Champions Creed

Chapter 323: Anyway, this is not the last time LeBron treats his words as fart (please give me a monthly ticket!)
Tim Duncan seems to be the only one who can be immune to domination in the Roger era.

In the shortened 1999 season, he won the only championship in Roger's era that did not belong to Roger.

Now, four years later, he actually beat Roger in the playoffs again.

This low-key guy rarely appears in disputes involving Roger and has never exchanged insults with Roger in front of the media.

But in the end people found out that he was the one who posed the greatest threat to Roger.

After defeating Roger and advancing, Tim Duncan couldn't hide his excitement: "It's a great honor to beat the greatest player in the world in the playoffs."

"So Tim, will you do it again next season? Will you be the one to break Roger's reign? No one has ever beaten Roger in the playoffs two years in a row, will you be the first?"

"It would have been nice to beat Roger once, but it would have been even better to beat him twice. You can never have too many good things."

Tim Duncan is worthy of being a person who has studied in college for four years. If you listen to him speak often, you will find that he is very capable, because he always appears to be humble, but is actually pretending to be cool.

"The future is yours" and "Nice try" are typical statements that appear humble but are actually pretentious.

The reporter then asked Roger's former teammate Bruce Bowen: "Based on your understanding of Roger, do you think he can still regroup in the Bay Area?"

Bowen is an important part of the Spurs' lineup this year. Bowen just signed a long-term contract with the Hawks last summer, but after Roger left, the Hawks did not want to support a veteran like Bowen for a long time, so they dealt with him after the start of the season. The Spurs traded Steve Kerr's expiring contract and two second-round draft picks to get Bowen, who they had long dreamed of. He has also become an important part of the Spurs' defense.

Bowen is now a member of the Spurs, so he should choose good things to say, such as "Regroup? Now it's the Spurs era" and so on.

But in response to reporters' questions, Bowen replied: "I don't know if he can regroup, but I know the Spurs have to be careful every time they meet Roger from now on. From what I know about him, he is not the kind of person who will let go of hatred easily."

Bowen's answer was more like a warning to the Spurs.

Judging from past patterns, Roger's revenge does not happen overnight.

Olajuwon beat Roger in 1994, and was immediately beaten back by Roger in 1995.

In 1999, the Miami Heat touched the king's crown, and then in 2000 Roger directly beat the Heat and disbanded them on the spot.

Now, that fate appears to have befallen the San Antonio Spurs.

But Popovich doesn't think he will fall into the whirlpool of fate. This year's Spurs are different from the Rockets and Heat.

The 1995 Rockets were already at the end of their strength during the regular season and only made it to the finals through a miraculous comeback.

The Heat in 1999 were not the strongest team of the season, and it was the Spurs who defeated them in the finals.

But with this Spurs team, Tim Duncan is at his peak, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are emerging, and Popovich really can't imagine any possibility of the Spurs getting weaker next year.

Well, David Robinson said he would retire if they won the championship this season, so that might have an impact, but it's not enough for Roger to get his revenge next year.

Popovich is very confident. After all, the peak of the Spurs is coming!

One of the main reasons Roger was able to play back immediately in 2000 was that Tim Duncan was injured at the end of the season and missed the playoffs. Otherwise, even if Roger could have revenged the Heat, he might not have won the championship. This coincidence made Roger's career legendary.

But will Roger be so lucky this time?
That's impossible. Good luck will not always favor the same person.

After the series, Roger embarked on his longest vacation since becoming a professional player.

After playing in the league for nine seasons, this is the first time that Roger has taken a vacation in May.

To this end, Reebok assigned Roger a difficult task: "Meet with LeBron James and convince him to sign with Reebok."

LeBron James is undoubtedly a phenomenal high school player. Nike co-founder Phil Knight and Reebok basketball president Todd Klinsky have come to Akron to watch his games more than once. Because of his popularity, many games of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School were even moved to the Gund Center, the home stadium of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

All the games involving James are sold out. James can attract an average of 19000 fans at the Gund Center, while the Cavaliers average less than 12000 spectators per game.

