The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 560 - 232: The Most Spectacular Finals

Chapter 560: Chapter 232: The Most Spectacular Finals

The Pacers made it back to the finals after defeating the Magic Team, a year since their last appearance.

Shaquille O’Neal vented fiercely in front of the media, watching the Orlando Media flee in disarray. His mood had never been this wonderful since he left Los Angeles in 2004.

Thinking about it, he was about to face the Los Angeles media again soon.

He felt even lighter...

His 300-pound frame felt much lighter.

On the flight back, he took the initiative to sit next to Su Wan.

Su Wan glanced at him, asking with his eyes if something was wrong.

Since the last time they talked, they rarely sat together off the court.

Shaquille O’Neal was a man who cared about his face.

But now, he felt he could completely let go of his pride.

"Thank you," he said gratefully to Su Wan.

Su Wan forced a slight smile.

Shaquille O’Neal had anticipated Su Wan’s reaction.

He now knew what kind of person Su Wan was.

He had his own set of principles for conduct.

If you fit within these standards, you would find him a very friendly and good person.

But if you acted outside these standards, you’d feel he was targeting you.

One rule included...

He would never forgive a past enemy.

And his past conflict with Su Wan on the Heat Team clearly reached the level of "enemy."

Su Wan was still able to communicate normally with him because:

He was wearing a Pacers uniform.

Su Wan was a leader with a strong sense of responsibility.

Even if he didn’t get along with someone, as long as he nodded and allowed that person to join the team, he wouldn’t go out of his way to target them.

However, he wouldn’t give any chances, just "observe from the shadows." During his "probation period" if you crossed the "red line" without changing, he would knock you out in one stroke.

Every time Shaquille O’Neal thought about how, if he hadn’t changed his attitude on the field, he would have ended up sitting on the cold bench during the playoffs, he felt a chill down his spine. He was now very thankful to God for having had that conversation with Su Wan.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t feel so great now!

Knowing Su Wan also, Shaquille O’Neal didn’t feel that Su Wan’s coldness was a blow to his face.

To be precise, he should be the one among the "enemies" who had the best relationship with Su Wan!

"Su, you will probably leave Indiana later, won’t you?" Shaquille started another topic on his own.

Su Wan glanced at him sidewards, with a look as if viewing a fool, which made Shaquille give a wry laugh.

He knew the topic he picked wasn’t a good one, especially since New York had planned to rename Madison Square Garden to Su Wan Street, connecting it to Chinatown, Su Wan couldn’t escape hearing the same question daily from media reporters:

"Su, after this contract ends, you’re going to New York, right?"

It made Su Wan’s scalp tingle.

Now on the plane, finally away from reporters, he brought up the topic again...

If Shaquille were Su Wan, he probably would have reacted the same way.

However, Shaquille O’Neal really wanted to advise Su Wan, "You should really consider experiencing a big city after this contract ends, I can assure you, it’s a completely different feeling!"

That was his own experience.

During those years in Orlando, even though he also became a Superstar, in terms of exposure and fame, Nike’s collaboration of "Michael Jordan and Anfene Hardaway" was extremely successful—it was a playoff where Jordan, for the only time in his career, wore someone else’s shoes, specifically the signature shoes of Anfene Hardaway.

Added to that was the phrase "I feel Anfene is the most like me," which directly made Hardaway "Michael Jordan’s Successor."

But actually...

Like hell!

If Hardaway were a wing Scorer like Jordan or Kobe, they wouldn’t have lost so miserably in the ’95 finals!

Jordan saying such a thing meant either he was out of his mind, or it was part of a deal with Nike, preparing to boost Hardaway, Nike’s newly signed endorser.

The real answer goes without saying.

But the Orlando media believed it, so did the management, thinking Hardaway was the next "Jordan." And with Shaquille’s injuries, they tried to use this chance to reduce Shaquille O’Neal’s contract offer.

Unable to bear the insult, Shaquille O’Neal received a maximum salary offer from the Lakers and left immediately, without a second thought.

It was also after he went to Los Angeles that he realized he was already a "Superstar!"

Especially during those peak three years, he truly felt like the "Superstar of All over the United States." Any little movement would make the headlines, and the media even called him "the most dominant player."

Note, there wasn’t a "one of"!

That meant even Jordan couldn’t match him at his peak.

Of course, this reflects the hype capability of big cities.

And this ability to manipulate public opinion through media is difficult for smaller cities like Indiana to possess.

How would those big-city media ever care about a "God of Basketball" from Indiana?

In Shaquille O’Neal’s view, Su Wan’s impact could reach a much higher level just because he was in Polis, not New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, thus always accumulating there, never able to make a Breakthrough beyond that limit.

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