The Way of Basketball: Never Talk Shit to Him!
Chapter 563 - 232 The Most Gimmicky Finals_4

Chapter 563: Chapter 232 The Most Gimmicky Finals_4

This final round was the most glamorous farewell of the 2000s for basketball fans worldwide, while for David Stern, it was a perfect performance report to the owners of all 30 NBA teams!

All that I had envisioned and the "big pies" that I painted for you will be embodied in this series!

He was extremely confident, and the media were frenzied, with all major outlets initiating coverage. But honestly, with so many gimmicks, even working overtime, there were too many questions left unanswered.

And even if all these questions were asked, there were not enough media outlets to report on them.

Except for ESPN...

Always focusing on website development, they immediately launched a new program on their website called "Live Finals" the second the Lakers officially entered the final against the Pacers!

All sorts of news related to the two teams were continuously released, attracting a large number of fans to log on to the website.

When exactly ESPN became an industry giant, Su Wan had no idea, but now he was absolutely convinced it started from this finals.

Suddenly, all major media sped up their website development.

But this hot topic should have nothing to do with them.

With such huge exposure, the "war of words" between the two sides escalated.

It mainly revolved around Su Wan, Kobe, and Shaquille O’Neal, and the content was explosive:

"Nobody will dare say that after this series!" — Shaquille O’Neal proactively addressing the remarks that "without Kobe, Shaquille is nothing";

"Of course it’s Su Wan, he’s the most incredible guy. Even in my prime, I’d have been willing to assist him. Honestly, if it were Su Wan back then, there would’ve been no conflicts between us, and we would have won eight championships in a row!" — Shaquille O’Neal discussing who was better, Su Wan or Kobe.

"My matches against him are always classics; he’s the opponent I regret not facing in my prime." — Shaquille O’Neal on Yao Ming.

"All our discussions will completely end after this series!" — when the media asked Kobe again who was the most important in the "OK" duo;

"Yao is the best center I’ve worked with; his dedication is unmatched, something some people will never have. If it were Yao, he would have had the toe surgery in the summer of 2002 without hesitation, I have no doubt about it. That’s where he’s better than Shaquille!" — when reporters asked Kobe who was better, Yao Ming or Shaquille.

"I lost to him once, so this time, I will win it back!" — Kobe discussing facing Su Wan once again.

"Do I seem like the type to think my subordinates are better than me?" — Su Wan’s answer when a reporter asked who was better, him or Kobe.

"The championship will explain everything!" — Su Wan’s response to who is the most important in the "OK" duo, Kobe or Shaquille.

...

With these "friendly" interactions, the day of the finals arrived, Staples was dazzling with stars, the sidelines were packed with celebrities, one could mistake it for a concert of a heavenly superstar.

That was the heat of this championship round!

The game hadn’t even started, and the live broadcast in the United States had already reached 30 million viewers.

Neither last year’s "Lakers vs. Celtics" nor the Pacers vs. Lakers battle the year before had such high viewership in their first matches.

And this was just within the United States.

Across other platforms broadcasting through ESPN, like the Amazon platform in Asia, the viewership also exceeded one million.

And in Huaxia...

It well exceeded one hundred million!

From this perspective, the NBA’s popularity even surpassed the "Super Bowl"!

When David Stern saw these numbers, he couldn’t help but smile proudly.

In fact, ever since Yao entered the NBA, successfully opening up the Huaxia market, his "NBA Internationalization" strategy had proven to be a success.

But...

It wasn’t until now, with these global NBA viewing figures combined, that David Stern truly realized just how successful he had been.

Getting a close-up shot in such a match was equivalent to becoming a familiar face in front of one or two hundred million fans worldwide—who wouldn’t want these celebrities to come and show support?

Speaking of which, tonight’s courtside tickets were especially expensive; some seats close to the NBA bench were going for up to 200,000 US dollars.

Of course, this was Los Angeles; such prices wouldn’t fly in Indiana...

Honestly, not only do players want to move to big cities for greater exposure and bigger contracts, but owners also prefer to buy teams in big cities—just the ticket sales alone could differ by more than ten million a year.

Let alone other endorsements and such.

Just look at the advertisements temporarily added to the Lakers’ scene to see that Old Bass has raked in a huge fortune again.

At courtside, Su Wan spotted three familiar figures: Sharapova, Ivanka, and... Eiza Gonzalez, with whom he had an intense interaction at the All-Star event just this year.

The three women quickly noticed each other and the visual exchanges with Su Wan, their expressions inscrutable.

This was the first time Su Wan had experienced such a "chaotic scene," and he tried to act normal while muttering to himself:

"They’re just friends, just friends!

It has nothing to do with you, nothing to do with you!"

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