Chapter 547: Wade Dong, Are You Sick?

"The baby might be hungry," 

Li Jiajia said softly. "I'll feed him first... you can hold him and play in the living room later."

Wade raised an eyebrow, "I want to eat too!"

"Go away, go away..." 

Li Jiajia's face flushed as she pulled Wade away. "You're already a dad; stop acting like a child fighting for milk with the baby."

The baby was indeed hungry; after being fed, he stopped crying. Wade took the baby to the living room to play, continuing to mumble:

"Daddy..." ✶

"Daddy..." ✶

"Daddy..." ✶

Wade thought that the phrase "call Daddy" was too complicated and that the baby might not understand, so he simply repeated "Daddy," knowing full well that the child wasn't even a month old yet and couldn't pronounce it, but Wade found joy in it.

After a while, Wei Hua walked over, curious. "Wade, why do you keep calling me?"

"I'm not calling you!" 

Wade pointed at the baby in his arms. "I'm calling him!"

"Wade, are you sick or what?" 

Wei Hua shot Wade a glare before walking away.

...

The honors for the 2014-15 season were announced.

MVP: Wade Dong

DPOY: Wade Dong

COY: Alvin Gentry

MIP: Hassan Whiteside

SMOY: Jamal Crawford

In addition to these, there were several smaller awards like Player of the Month and Player of the Week... These honors were particularly unfriendly to players from Western teams since Wade Dong alone accounted for three-quarters of them. In fact, Wade had been quite low-key; when the Suns were healthy, he often played only 27 or 28 minutes.

Wade also made it onto both the First Team and the First Defensive Team.

Three consecutive MVPs is a feat accomplished by very few players in history—only Russell, Chamberlain, and Bird have achieved this.

This doesn't mean Wade is already on par with these historical superstars; if said so, Bird might be unhappy, Russell might be unhappy, and Chamberlain... might also feel slighted because even Jordan has publicly stated that Wade is the greatest player in NBA history.

Three consecutive DPOYs is an even rarer achievement.

Since the Defensive Player of the Year award was established, only two players have won it four times: Ben Wallace and Dikembe Mutombo. Dwight Howard also won it three times consecutively like Wade.

However, with a height of 1.98 meters (6'6"), accomplishing these achievements typically reserved for interior defensive stalwarts illustrates just how formidable Wade's defense is—this is also why he has been a three-time steals champion and three-time blocks champion.

In summary...

With all these honors announced, Wade Dong gave off an overwhelming impression to the entire league: despair!

...

Five days later, all second-round playoff games concluded.

Western Conference:

- Suns 4:0 Trail Blazers

- Lakers 4:2 Spurs

Eastern Conference:

- Hawks 4:1 Pacers

- Heat 1:4 Raptors

The Suns would meet the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals; everyone knew this was essentially a preview of the Finals. The winner between these two teams would likely take home the championship trophy.

The Hawks and Raptors were significantly outmatched... Fans understood that the Lakers were the only team capable of posing a threat to the Suns in playoffs, even though they had lost all four regular-season matchups against them!

Wade returned to Phoenix a day before the Western Conference Finals began.

It was evident that Wade took this series very seriously; upon his arrival, he stated, "Guys, are you confident we can wrap this up in four games?"

"You're back, Dong?" 

Green exclaimed as he couldn't contain his curiosity. "Did your wife give birth?"

Wade nodded. "Yes, you have another little brother now."

"Wow... that's great!" 

Green looked extremely excited upon hearing this news.

Yi Nan looked confused. "???"

Curry looked puzzled too. "???"

Gentry was equally bewildered. "???"

They didn't understand why Green was so thrilled but they all approached Wade to congratulate him. "Congratulations Dong! This is fantastic news."

Curry asked, "Do you have any pictures of your child?"

"Of course!" 

Wade had been taking photos and videos of his child whenever he could over these past few days; now he pulled out some pictures to share with his teammates.

"So beautiful~"

"He looks so well-behaved~"

"He has such a sweet smile~"

"....."

All his teammates praised him while Curry pulled Wade aside and said: "Dong, you know my wife's due date is in July; if our second child is a girl, should we arrange a marriage between them?"

"Well..." 

Wade chuckled. "We can let them interact more; I still advocate for free love."

Curry then asked: "What's your child's name?"

"Wade Xiaoxin."

This name was chosen by Li Jiajia; she felt it represented a new life and a new beginning while hoping their child could pursue their dreams.

Wade's aura was too strong...

Li Jiajia didn't want their child to live under Wade's shadow.

"By the way, let's keep this matter confidential for now."

Wade reminded his teammates again about keeping it quiet—not that it needed to be secretive but he wanted them not to spread it around too much—especially since there were two Twitter enthusiasts on the team: Durant and McCollum.

...

The next evening,

The Suns hosted the Lakers for a challenge.

This was Kobe's final season in his career; although he still managed to average over twenty points per game, everyone could see that his condition had declined somewhat.

If it weren't for LeBron's arrival, making playoffs would have been very difficult for the Lakers this season.

The Lakers arrived at the Western Conference Arena in the evening to begin their pre-game warm-ups.

LeBron found Wade and asked with concern: "I heard your ankle injury has been acting up again; are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." 

Wade replied. "Playing four games shouldn't be a problem."

"A 4-0 sweep against the Suns seems tough; you guys are still really strong."

"But we can sweep you guys without any issues~"

"Hahaha..."

LeBron laughed and shook his head. "This is our fourth year facing each other in playoffs—I won't keep losing to you."

"Time flies... Has it really been four years since we started facing off?"

"Yeah..."

"In that case, I must sweep you this year as a commemoration of our four years of competition."

"You wish!"

LeBron patted Wade on the shoulder. "Warm up well; once the game starts there will only be opponents—not brothers!"

While LeBron chatted with Wade,

Kobe also walked over to greet him.

In fact... many players on the Suns envied this scene—like Curry and Durant—who all possessed star player abilities but remained mere supporting characters alongside Wade.