Grizzlies took a huge toll on them.

Not only mentally, but also Boris Diaw suffered an injury in this series and was out for the season.

Diaw was the axis of the Spurs' inside game. Although his status was not as high as the GDP or Leonard, his absence had a visible impact on the Spurs.

Don Tian was also watching this year's Finals while training.

Emotionally, he hoped that Popovich could lead the Spurs to create a dynasty.

But from a rational point of view, if he left the Spurs and the Spurs continued to win championships, that wouldn't be a good thing.

So he didn't have any tendencies. Like most fans, he was watching from an outsider's perspective.

Whether the Spurs or the Heat won the championship wouldn't have much impact on him.