A week ago, when Michael Jordan won the No. 23 pick in the lottery drawing ceremony on behalf of the Cavaliers, he directly took out a No. jersey of the Cavaliers with James' name written on the back. This meant that James had locked up the No. pick in advance, and that Carmelo Anthony, who won the championship and MOP in his freshman year in the NCAA, was completely ignored.

Jordan said in an interview: "Cameron is great, but you know, LeBron is the chosen one."

James' commercial value is immeasurable, and it is estimated that no other high school player in history will be able to reach his level.

Of course, he also knows his own value, so LeBron James deliberately plays with these sneaker manufacturers.

He wore Roger's shoes at the Adidas basketball camp, he wore Adidas at Nike events, and he wore Nike at the Reebok camp.

He is sending a message to major manufacturers: "You all have a chance. I am not tied to any brand yet."

This approach is even smarter than Roger, who found Anne Hathaway after breaking up with Eva Green, and got together with Scarlett Johansson after drawing a clear line between himself and Anne Hathaway. You can say that Roger's emotional experience is a little rich, but Roger has never had them all at the same time.

LeBron James is flirting with the three major sneaker manufacturers at the same time, and is being flattered by all three manufacturers.

This is the ultimate enjoyment that only the emperor can understand.

Facts have proved that this tactic worked. Major sneaker manufacturers have been fighting for him, and the contract amount is even close to 100 million US dollars.

Sonny Vaccaro, the head of Adidas, who once led Nike to sign Michael Jordan, hinted that they would sign a 10-year, $1 million contract with James. He knew very well that the impact of this contract was no less than that of Nike-Jordan and Reebok-Roger.

Nike is also willing to bid up to 10 million over 1 years.

Reebok even added a $10 million signing fee to the $1 million for 1000 years, on the condition that James no longer meets with people from Nike and Adidas.

This is an absolutely astronomical figure. You have to know that James is just a high school student, and the already famous Kobe Bryant's market value in the sneaker market this year is only 4000 million, less than half of LeBron James.

Roger could understand Reebok's behavior. Although they already had their most profitable star, no matter how much of this resource they had, it would never be too much.

To put it another way, even if Reebok does not focus on developing James' commercial value after signing him, it is better than giving him to Nike and Adidas.

But James refused the 1000 million check. It is hard to imagine that this is a decision an 18-year-old poor boy would make. He was not blinded by the immediate benefits.

Of course, this doesn't mean that he rejected Reebok, he just wants to continue talking with Adidas and Nike.

In his meeting with Adidas, LeBron James was surprised.

Because Adidas inexplicably lowered the price temporarily, even Sonny Cavallo didn't know what happened. He just thought that the things in the minds of Adidas executives were similar to what sharks like to eat. Adidas' short-sightedness made them completely miss out on this super genius, and only Nike and Reebok were left to compete.

Roger has agreed to meet James with Reebok, and he even turned down a date with Scarlett Johansson for this.

Of course, he cannot guarantee that he will be successful in recruiting.

Roger also had doubts: "What if he signs with Nike before meeting us? Wouldn't I be wasting my time waiting for him?"

"No, he told us that even if he signed with Nike he would still meet with you to show his respect, and he promised not to waste your time."

"Well, he's a lucky 18-year-old high school student."

Before that, James met with Michael Jordan, a minority shareholder of the Cavaliers.

Jordan directly asked James to meet at his home, which made it seem that Jordan and James were extremely close.

In fact, James does trust Jordan, and the Akron super genius is more relaxed at Jordan's home. This is the reward for Jordan's hard work in cultivating a relationship with James over the past two years.

After the two sat down in the yard, Jordan cut a cigar and handed it to LeBron James.

James hesitated for a moment, but Jordan smiled kindly: "LeBron, you can't drink alcohol at the age of 18, but you can buy and enjoy tobacco products, which is completely in line with Ohio law. And unlike cigarettes, cigars don't pass through the lungs and will not have any effect on your body, so you have nothing to worry about."

James then took the cigar and Jordan lit it for him personally.

"Have you thought about the sneaker endorsement?" Michael Jordan squinted his eyes, took a puff of his cigar, and then asked, like a father asking his son.

"Not yet. It's hard to choose between Nike and Reebok. Reebok arranged for Roger to meet with me, which shows that they value me very much. At least they will not back down at the last minute like Adidas did."

