Basketball miracles

Chapter 60 [No Brothers, No Basketball]

Adidas held a press conference in Los Angeles for Xiao Tu, signing him was big news in the NBA, and it was headline news.

The venue was packed with reporters, many of whom came from out of town; it was much more lively than when Jordan signed with Nike. Back then, not many reporters interviewed Jordan; they just thought it was a big joke that Nike had signed someone who couldn't even average 20 points per game in the NCAA for such a high price.

Unlike Xiao Tu's record-breaking signing with Adidas, major media outlets consider him a rookie who will change the league's landscape. Not just in the future, but already in the present; the Lakers haven't lost a game since the start of the season.

Los Angeles fans are thrilled, seeing it as an opportunity for the Lakers to challenge the Celtics' dominance.

The two teams have been rivals since the 1950s, with a long-standing history of grudges and countless legendary stories. Unfortunately, the Lakers have consistently lost more than they've won, often relegated to the sidelines.

With Xiao Tu joining the team, the Lakers have gained another star center, and they certainly won't be at a disadvantage in the paint when facing the Celtics.

The reporters first asked Xiao Tu to share his thoughts on signing the record-breaking Adidas deal.

Xiao Tu smiled and said, "Since I can sign this contract, it proves that I deserve this price. It's not an exorbitant amount. Think about it, as the only player in the NBA with a perfect career record, I received the same price as Jordan when he signed with Nike. Is that strange?"

The reporters exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, Xiao Tu's opening remarks are big news!"

His statement is quite interesting. He did indeed have a perfect record since joining the Lakers, until the Lakers' winning streak was ended.

The example Xiao Tu gave sounds far superior to Jordan's; the two are simply not in the same league. The Bulls currently have a winning percentage of just over 40%, ranking eighth in the Eastern Conference, making them a bottom-tier team.

He said that on purpose, don't mention Jordan's leadership abilities.

The Bulls' head coach's poor performance, including a humiliating home defeat last time, led to chants of "Resign!" from the fans in the final quarter. This incident made the news, and the Bulls are about to undergo a major overhaul.

The reporter asked, "Do you consider yourself the best rookie this season?"

Xiao Tu thought for a moment and said calmly, "What I think is not important. Let others evaluate it. Different people will have different opinions. Some people think the player who scores the most points is the strongest, some people think the player who is good at organizing is the strongest, and some people think that controlling the rebounds is controlling the game."

The reporter asked, "So what's your opinion?"

"I think all of these are important. Basketball is a team sport that requires everyone to cooperate tacitly. In a basketball game, there is only 'we,' not 'I.' No brothers, no basketball."

The Adidas executives were stunned, feeling that Xiao Tu's words could be used directly as advertising slogans without any modification.

Should we switch to a different advertising company?
How many times have we been fooled over the years?
What kind of lousy advertising copy did that company's planners write before? It wasn't even as good as what Xiao casually said!

Xiao Tu didn't explicitly compare himself to Jordan, but by saying so, he will inevitably stand on the opposite side of Jordan in the future. This is because Jordan has always been a representative of individual heroism, with impressive stats in the early part of his career but unable to win games.

Many people criticize Jordan for not caring about his teammates and being a cancer who only knows how to pad his stats. In a parallel universe, Jordan famously said, "In the word 'team,' there's no 'i,' but in the word 'win,' there is."

Xiao Tu and others, once they have grown up and are ready to prove themselves, also aspire to be representatives of individual heroism. However, he will never negate the team or his teammates, and he also wants to motivate them to perform at their best.

His idea was both simple and practical.

Now that the Lakers are a Big Three team, I have to emphasize "brotherhood basketball," a lesson that the future Executive Vice President GOAT taught me.

The concept of "brotherhood basketball" is very eye-catching. As long as I don't say that I want to win a lot of championships for the Lakers, but in the end we only win two and get beaten away, it shouldn't cause any resentment from the fans, and no one will burn the number 24 jersey.

In this era without the internet, Xiao Tu's ideas were incredibly novel, representing advanced concepts that no one had ever heard of before.

The reporters immediately felt that Xiao Tu was genuine and must get along very well with his teammates. The Lakers have the best team atmosphere, making them a top contender for the championship.

Nobody remembers what Jordan said when he signed with Nike; it must be quite boring.

