Mullin nodded and said, "I understand."

Understand?

After seeing Kohan off, Mullin immediately pulled out a bottle of fine wine he had treasured for years from his pocket.

Although Mullin had long given up his former bad habit of drinking excessively, he didn't mind having a few drinks on a night worth celebrating like this.

"Boss? To hell with the boss! The real boss of these Warriors can only be the Messiah, and me, I'm just the former drunkard who acts as his steward."

To ensure that his light drinking wouldn't affect the Warriors players about to compete, Mullin even ran to the restroom to down this fine wine alone before the game.

Meanwhile, in the Warriors locker room, upon learning that Qin Yue would hold yet another unique victory party after the regular season ended, the entire locker room erupted into wolf howls.

"Shut the hell up, or I'll have that drunken fool trade you all to Minnesota!"

As he grew closer to Mullin, "drunken fool" became Qin Yue's term of endearment for this God's Left Hand.

Unlike what Qin Yue imagined, those NBA general managers who always put on airs in front of players.

This former Warriors legend, who only officially retired in 2001, never acted superior in front of Qin Yue.

Furthermore, he would often rant about those NBA stars from his era.

"Don't believe the bullshit Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley tell you, Michael is a downright bastard bully, and Charles? In my eyes, he's just like me, both of us are pitiful guys without a championship ring."

"Should I call you Mr. Chris Mullin, or...?"

"Just call me the drunken fool! Back in the day, Lao Tang (Old Nelson) always called me that, cursing at me, even hitting me, anyway, a name is just a label, call me whatever you like."

"You don't look much like an NBA general manager."

"To hell with the general manager, remember, I'm just the steward of this team."

"Like Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth?"

"Batman? Is that guy even worthy of comparing with you?"

In short, that's Chris Mullin for you.

Although in public, he tries hard to pose as a gentleman, a well-read, intellectual general manager.

But in private, this "drunken fool"...

Only wants to witness Qin Yue holding up that...

That championship trophy the Warriors last held during the Rick Barry era.

Mullin believes that day will come.

Because in Qin Yue, he sees not only superb basketball skills but also a personality reminiscent of Larry Bird.

Yes, Larry Bird was precisely the person Mullin admired most in the league.

In the twilight of his career, Mullin had a brief stint with the Indiana Pacers.

At that time, the head coach of the Pacers was Mullin's national teammate from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Larry Bird.

Even though, under Bird's guidance, the Pacers ended up losing to the Lakers in that heart-wrenching finals.

When Mullin returned to the Warriors in the 00/01 season, looking at the long-dilapidated former team, he secretly made up his mind.

At the very least...

He wanted fans in Oakland to experience the joy of the playoffs once again.

The Golden State Warriors needed someone akin to Larry Bird to rejuvenate the team.

Oracle Arena.

In the regular season finale, the Warriors took down the Blazers almost effortlessly, earning their 54th win of the season.

However, post-game, the live big screen and the home DJ didn't immediately present the upcoming playoff matchups.

Instead, at the moment the game ended, they used the world-famous painting "Goodnight, Los Angeles" as a backdrop to display Qin Yue's rookie season average stats across 82 games:

27.0 points (2214 points), 13.1 rebounds (1074 rebounds), 7.0 assists (574 assists), 3.4 blocks (279 blocks), 1.3 steals (107 steals).

Overall season shooting percentage 50.8%, three-point percentage 36.5%, free-throw percentage 81.7%.

Throughout the 05/06 season, Qin Yue totaled thirteen triple-doubles, including two "40+ triple-doubles."

The 71 points he scored at the Staples Center made him the first player in NBA history to record a "70+" game during their rookie season.

The Warriors don't need the league to crown their king.

Because at this moment, under the gaze of Bay Area fans, Qin Yue has already been crowned.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!"

On the stands, a golden wave formed by the on-site fans began to surge.

They collectively chanted Qin Yue's name.

Their voices were so passionate and raucous, some of them saved months' worth of wages just to see this regular season finale, yet since Qin Yue has given Oakland hope, the Bay Area fans naturally had to offer their highest respect to add that well-deserved tile to Qin Yue's coronation ceremony.

In the center of the court, as the cheers of Warriors fans echoed from all directions, Qin Yue almost instantly understood why the future Stephen Curry could stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods in the Bay Area, despite being mortal.

For a return to the playoffs.

Warriors fans have waited twelve years, historically thirteen years.

For holding the championship trophy again, for holding up that O'Brien Cup dating back to the Rick Barry era, they've waited forty years.

Twelve years is already a generation's youth.

What about those forty years?

When the boys and girls who once witnessed the Warriors' triumph have turned gray-haired... how could they not be crazy for Stephen Curry?

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