When Michael Jordan heard the name Roger, an expression of disgust that was hard to conceal appeared on his face.

After all these years, does he still hate Roger?

The hatred never diminishes!

"LeBron, you want my advice?"

"Of course!"

"You know, I have a deep relationship with Nike, but at this moment I'm not talking to you from the perspective of Nike, I'm talking to you from the perspective of a friend.

I know Reebok is good, they offered a good price and they had Roger come to meet you, which looks good.

But my career experience has taught me that a smart person should make a lifelong deal, and you can't just consider the first check, you need to consider all the benefits.

In Reebok, Roger is the ceiling, he is the focus of all Reebok's resources. What does this mean? Reebok will not pay attention to you at all.

You can get a big check if you sign with them, but you won't be fully valued because people will say for the rest of your life that you're just Roger's little brother.

Is this what you want, LeBron? Are you willing to just pick up scraps like everyone else in Roger's era?
If you sign with Nike, everything will be different. Even next season, I will come back to assist you and pass my spotlight to you, which is something Roger will never do for you.

In Nike and Cleveland, you are not Michael's little brother, you are the chosen one, destined to transcend greatness.

My time is long gone, Roger's time is going away. So what's next? This time belongs to you, LeBron, and only you.

You're going to beat Roger, wear the crown, win everything, not just a check."

Hearing this, LeBron James' eyes widened.

Michael Jordan is coming back? To help me?
The 18-year-old LeBron James imitated Michael Jordan by taking a puff on his cigar and exhaling the smoke.

He wants to own this era, he wants to win it all.

Most importantly, he didn't want to be just a shadow of Roger's great image.

He is not just a top scholar, he has bigger goals!
The next day, Roger learned from Reebok that LeBron James had broken his promise.

He had agreed to something good before, but suddenly decided not to meet Roger and Reebok, and has signed a contract with Nike.

"He said on the phone that he's sorry to you," Todd Klinsky told Roger.

Roger was a little angry: "How should he compensate me for the snow mountain trip with Scarlett Johansson? Where is the respect he showed me? Didn't he promise to meet me? I don't need an apology. I respected him, but he didn't respect me."

Todd Klinsky obviously didn't expect James to stand up: "Sorry Roger, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have wasted your money."

"Forget it. Anyway, this won't be the last time he treats his words as bullshit. Todd, let our media hype up LeBron James. It would be best if the whole world thinks he can be as good as my rookie season, the kind that guarantees the finals in my first year and the championship in my second year."

"what why?"

"You don't understand. It's no fun to destroy a rookie with no reputation. But what if it's a highly anticipated chosen one? That kind of happiness, the kind of happiness of being superior in front of others but nothing in front of you, you don't understand, you won't understand."

"Is this why you only target popular stars and models? Is this why you have three famous actress girlfriends in one season?"

This turn of topic caught Roger off guard and he almost fell down.

"Shut up Todd, this is off topic."

Tim Duncan and LeBron James are both confident that their time has come, and they are both grinning at their fantasies about the future.

But the future does not belong to any of them.

Roger would soon make that clear to them.
-
LeBron James reached a 7-year, $8700 million contract with Nike, and the super high school student's fate was finally determined. He took the initiative to give up a 10-year, $1 million contract, probably because he thought he could sign a lifetime contract in 7 years. He is so great and so visionary. - Sports Illustrated.

Carmelo Anthony signs with AJ Brand, but the price is nothing compared to LeBron. - Slam Dunk

Sources revealed that Michael Jordan is preparing to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers next season! If this is true, if LeBron and Michael join forces, the Cleveland Cavaliers will have a great season! - The Cleveland News.

Oh, you know, LeBron and Michael are both extremely good players, and they are both my brothers. I am as excited as the fans. If two such great players really join forces, they can at least lead the team to the conference semifinals, right? It is hard to imagine that two such great people can't even get past the first round. Playoffs? What are you thinking? That's just the threshold of greatness! I am looking forward to it. I already want to start next season! - Roger excitedly talked about LeBron James and Michael Jordan in an exclusive interview with ESPN.

(End of this chapter)