Champions Creed

Chapter 110 109: Coach, I really want to pass the ball! (Seeking monthly tickets!)
After visiting Disneyland, Roger started the European trip arranged for him by Reebok.

With the addition of Marciulionis, Roger and the Magic's popularity in Europe has skyrocketed.

Although Europeans don't play basketball much, Reebok has extensive business in tennis and women's fitness products in Europe.

Arranging Roger to go to Europe will undoubtedly greatly enhance the brand's awareness and influence.

Nike was able to overtake its competitors in the 80s and 90s, not only because of Jordan, but also because they paid attention to the female market in advance and reaped a lot of women's wallets.

Reebok must also seize this business opportunity, increase Roger's popularity in Europe, and then hang up Roger Half Fruit posters in its stores. I don't believe that it will not attract female consumers.

From now on, you will be embarrassed to go to the gym if you don’t wear Reebok yoga pants.

Naturally, professional trainer Joe Abunassar followed Roger throughout the entire process, because Roger would insist on training even during commercial activities.

If you want to become stronger, you don't necessarily have to become bald, but you do have to spend time.

Roger didn't have any extra time to waste.

Although he won the FMVP last season, Roger knows that he still has a lot of room for improvement.

He believes that his potential can still be further tapped.

Even the Iceman himself has not fully explored his potential, and Roger will not be satisfied with that.

He also wants to continue to gain muscle and weight.

If he can safely increase his weight to 95 kg this summer, Roger will be able to gain better defensive and strong attacking abilities.

Roger plans to focus on training his upper limb muscles first, so that his ability to attack the basket in confrontations will also be significantly improved.

Abunassar arranged a detailed training plan for Roger, including three days of strength training, three days of ball training, and one day of rest.

If Roger only trains strength and ignores ball training, he will lose his touch.

In addition, Roger continued to combine the videos provided by Spoelstra with practical exercises to train his passing ability.

In the new season, he hopes to become a more versatile defender.

He knew that the Bulls' defense would be improved by more than one level after acquiring Rodman and Dumars.

According to the original historical trajectory, they would use fierce pressure and fast rotation to force the opponent's core to pass the ball and create turnovers. The real killer of the Bulls in the last three consecutive championships was not the triangle offense, but the fierce defense!
If Roger wants to avoid being restricted, he must have a stronger ability to pass the ball and must be able to find his teammates as soon as possible under the pressure of Pippen and Rodman.

Coach, I really want to pass the ball, and you're about to see it!

Although the training schedule seems very full, Roger actually doesn't feel tired at all.

This is why Roger pays Abunassar so much money every year, because a truly top-notch trainer is not one who fucks the players to death, but one who can make you train effectively without getting too tired.

Training always carries with it the risk of injury, and what top trainers have to do is to minimize the risk while maximizing the effectiveness of training.

In the basketball world of the 90s, perhaps only Roger and Jordan had such advanced training awareness as "spending money to train themselves during rest time".

Under Abunassar's scientific and rigorous training plan, Roger participated in activities and trained at the same time, and even had time to have dinner with French model Laetitia Costa.

Laetitia really became famous after entering Victoria's Secret in 1996. Before that, she had been the exclusive advertising model for Lafayette Department Store.

The difference is that compared to those slimmer supermodels, Leticia looks plump.

Roger believes that this kind of natural plumpness is the real aesthetic that the modeling industry should have.

"I have always despised being too thin. You don't need to lose weight at all, Leticia. I believe you will shine sooner or later."

No woman can resist sweet words, especially from a handsome and wealthy man.

Of course, Roger definitely didn't have dinner with her because of her plump figure.

At least it's not entirely because of this.

He wanted to learn French more. No matter when, one must have a heart that is eager to learn. And Letitia is undoubtedly a perfect French teacher.

That night, the two agreed to meet in the United States later.

"I would be happy to be your private French teacher," said Letitia as she said goodbye.

After the European trip, Roger went to Reebok headquarters to participate in the development of the latest generation of Truth series sneakers.