Xiao Tu and his teammates do get along very well. Apart from not participating in any womanizing activities, they often eat together when playing away games.

Xiao Tu believed that some teammates would be jealous of his big contract, so he first made a brotherly statement, then treated everyone to a nice meal, which would make the veterans too embarrassed to give him a hard time.

He signed huge endorsement contracts; Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar should hate their agents, not him. These days, 99% of agents are incompetent, though there are exceptions.

Lakers backup center Kupchak earns $115 million this season, more than Shaw's three-year rookie contract combined. That's the result of having a good agent. Kupchak has already become a fringe player; retirement is just a matter of time.

The reporter asked, "What sales volume do you expect your sneakers to achieve?"

"I don't know much about it, and I've never studied how well the shoes of star players sell. But I think I'm very popular, and signing with Adidas is a powerful combination. Even if it's not number one, it should be in the top three in sales, right?" Xiao Tu didn't give a definitive answer, which was already quite modest.

With my dunk count, explosive playing style, and the joint promotion with Madonna, my sneaker sales will definitely be number one.

How can other stars compare to me? Magic Johnson is still wearing those bland white sneakers. Jordan's popularity is significantly lower than mine, and I have no achievements to speak of.

Jordan can't boost his popularity with this dunk contest. Whether he can make it to the finals depends on luck. He'll have to compete with Wilkins for second place.

A blonde female reporter in Los Angeles asked, "Now that you've become rich overnight, how do you plan to spend all this money?"

After she finished speaking, she subtly winked at Xiao Tu, probably because she was afraid he had too much money to spend and wanted to help him.

Xiao Tu thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I haven't decided yet, but I'll probably make some investments. Madonna is very shrewd and has a lot of investment experience. She's much richer than me, and I trust her."

The female reporter immediately felt that her flirtatious glances had been wasted. Xiao Tu even flaunted his affection for his partner while answering questions; Madonna would surely be delighted to see the news.

The reporters all felt that Xiao Tu's answers were very composed, not at all like a young person. "How do you spend your money?" is a question reporters often ask star players, and the black player's answer is basically "buy, buy, buy," buying whatever he likes and spending it recklessly.

Next, Xiao Tu started talking about Adidas, expressing his anticipation for the release of his first signature sneaker.

"I hope the shoes are in the Lakers' purple and gold colors, that would be more meaningful," Xiao Tu said, subtly showing his goodwill towards the Lakers.

"I believe the Lakers' purple and gold are not just a color scheme, but also a unique heritage and source of pride. I look forward to wearing the purple and gold jersey and shoes next year and proudly shouting on the court—Lakers are the champions!"

Xiao Tu's slogan is inspiring because the current Lakers team can actually win the championship, and he's not afraid of being proven wrong. Future Lakers players can't shout this; it would be embarrassing if they went straight to the play-in tournament afterward.

The reporters present were very excited. Today's press conference had many highlights, especially Xiao Tu's declaration of victory.

While both were declaring their intention to win a championship, Xiao Tu's speech was better than the other two Lakers stars. His was sincere and full of confidence!

A rookie saying something like that is bound to be followed and reported by the media. Whether or not Xiao Tu can help the Lakers win the championship this season, it will be big news.

The following day, clips of Xiao Tu's press conference went viral after being broadcast on the sports channel.

He was neatly dressed, full of vigor, and looked even better on camera than usual.

Many casual observers exclaimed how handsome Adidas' new spokesperson was. Then, when they chatted with their friends, they exclaimed, "Wow, no wonder he attracted Madonna at just 18!"

The Adidas boss was very happy and praised Xiao Tu in a company meeting, saying he was the best talker among the athletes and that he made a good choice for spokesperson.

During the meeting, someone suggested using Xiao Tu's words from the press conference as an advertising slogan: "No brothers, no basketball." It sounded very appealing.

No one had this vision before; star players were afraid that fans would think they weren't good enough, so they tried to ignore the role of their teammates.

Xiao Tu only said a few words, but he gave people a better impression than other Adidas spokespeople, completely displaying the demeanor of a top star.

What did Kareem Abdul-Jabbar say for Adidas?

The boss couldn't remember; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's advertising slogans weren't memorable, and shoe sales were just average.

The meeting also finalized a marketing plan: the company decided to create exclusive purple and gold basketball shoes for Xiao Tu, even if it meant being fined by the league.

(End of this chapter)