In the theater at Madison Square Garden, as soon as NBA commissioner David Stern stepped onto the stage, the boos came raining down from every corner of the arena.
Stern, the old fox he was, just smiled calmly like he was listening to a nice jazz tune instead of getting heckled by thousands of people.
The two players getting the most camera time tonight? No doubt: Lin Yi and Blake Griffin. Every few minutes, the cameras would swing over to their faces, catching every nervous twitch and tense smile.
Meanwhile, over in his seat, Steph Curry, still looking like a kid fresh outta high school, sat there with his parents. He kept sneaking glances at Lin Yi, giving him these "you got this" looks. A real bro.
Everyone knew the top two picks were gonna be Lin and Blake, but which one would go first? That was the million-dollar question.
The lottery rookies sitting around them were just background props at this point, sneaking glances at Lin and Blake every few seconds like they were watching a tense game of rock-paper-scissors.
The thing was...
The Clippers still hadn't decided who they were taking.
No, seriously. The draft had already started, and those guys in the Clippers' front office were still arguing about it backstage like it was harder than solving the Three-Body Problem.
Inside their war room, there were two camps:
Team Lin Yi, led by Neil Olshey, the Assistant GM, pushing hard to take Lin.
Team Blake Griffin, led by GM Michael Dunleavy, riding hard for Blake.
Neither side could convince the other, and time was running out.
Finally, one of them, probably at his wits' end, threw out:
"Yo... since both of 'em are good, why don't we just flip a coin?"
Everyone stared. Was he serious?
He was serious.
And since Stern's people were already banging on the door asking for a pick, the Clippers had no choice. They went full caveman — straight coin toss. Heads, Lin Yi. Tails, Blake Griffin.
If Lin Yi ever found out they decided his NBA future with a damn coin flip, he'd probably stand up and slow clap the Clippers for being peak Clippers.
The coin went up.
The coin came down.
Decision made.
Out on the stage, Stern grinned through the boos, took an envelope from a staffer, opened it super slow just to troll everybody, and finally said:
"With the first pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers select...
Center from Davidson University, Lin Yi!"
Boom. Heads it was. Lin Yi, it was.
Back in the green room, Steph Curry jumped up, ready to congratulate his teammate.
"Lin! You're the number one pick, man!"
Lin Yi smiled, still kinda in disbelief. He had prepared himself for it, but hearing it out loud hit differently.
Blake Griffin looked a little salty for half a second, but quickly pulled it together and congratulated Lin. The other rookies swarmed Lin, giving him hugs and high-fives.
Meanwhile, back home, Chinese fans were losing their minds.
Second-ever Chinese No.1 pick after Yao Ming? Hell yeah!
Considering Yao was injured, Yi Jianlian was struggling in New Jersey, and Sun Yue was hanging on by a thread in LA... Chinese fans desperately needed someone new to root for.
Lin Yi finally felt his nerves calm down as he threw on the Clippers cap and headed for the stage.
Stern shook his hand warmly — not surprising, since Stern loved the idea of another Chinese superstar.
On stage, Lin Yi kept his speech short and sweet: thanked Davidson, said he was excited for the NBA, the usual.
But when he came offstage, his agent Zhong Muchen grabbed him by the arm.
"Boss, don't go for interviews yet," Zhong whispered.
Lin blinked. "Huh?"
Zhong grinned. "Trust me."
Not long after Lin was picked, Steph Curry, still trying to process everything, hugged Blake Griffin.
"Hey man," Steph said, "wherever you end up, you're gonna kill it."
Griffin appreciated it. Honestly? Missing out on the Clippers might not be a bad thing... he kinda hoped the Thunder would trade up. Oklahoma was home, after all.
Then came the second pick.
"And with the second pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, the Golden State Warriors select...
Point guard from Davidson University, Stephen Curry!"
The room froze.
Griffin, halfway to the stage, stopped dead in his tracks.
Wait, what?!
He turned around and stared at Curry, who looked just as stunned. His parents looked like someone had just told them Christmas was canceled.
Meanwhile, the Knicks' front office was ready to throw a chair through a window.
Wait, wait, wait—what about Griffin, why Curry?!
They had been banking on Curry falling to them at No.3.
D'Antoni, their coach, already had plays drawn up with Curry's name on them. Now? Gone. Just like that.
Backstage, Knicks executives were scrambling.
Screw it — Griffin was still a hell of a player.
With the third pick, the Knicks picked Blake Griffin.
Griffin shook it off and went up with a big smile. New York fans cheered like crazy.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi found Curry sulking. Lin clapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, chin up. You're gonna crush it in Golden State," Lin said.
Curry sighed. "Yeah... wish I was going to New York though."
"Trust me," Lin said, ruffling his hair, "it's not as glamorous as you think."
Just then, Lin's phone buzzed.
It was Zhong Muchen:
"Boss, Clippers are having second thoughts about you. They're trying to trade you already."
Lin Yi froze.
Turns out, ten minutes earlier, the Clippers had started freaking out about their coin-flip decision.
Old man Dunleavy just knew in his heart he wanted Griffin.
So they called New York:
"Hey... wanna swap Lin Yi for Blake Griffin? Throw in some cash?"
The Knicks GM Donnie Walsh thought for like three seconds and said yes. Then he called Coach D'Antoni.
"Mike, we didn't get Curry."
D'Antoni nearly had a heart attack.
WHAT?
"But..." Walsh said, dragging it out dramatically, "The Clippers are offering Lin Yi for Blake Griffin."
Suddenly, D'Antoni's day turned around real fast.
Lin Yi wasn't just a scorer — he could pass, shoot, dribble, and run an offense. D'Antoni saw visions of the Suns' old glory days dancing in his head.
"DO IT!" D'Antoni shouted.
The two teams finalized it quickly:
Clippers sent Lin Yi and their 2011 first-round pick.
Knicks sent Blake Griffin, their own 2011 first-rounder (with some protections), plus some cash.
Win-win, right?
Lin Yi swapped hats with Blake Griffin in the interview room. Griffin looked embarrassed as hell.
"I just told the media I was gonna bring a title to New York," Griffin muttered.
Lin Yi laughed and patted him on the back. "Hey, not your fault, man. Welcome to the NBA chaos."
....
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