As Reebok's flagship series of sneakers, the entire brand attaches great importance to the development of Roger sneakers.

To this end, Reebok spent a high price to buy out the advertising rights for CNN Sports Channel.

CNN Sports Channel can only broadcast Reebok brand sporting goods advertisements in the next two years.

Although the cost is high, Reebok believes Roger can make the efforts pay off.

After this incident, Larry Miller, the vice president of Nike's basketball department, who was criticized for missing out on Roger, was very disdainful: "They want to use this to enhance the brand's influence, which is completely a pipe dream."

Ted Turner, founder of CNN, media tycoon and owner of the Atlanta Hawks, laughed and said, "This is the first time I've seen a brand go all out for one of its spokespeople. But to be honest, I'm looking forward to Roger's future performance and his continued creation of magic. What if he really wins two consecutive championships?"

Ted Turner was not just saying nice things; he had been looking forward to Roger's performance for a long time.

Ted Turner had been curious about Roger since he entered the league as an 18-year-old high school student.

He wanted to see what this kid could create.

This summer, the Eagles were also one of the teams that made an offer to Roger.

Although Ted Turner does not make money from the Eagles, as a sports fan, he still wants to run the team well.

He did this with the Atlanta Braves (baseball). The Braves won the championship this year, which gave Turner a great sense of accomplishment. He enjoyed the feeling of watching the team succeed step by step.

Turner knew that the Hawks were in urgent need of high-level stars in basketball. So he offered Fleischer a price. Although the hope was slim, he really wanted to have a super kid like Roger. Who among those who play sports games can resist the temptation of a super kid?

Unfortunately, the Magic, who owned Roger's bird rights, ultimately won the bidding.

But Ted Turner will continue to pay attention to Roger. Who can say what will happen in a few years?

In short, this offseason, news about basketball and the NBA is no longer exclusive to Michael Jordan.

Roger began to gain more and more attention in the basketball world.

His dinner with famous models in France sparked discussion.

His upcoming new sneakers will spark heated discussions.

All of this made Michael Jordan, who once dominated the media, feel sad.

However, this also gave him greater motivation.

Time passed quickly, and when O'Neal returned to Orlando after his vacation, he found that the whole city had changed.

Almost all the giant billboards in Orlando were Roger's ads, including Reebok, Disney, and various other brands.

In short, the whole of Orlando is Roger!

There are advertisements for Shark as well, but the number cannot be compared with Roger’s, or even with myself in previous years.

That afternoon, O'Neal attended the launch of his new sneakers.

This pair of shoes is a very successful example in O'Neal's career and even in the entire history of center basketball shoes - Reebok's O'Neal Annual Rings Series.

This pair of shoes is one of the few, or even the only pair of center sneakers that can become a hit under the shadow of AJ.

Roger and O'Neal attended the event together, and the media interview time at the end of the event was quite lively.

In the past, O'Neal loved these moments of being in the spotlight.

But today's interview made him very distressed.

"Shaq, what do you think of Roger's billion-dollar contract?"

“Can Roger be the scoring leader next season?”

"Hey Shaq, do you know anything about the unreleased Truth III? Can you tell me?"

All the billboards, all the questions, all the people, were talking about Roger.

This annoyed the shark a bit.

So in the face of a series of inquiries, the Shark impatiently replied: "Hey, this is my sneaker launch. If you have any questions, why don't you ask him directly? He is not far away!"

But soon, the Shark seemed to realize something and immediately added, "Stop asking those stupid questions. My brother is the best player in the world, so his billion-dollar contract is well-deserved, and he is definitely qualified to be the scoring champion. As for the third generation of Truth, is there anything else to say? He will be as good as my annual rings!"

O'Neal didn't know why he was so angry just now.

Jealous of Roger?
No, no, absolutely impossible.

Shark himself couldn't explain it, he only knew that he was very upset at that moment.

He didn't hate Roger, but he hated the fact that the media only had eyes for Roger.

The whole world acts as if he is Scott Pippen!

O'Neal didn't like this feeling, he really didn't like it.

But that night, neither Roger nor the shark took center stage.

