Chapter 243 Of course, not every ring received is personalized with a name.

Only players who have contributed on the court during the Finals can receive an exclusive ring; this is a customary rule.

The presentation of the championship rings began on the scene. As Kenny Smith announced each name, the person went on stage to receive his ring.

First, it was the team's management, then the coaching staff, and finally the players.

Tang Tian was the first player to take the stage.

When his name was called out in a drawn-out voice by Smith, the entire New Orleans Arena erupted in a frenzy.

The championship scene from last season felt like yesterday, and this championship ring ceremony was a reminder that they were champions!

Tang Tian walked to Adam Silver and looked at his forced smile. He felt inexplicably comfortable.

"Congratulations."

Silver gave Tang Tian the ring and congratulated him with fake politeness.

"Thank you, I'll have to trouble you again next year."

Tang Tian replied with equal politeness.

Next year?

Silver was stunned for a moment, but Tang Tian had already turned and walked away with the ring, without even hugging him!

This guy!

Was he saying that the Pelicans would definitely be able to defend their title successfully?!

After Tang Tian, Davis, Jokic... none of the Pelicans players hugged Silver after receiving their rings.

The refereeing issues in last year's Finals had made them quite unhappy, and they were protesting silently!

The crowd was also booing loudly.

Silver still maintained a smile on his face, but it was clear that it was forced.

The Pelicans had really given him a rough welcome.

After the rings were presented, the players put them on their fingers and posed for photos in front of the cameras, looking happy.

The championship trophy belonged to the team, but the rings were personal, a testament to their championship.

After the championship ring ceremony, everyone in the arena stood up at Smith's signal and faced one side of the court.

There, a banner was covered with a black cloth.

Accompanied by music, the black cloth was slowly pulled away, revealing the words inside.

At the top was the Pelicans' team logo, below it were the numbers 2015~2016, and at the bottom was the NBA championship logo.

The first championship banner in Pelicans history!

The crowd erupted in thunderous cheers, this was a moment of glory for all of them!

The Pelicans players also raised their rings high, this was their moment of glory too!

On the other side of the court, the Cavaliers players looked on with envy, most of them had not yet tasted the flavor of a championship.

After the championship rings were distributed, the opening ceremony began immediately.

The starting players of both teams were introduced one after another.

The Cavaliers' starting five were Irving and Shumpert in the backcourt, James and Love in the frontcourt, and Whiteside at center.

This was a four-star plus one 3D player lineup, definitely championship-caliber.

The Pelicans had adjusted their lineup, with Bojan replacing Ariza as the starting small forward, the latter not having adjusted to his best form since training camp.

After the opening ceremony, the starters from both sides took the court, and Whiteside and Davis faced off at center court for the jump ball.

Whiteside glanced disdainfully at Jokic not far away, as if mocking the latter for not even having the courage to jump against him.

In that moment, the referee tossed the ball into the air, Davis tipped the ball back to the Pelicans' half, officially opening the team's new season.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, Bojan and Jokic had a screen and roll play on the right side, Bojan ran for a three-pointer using Jokic's screen.

Jokic's screen successfully blocked James, Holiday made a quick pass, and Bojan caught the ball and shot it directly.

Whiteside's interior defense was excellent, and his ability to catch lobs on offense was also very strong, but lateral movement was his weakness as a traditional center.

After this switch, he was unable to get out in time.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, Bojan's first three-pointer went in.

His defense was not as good as Ariza's, but he was very good at seizing these kinds of opportunity shots on offense.

The Pelicans took the lead, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Although they won the championship last season, they were unhappy with the forced 3-3 tie, and the fans were looking forward to a sweeping victory for the Pelicans at home.

Back on the defensive end, the Pelicans' defense extended out a lot. Irving dribbled straight to the basket, but was blocked by Jokic and Holiday from the front and back and missed the shot.

Whiteside grabbed the offensive rebound and scored with a second chance dunk.

He shouted at Jokic after the dunk.

He came to the Cavaliers to beat Jokic and the Pelicans, and that shot was his determination.

Holiday advanced to the frontcourt and passed the ball to Tang Tian, who called Jokic for a high screen, and took a step back to shoot a three-pointer at the moment the screen opened.

"Swish!"

Whiteside's speed to get out was still not fast enough, and Tang Tian's almost uncontested pull-up three-pointer went in cleanly.

6-2, the Pelicans had made two three-pointers to start the game!

Back on the other end, James continued to drive to the basket, and Jokic and Davis continued to double-team him from the front and back.

James dodged Jokic with a step-back layup after three steps, but he couldn't dodge Davis, and the shot almost got blocked and bounced off the rim.

This time Davis took down the defensive rebound, not giving Whiteside a chance to grab an offensive rebound.

The Pelicans quickly launched a fast break, Whiteside didn't have time to retreat, five-on-four in the frontcourt.

Holiday broke through and passed to Jokic, who turned and beat Love to score with a jump shot.

8-2, the Pelicans' offense was running very smoothly to start the game.

James continued to break through to the basket, but his shot in the double-team still missed, and Whiteside's second chance tip-in drew a defensive foul on Jokic.

Whiteside's help to the Cavaliers was obvious, as he had already grabbed two offensive rebounds in less than three minutes.

Amidst the boos from the fans, he made one of two free throws.

Back on the other end, Tang Tian continued to look for Jokic to screen, this time Whiteside stepped out to block him early, and very thoroughly.

After being scored on with three-pointers over his head, he wouldn't give him another chance like that.

But Tang Tian made a fake shot, faking him out and then quickly breaking into the paint.

He was very fast this time, and only James reacted in time to help defend.

Tang Tian didn't force a shot, but made a straight pass to Davis under the basket, who caught the ball and scored with a two-handed dunk.

10-3.

The Pelicans had completely taken the upper hand after the start of the game!

Whiteside seemed to be a big help to the Cavaliers, but it didn't seem to have any impact on the situation...

At that moment, Kenny Smith on the commentary booth gave a professional analysis.

The Pelicans were attacking Whiteside from the start of the game.

It goes without saying on the offensive end, Bojan and Tang Tian, were both taking advantage of him not being able to get out to defend, including Tang Tian's play where he used him to break through just now.

And on the defensive end, the Pelicans' defense extended out a lot.

This was equivalent to forcing the Cavaliers to break through, but the results of the breakthroughs were also obvious.

Because Whiteside couldn't get out, the Cavaliers' breakthrough space was compressed, and Irving and James failed to finish twice in a row.

Even if Whiteside could use his ability to seize some opportunities for second chance points, the scoring was limited.

After playing for these few minutes, Whiteside's effect was not as good as Tristan Thompson's!

Lue also realized this.

But after realizing it, he felt a little annoyed, the 98 million that the Cavaliers had splashed out on in the summer... was it going to be useless?