noveldrama
Chapter 914 914 552 Hell is a playground_2
Chapter 914 914 552 Hell is a playground_2
?Chapter 914: Chapter 552 Hell is a playground_2 Chapter 914: Chapter 552 Hell is a playground_2 Not only is he the face of the League, he’s also the spokesperson for several sponsors, and has to lead his younger brothers at Reebok in various events.
When Reebok’s event began, some of the older media folks couldn’t help but marvel at the GOAT’s enduring influence on the brand.
Back in the day, there were hardly any players wearing Reebok at the All-Star weekend.
And now?
Setting the GOAT aside, there are rising stars like Westbrook and Curry after him.
In contrast, look at Nike, with Kobe and James, the two leading figures, being suppressed by the GOAT.
They lost a playoff series right before the lockout that they absolutely couldn’t afford to lose.
Bill Simmons likened the Evil Empire’s failure in the 2010 Western finals like this, “As a sports fan, you know not all defeats bring the same pain. The Lakers’ loss in 2010 was like someone beat you up, then seduced your wife, and posted a video of them screwing on Pornhub.”
Such a failure was enough to destroy the fans’ confidence in them.
Especially for the youngsters, wearing Kobe and James’ sneakers and jerseys became something to be ridiculed for.
Reebok was like a big-mouthed monster, crazily eating into Nike’s market share with its victories on the front lines.
In the past, when young rising stars entered the League, other sneaker brands either waged price wars or were left to pick up Nike’s leftovers, but that’s been changing in recent years.
Reebok got the right of first refusal, and Nike was left with the leftovers.
All these changes prove the triumph of Reebok in the market and the weakening of Nike.
And the man behind all this stood right there.
Yu Fei sat in the center spot, discussing the playing styles of young players.
“You know, I really hate to see Stephen taking like ten LOGO shots in a game,” Yu Fei said disdainfully, “that’s not real basketball at all.”
Reebok’s superstar, Curry, defended himself, “Not that many, at most I take five LOGO shots in a game.”
The atmosphere on-site was harmonious and friendly, which made the invited Reebok legend, Allen Iverson, sigh, “This is why I chose Reebok back in the day, I truly believed their products were better than Nike’s, and time has proven me right.”
Iverson had retired, and there were recent rumors of him going bankrupt, so nobody was unhappy about him stepping out to make his presence known.
After all, before Yu Fei, Iverson was indeed the flag bearer of Reebok.
The event went on into the night, and Iverson organized a second party at a nightclub.
Yu Fei didn’t join, because he still had a lot of things to take care of.
Afterward, the All-Star weekend officially started.
Yu Fei didn’t care about the skill contests and the rookie challenge, as they were really not worth watching.
The endless events left Yu Fei’s mind blank.
That was until the appearance of Pat Williams, the vice president of the Magic Team.
Williams was an old-timer in the League, having been in management for decades, but outside his profession, he’s best known for being the father of nineteen children.
Of course, this isn’t because he and his wife were that prolific, as fourteen of those kids were adopted.
Yu Fei, who was about to become a father, struck up a conversation with him about children.
That was probably the most relaxed Yu Fei had been in the past few days.
Then the day of the All-Star game arrived.
If we were to compare the teams based on their rosters, the Western All-Star Team would undoubtedly come out on top.
The only question was whether the Western All-Star Team could unite.
This could be seen straight away in the locker room.
Tyronn Lue was constantly sweating. Although he’d gotten used to coaching in Seattle, coming to the All-Star weekend to coach a group of stars he used to have to nod and bow to when he played, his presence was severely lacking.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Yu Fei noticed Coach Lu’s anxiety, “all these guys are our vanquished foes.”
Yu Fei’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for everyone to hear.
Lue became even more flustered after hearing it.
It seemed GOAT didn’t understand the principle that “if it doesn’t help unity, don’t say it.”
But even such a divisive comment, no one could refute it.
“Let me just say this,” Roy immediately disassociated himself, “I came to Orlando with ‘love and peace’ in mind.”
Yu Fei glanced at him, then noticed Durant was rapidly typing on a tablet.
Not sure if it was just his imagination, but Durant seemed to be more addicted to the internet recently.
However, his main account’s post count hadn’t gone up significantly. Hence, it was clear he had started to use secondary accounts to attack others again.
Yu Fei could somewhat understand the thrill of voicing unrestrained and harsh opinions with a secondary account, but indulging in such pleasure was unhealthy.
Was Durant going through something?
Yu Fei’s concern for Durant ceased abruptly; after all, he wasn’t Durant’s dad.
But Durant did have reasons to frequently use secondary accounts.
He discovered that his online haters were on the rise, often grabbing one or two snippets to extrapolate wildly, twisting his motives, and attempting to vilify him.
Some media were also influenced, launching a “Search for the Real Kevin Durant” project.
He was very angry and slowly losing his temper, becoming much more hostile toward the media than before and not as gentle as the breeze with fans. Many people said he had changed, but who caused that?
Durant didn’t want to delve into these causes and effects; he just wanted to vent his pent-up rage.
When the All-Star game began, Durant, selected as a starter for the first time, only had one goal, and that was to win the MVP of the game.