In the midst of the revelry, few noticed the desolation of the Cavaliers next door.
Kyrie Irving watched the celebrating Pelicans players with envy.
Kevin Love sat blankly on the bench at the side of the court.
Having lost in the Finals for two consecutive years, and with his performance deteriorating year after year, he began to empathize with Chris Bosh of the Heat.
Shawn Marion watched for a long time before letting out a long sigh. He had originally wanted to latch onto a contender in the twilight of his career to win a championship, but it seemed he had chosen the wrong team.
LeBron James had a towel wrapped around his head, and judging by the movement of his shoulders, he was crying.
But this time, having left Miami, there was no Dwyane Wade's shoulder for him to lean on; he was all alone.
Like a lion that had failed to compete for the throne, he was secretly licking his wounds.
The league's bias had once given them hope, but in the end, they realized that the feeling of being defeated after striving to the last moment was not as enjoyable as losing directly in a 1-4 series.
Finally, James stood up, his eyes red, and entered the player tunnel with the other Cavaliers.
The previous two times he encountered Tang Tian, he could still say that Tang Tian was a role player and that it was the Spurs, not Tang Tian, who had defeated him.
But this time, Tang Tian defeated him with a record-breaking score, and he had no excuses.
Perhaps it was a mistake when he agreed to let the Heat give up Tang Tian.
……
After the brief celebration, the venue entered the preparation phase for the championship award ceremony.
The Pelicans players returned to the locker room to change into their championship t-shirts in preparation for the celebration ceremony that was about to begin.
There would be a gap of more than ten minutes in between, and after they arrived in the locker room, they couldn't wait to pick up the champagne and start celebrating.
Accompanied by bursts of screams, the locker room was already full of wet, muscular men.
This was definitely their happiest moment.
Nothing could compare to this moment.
While the players were celebrating, Tang Tian opened his locker, motioned for Davis and Jokic to come over, and took out a box of mysterious things from inside.
It was a box of Moutai (a type of Chinese liquor) that he had specially prepared before the game.
He had told Davis about his determination to win the championship before the game, and to show this determination, he had prepared this in advance.
"This is baijiu, Chinese baijiu."
Under the curious gazes of his teammates, Tang Tian took out the small cups he had prepared in advance and poured them one by one.
"This is the best way to celebrate."
He raised his glass of baijiu.
Although the players had never drunk baijiu before, they followed Tang Tian's lead.
"Pelicans champions!"
He shouted, then drank it all in one gulp.
"Pelicans champions!"
The other players also shouted slogans one after another, and then followed Tang Tian's example and drank it all in one gulp.
But immediately, almost everyone was choked by a burst of coughing.
The locker room was filled with curses.
Baijiu is definitely stimulating when you drink it for the first time.
Only Ariza was laughing there.
He had been to China a few times when he played for the Rockets, ate instant noodles like crazy, and naturally knew a lot about baijiu.
He just took a small sip, and at this moment he was the least affected of all his teammates, and even thought it tasted good.
But besides him, there was another person who was also laughing.
Jokic drank a glass and felt nothing.
Sure enough, most Europeans are not afraid of alcohol, and naturally, the talent points for fat people in drinking are naturally high.
Drinking a glass of Moutai was a small episode in their celebration of winning the championship.
After drinking, the players put on their championship t-shirts, wiped their wet hair with towels, and then walked back to the court together.
The audience had been waiting for a long time, and when they saw them coming out in their championship t-shirts, the cheers rang out again.
The Pelicans players also reached out to greet the audience.
The on-site award ceremony preparations had been completed, and media and reporters from all over the world focused their cameras on the center of the court.
New Orleans winning the championship as a small-market team was definitely an inspirational thing.
NBA President Adam Silver also came to the venue.
His mood didn't seem to be too good. The game didn't go according to his script in the end, which was not a good thing for him.
But no matter how he felt, as president, he had to present the championship to the Pelicans and had to act very happy.
"First of all, we must thank the Cavaliers for their wonderful performance. A good game requires a good opponent. They played very well."
Silver thanked the Cavaliers first.
The boos at the scene were overwhelming.
There was nothing wrong with Silver's words themselves, but after being forcibly blown into 3-3 after being 1-3, Pelicans fans would be fools to buy it.
However, Silver's ability to control his emotions was really good. Like at the draft, he smiled and faced the boos and continued his speech.
"We must also thank all the staff, media and fans for their efforts in the Finals. It is they who made the game more exciting."
The boos continued at the scene. Although Silver included the fans, the staff he thanked included the referees.
"But what we should congratulate most is the Pelicans and their fans. They have won the first championship trophy in the history of this city. They are the NBA champions of the 2015-2016 season."
When Silver read the last line, the boos at the scene disappeared, followed by a tsunami of cheers.
They had already won the championship, but only when it was said from the mouth of Silver, the president of the league, was it officially announced!
On the scene, they were the well-deserved champions!
After Silver announced the result, he handed the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy belonging to the champion to Stevens.
Stevens raised the trophy, thanked Silver, and then turned around and handed it to the players behind him.
Behind him was an unstoppable scream.
Starting from Tang Tian, to Davis, to Jokic and Holiday, they kissed the trophy one by one.
At this time, saliva was no longer a problem at all. People's adrenaline soared when they were excited, and they couldn't feel that taste at all.
But it must be said that it is a bit good to be the boss of the team at this time. Tang Tian was the first to kiss, and the trophy was still the cleanest at that time.
He took the first blood of the trophy.
The players were still kissing and stroking the trophy. Some, like Aminu, were even draped in the national flag and holding the trophy, asking reporters to take pictures.
This was the first championship trophy for most of them, and they naturally wanted to leave many memorable photos.
The trophy finally returned to Davis's hands. Davis pulled Tang Tian and motioned for him to raise his arm to the camera.
Tang Tian did so.
When they made this move, the cheers at the scene erupted once again.
Before the playoffs started, Tang Tian and Davis, like Terry at the beginning, had specially tattooed championship trophies on their arms.
This approach put them in a situation where they would either succeed or fail, but in the end, they did it.
This will definitely become a topic that fans will talk about after the game, and it is destined to become a classic scene in NBA history!