The focus became Pat Riley.

That night, as training camp for the new season was about to begin, Pat Riley finally made a big move.

Taking advantage of the conflict between Mourning and the team, the Miami Heat sent Matt Geiger, Khalid Lewis, Glen Rice and another first-round pick in 96 to the Hornets in exchange for Pete Myers, Aaron Ellis and All-Star center Alonzo Mourning!

Another center from Georgetown University was recruited by Pat Riley. This vampire who was ready to dominate Florida took the first step in building his team.

This last-minute deal before the start of the new season made the entire league exclaim at Riley's efficiency. Not long after joining the Heat, he got a player with good strength.

People are very curious about what Riley can accomplish with the Heat.

Because obviously, this is just the first step for Riley to change the Heat.

The day before the training camp started, Sports Illustrated also conducted an exclusive interview with Pat Riley.

“Pat, what’s the difference for you going from New York to Miami?”

“The scenery here is more pleasant, and there is a board of directors willing to fully support me. Here, no one will interfere with me.”

"After acquiring Alonzo Mourning, what is your next plan?"

"I won't reveal my plans, but the Miami Heat will become a true men's team, I promise. This season, we will definitely return to the playoffs."

"It's a men's team. Can you tell me more about it?"

"There's nothing much to say. You can see the changes in this team in the preseason."

Riley was right. A month later in the preseason, the Miami Heat showed the same spirit as the New York Knicks.

Under the leadership of Mourning and the influence of Riley, the Heat played very hard even in the preseason.

Finally, in the third game of the preseason, the Heat and the Magic met.

There is no doubt that this game is a heavyweight matchup in the preseason. The feud between Riley and Roger, the feud between Shaq and Mourning, and the feud between the Florida Derby. All of this makes this game very special.

The game was very intense and the confrontation between both sides was very fierce.

Amid the cheers of Miami fans, the Heat players were as excited as if they were playing in the playoffs.

"Riley is a lunatic!" Brian Hill yelled on the bench. He didn't know why Pat Riley made his players work so hard in a preseason game, which made him dare not let the main players play.

Brian Hill has decided to only play Roger and Shark for half the game today.

In fact, Riley even makes training look like actual combat, let alone preseason games.

In the second quarter, O'Neal received the ball under the basket and prepared to attack Alonso. As he pushed Alonso away and turned around, the Heat's first-year rookie Kurt Thomas double-teamed him and viciously pulled O'Neal's hand, knocking the shark down.

This is the defensive attitude that Pat Riley has instilled in the entire team, which is to be aggressive no matter what.

O'Neal stood up quickly, but instead of yelling at his opponent, he walked to the sidelines with his hands covered and a painful expression on his face.

After the game, the Orlando Magic confirmed that Shaquille O'Neal had a broken thumb and was expected to miss two months.

I don't blame Kurt, he's just a rookie, a blank slate, so this is all Pat Riley's fault! I don't know why he turned the team into this style, I don't know why he made the team look like they were at war in the preseason! That bastard is a John Gotti-style mafia! He should be arrested! - O'Neal angrily talked about the Heat's defense.

If Coach Pat Riley thinks this will bring us down, he is wrong! We will never fall because of this, never! ——Brian Hill officially declared war on Riley.

Regardless, this is the basketball we are playing, this is what Pat Riley brought to this team, and we will keep it going. -- Heat new leader Alonzo Mourning talks about the scale of the game.

This matter is not over yet. - Roger said this and left the press conference.

Brian Hill never expected such an accident to happen in the preseason. Fortunately, the Sharks will be able to return in late December or early January. But before that, the team's record cannot drop too much, otherwise it will be a big blow to morale and determination to win the championship.

So after the game, Brian Hill found Roger.

"You can do whatever you like most. From today on, you have unlimited firing rights. I only have one request, let the bastards in this league know who is the defending champion!"

This summer, Roger worked hard to improve his passing ability, but before the new season even started, his coach let him fire as much as he wanted.

Oh, I really want to pass the ball.

But, I really can't help myself!
(End of this chapter)