Mountain Peak System: a Path to NBA-Chapter 411 - 138: It’s Mine Now, and It Will Be Mine in the Future (10,000-Word Compilation, Begging for Subscription and Monthly Tickets!)
Chapter 411: Chapter 138: It’s Mine Now, and It Will Be Mine in the Future (10,000-Word Compilation, Begging for Subscription and Monthly Tickets!)
From any perspective, this year’s Finals failed to meet the expectations of David Stern and his colleagues.
The Warriors had already announced their successful defense with three consecutive overwhelming victories.
The immense gap in strength between the Cavaliers and the Warriors even made Stern abandon the idea of giving Clevelanders off-court weighting.
Compared to the consistently high ratings of the Western Conference playoffs...
The Finals this year only maintained some attention because people were curious about what records Qin Yue might set in the Finals.
Nike and its allies have begun preparing to promote the new God of Basketball.
They are just waiting for Qin Yue to clinch his second career championship, and then, like Michael Jordan in 1992, with a back-to-back title, he will officially be crowned with the "GOAT" halo.
Yes, long before Jordan established the Bulls’ first dynasty, the "God of Basketball" halo had already appeared over his head.
However...
Later, Jordan used his well-deserved honors to firmly secure the throne of God of Basketball.
As one of the masterminds behind that "god-making movement" back then, Stern knew very well...
The sponsors behind Qin Yue would never wait until he truly had the credentials to challenge Jordan before launching this god-making movement.
Because by then, it would be too late.
As Ira Borko of The New York Times said, "In the last decade, we witnessed how Michael Jordan dominated the league.
And in the next decade, a new GOAT has already embarked on his dynasty journey under our collective witness."
Even in the post-Jordan era...
Stern had fantasized about a star taking over the banner from Jordan, but Qin Yue’s emergence and his rise speed greatly shocked the league’s chief director.
Qin Yue’s star power has long overshadowed all his contemporaries.
Even Kobe, who had a longstanding grudge with him, benefited from it.
As the chief of the "Anti-Qin Alliance," after settling the Eagle County incident, Kobe not only quickly regained his popularity but also became the common idol of all fans who detested Qin Yue.
Nike intends to officially ignite the war called "24VS30" next season.
After all, Kobe was a "wild child" they picked up halfway, perfectly suitable as a stepping stone for their "own child."
As for the Chosen One, in whom Nike had high hopes?
No worries.
At least James proved with his incredibly smart decisions during the Finals that he still has untapped potential and hopes to succeed Kobe as the leader of the "Anti-Qin Alliance" in the future.
With Qin Yue’s emergence, James is no longer irreplaceable in Nike Empire’s future plans.
If James can prove with his actions that he has the ability to start that great rivalry with Qin Yue, Nike doesn’t mind continuing to invest heavily in him.
But if James can’t do it...
Then in the future plans of the Nike Empire, he can also be sacrificed as a stepping stone for Qin Yue.
After all...
In the basketball world, only the GOAT is unique.
And stepping stones...
A few will always emerge every other year.
Of course, because James is such an expensive stepping stone, Nike would still go to great lengths to package him, ensuring he continually keeps up the chase against Qin Yue unless absolutely necessary.
June 16, 2007.
— This is the day of the fourth game of the Finals.
Qin Yue already displayed a good competitive state during the warm-up phase.
Even though before the game, Qin Yue couldn’t find that mysterious feeling he had during the first two "Goodnight, Los Angeles" nights.
But after his experience of playing through injuries...
Qin Yue instead felt that his control over the game and his grasp of rhythm no longer made him yearn for that in-game state like before.
As long as his physical condition was decent and his shooting touch was barely acceptable, Qin Yue had the confidence to defeat any opponent.
Swish!
In the tunnel, after hitting a difficult long-range three-pointer as usual, Qin Yue officially ended his pre-game warm-up.
That night, Quicken Loans Arena was still packed to the brim.
However, many fans boldly wearing Warriors No. 30 jerseys had already appeared in the stands.
During the player introduction, Qin Yue, who had previously added to Cleveland’s tragic sports history with two blocks known as "The Dunk," even received cheers second only to this arena’s owner LeBron James.
Do the Cavaliers fans really stand by and watch as those Warriors fans occupy their home court?
What else could they do?
After three consecutive defeats, would you still force these heartbroken Clevelanders, who at this moment only want to soberly embrace the fate of failure with their team, to respond with boos to those Warriors fans who took over the Cavaliers’ Finals tickets?
Clevelanders have suffered enough.
At this moment, they just want to quietly accompany the team to welcome the end.
In the center court, the never-give-up LeBron James led his King’s Guard to take their positions one by one.
While on the Warriors’ side, Qin Yue was laughing and chatting with his tough teammates until the main referee reminded them, only then did they stand ready.
The difference in the teams’ mindset was apparent from the jump ball stage.
After the jump ball, Warriors’ possession.
Using Artest’s screen, Qin Yue moved from the right side of the court to the left side to receive the ball, and upon receiving it, immediately pulled up for a shot, testing his touch from the left forty-five-degree angle.
Clang!
Qin Yue didn’t expect every shot of his to score.
But this off-ball move made James, who hoped to silence him with unlimited double-teaming, involuntarily frown.
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