Dempsey replied that he would try his best.

But obviously, this wasn't something that could be achieved overnight.

Time passed unknowingly, and it came to January 24th.

Tang Tian had basically recovered, and that morning he participated in the team's full practice.

After the practice, he had already received permission from the team doctor and could directly play in the next game against the Grizzlies.

Also on this day at noon, the league officially announced the final voting results for the All-Stars.

This result attracted the attention of countless people.

In addition to who was selected, whether Tang Tian could become the All-Star vote leader was also a focus of attention.

You should know that domestic fans had gone crazy during this period because they couldn't vote.

However, when the final vote came out, everyone was stunned.

Eastern Conference starters: Irving (800,000 votes), Wade (890,000 votes), George (1.13 million votes), Anthony (900,000 votes), James (1.3 million votes)

Western Conference starters: Curry (960,000 votes), Kobe (1.15 million votes), Durant (1.1 million votes), Griffin (600,000 votes), Tang Tian (1.9 million votes)

Tang Tian received a total of 1.9 million votes, an overwhelming advantage of 600,000 votes over second-place James (1.3 million votes), becoming the All-Star vote leader!

The league's restrictions on voting by fans in China did not play any role, but instead made the gap even bigger!

Adam Silver was in a daze when he saw this result.

This was completely different from what he had expected!

On the contrary, because of the restrictions on voting in China, everyone else's votes were less than expected!

Immediately, fans on social media went completely wild.

"My friends in China said they haven't been able to vote for the All-Stars for the past two weeks!"

"Yes, I've seen a lot of Chinese students on Twitter complaining, it's really damaging the league's image for the NBA to do this!"

"But I want to laugh so much right now! Because after these restrictions, Tang's vote count has increased more than anyone else's, and by a lot!"

"What's the principle behind this? Although I'm happy to see this result, it looks really unreasonable!"

"I have the most say in this, I'm a college student from Connecticut. I wasn't paying much attention to the All-Stars this year, but after hearing that Tang had a chance to become the vote leader, I voted directly. He's our pride!"

"I also have a say, I'm not a fan, but the NBA All-Star Game is in New Orleans this year! I voted for both Tang and AD!"

"And me, those Chinese students whose friends in China couldn't vote, they forwarded this to Twitter, and many of their friends started voting like crazy for Tang because they were unhappy with the NBA's approach!"

"Haha, so this is retaliatory voting?!"

"Speaking of which, the NBA really went too far this time. You set the rules, and the previous restrictions were already too much, but now you're blocking it!"

"Maybe they really don't want the Chinese market anymore! After all, they've made enough money!"

"When did Stern become so short-sighted?!"

"Forget it, might as well not watch this league!"

……

From the fans' comments on social media, it can be seen that there are many reasons for Tang Tian's voting result.

And a large part of it was indeed retaliatory voting.

But apart from the result itself, fans are more questioning the league's approach, and with the spread of negative comments such as "might as well not watch the NBA", the league is facing a very big crisis of trust.

"Are you trying to make me lose face and have the league office re-elect a successor?"

In the league president's office, Stern finally lost his temper with Silver.

The way this matter was handled had already caused very great damage to the league's image.

Silver didn't dare to say a word at this time. He originally thought that banning the Chinese region wouldn't be a big deal, but he didn't expect it to cause such a big reaction domestically.

"I will appoint Tatum as the league's chief vice president, and solicit the opinions of the league office to add a one-year presidential observation period. If you do something like this again, they have the right to request a change of president."

Stern said directly to Silver.

Silver didn't refute anything except gritting his teeth and nodding.

If he dared to refute at this time, Stern would really dare to tear his face and break with him.

The day after the All-Star voting ended, the league released an announcement.

"Due to a technical fault in the background, coupled with the dereliction of duty of the vote-counting staff, the league did not previously discover that fans in China could not vote. The league has fired the relevant staff and apologizes to fans in China for this, and guarantees that this will not happen again in the future."

This announcement was very official, but it was also a kind of statement from the league.

But no matter what, after becoming an All-Star starter last year, Tang Tian has become the All-Star vote leader this year!

This is really one step at a time.

Being elected the vote leader was something to be happy about, and Tang Tian treated his teammates to a big meal that night.

But after this meal, he temporarily put the matter of the vote leader behind him.

The Pelicans' record was a bit miserable during his injury, and getting the team back into the playoffs was the more important thing right now.

On January 25th, the Pelicans sat at home to welcome the Grizzlies' game.

The two teams had already played against each other twice before, once when Tang Tian played, and once when Tang Tian didn't play, and they lost both times.

The Grizzlies' record this season isn't particularly good, but they're very capable of fighting tough battles, and because they have a big advantage inside, they're a bit of a counter to the Pelicans.

In the pre-game TNT program, the Big Three discussed the issue of Tang Tian's condition after his return from injury.

"I wouldn't choose to come back in a game like this. Facing that bunch of guys from Memphis, you'd be skinned alive even if you didn't die."

Kenny Smith complained about Tang Tian's comeback choice in the program. The Grizzlies had established a tough style of play in recent years, which really made their opponents afraid.

"Actually, I'm quite worried about Tang's condition. His style of play is still mainly based on shooting, and shoulder injuries will have a big impact on this type of player."

Barkley expressed his concern about Tang Tian in the program.

"He's not an ordinary player, I believe in him."

Shaquille O'Neal's statement directly made Barkley and Smith burst into laughter.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Since losing the bet and wearing a pink dress last time, O'Neal has become a complete Tang supporter, even a bit of a brainless fan.

"And they just suffered a five-game losing streak, they really need him."

O'Neal added to cover himself up.

Barkley and Smith nodded, O'Neal was right about that.

Tang Tian's return is equivalent to the return of the main force, and whether this game can be won is actually very important.

TNT created enough momentum for Tang Tian's comeback battle, and this game also attracted heated discussions among fans before the game.

But besides the fact that this was Tang Tian's comeback battle, another reason was that the person defending Tang Tian would be Tony Allen.

Allen was selected for the All-Defensive First Team for two consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2013, and is still the player on the league's guard line whose defense is second only to Tang Tian.

In the game between the two teams in November, he defended Tang Tian so that his shooting percentage didn't exceed 40%.

The matchup between the two again is also very interesting.

ps: Special thanks to Yi Xingzai Miao for the ten thousand reward!!