Champion Creed
Chapter 305 - 305 130 I won't let you fight alone anymore asking for monthly pass_3

305: 130: I won’t let you fight alone anymore (asking for monthly pass)_3 305: 130: I won’t let you fight alone anymore (asking for monthly pass)_3 But Roger didn’t care about those, after the game, the Magic Team immediately boarded a flight to Boston, and they had to face the Celtics back-to-back tomorrow.

But Roger was not among them, he immediately went to Newark after the game ended.

By the time Roger arrived, Odessa’s grandmother was no longer in the room.

Shaquille sat motionless at the door of his grandmother’s room.

Hearing Roger’s footsteps, he slowly raised his head, expressionlessly stood up, walked toward Roger, and embraced him tightly.

Then, there was heart-wrenching sobbing.

Roger swore he had never seen an adult cry like this before.

Shaquille’s emotions completely collapsed.

His grandmother’s knee had been his refuge, wherever anything happened, just leaning on it made him feel secure.

But tonight, Shaq’s sanctuary had completely disappeared from this world.

Roger didn’t know what to say, or rather, saying anything now seemed superfluous.

All he did was to embrace Shaq just as tightly, patting his back.

All he needed was to let Shaq know that he would always support him from behind.

Shaquille cried tightly holding Roger for a full half hour because he had to be a strong man in front of his dad and mom, and he had to comfort them in turn.

Only with Roger could Shaq completely let himself go.

Clearly, Shaq was not in any state to play basketball, burdened by contract renewal pressures, and the death of a loved one…

Roger thought, if it were him, he would definitely feel awful too.

As fans, everyone only knew the Bulls swept the Magic in 96, achieving a very satisfying revenge.

They only knew to say, “Jordan is awesome” to summarize that playoff round, then disregarded the Magic of the 96 season.

But truly being a player deeply involved in that season, Roger knew it wasn’t that simple at all.

Was the Magic being swept 4-0 really just because Jordan got back into his groove, just because they added Rodman?

No, basketball is only a game, but the players are human.

The variables involved are a hundred times more complex than the basketball tactics themselves!

It’s hard to say how much desire Shaq had left to compete for championships after facing all that.

The more Roger got into it, the more he understood how difficult it was to defend a title, and even more so to win three consecutive championships.

After that, Shaq took a week off to handle his grandmother’s funeral arrangements, and Roger once again found himself leading the team alone.

But, just like before, the performance of the Magic Team wasn’t affected.

That week, the Magic won the first two games they played.

And in those two games, Roger scored 40 points each!

Against the Hawks, Roger scored 45 points for the entire game, and Hawks owner Ted Turner grew even more fascinated by Roger.

He knew Roger had a player option in ’98 and also knew there would be labor negotiations that year.

Would fate favor him?

Wait and see.

In the second game against the Pacers, the Magic’s rebounds were heavily dominated by the opposition, with the yellow army grabbing 19 more boards than the Magic, most of which turned into second-chance opportunities.

But Roger scored 43 points, marking the sixth time this season he had scored over 40 points in single games, firmly controlling the situation.

And in the final moments, he blocked Reggie Miller’s potential game-winning shot, leading the team to victory in Indianapolis.

Even leading the team alone, Roger maintained the Magic’s dominance.

Because Odessa’s grandmother’s last wish was “a serene funeral with only flowers and music,” Shaq didn’t want the outside world to know about this, hoping to keep his grandmother and family from being disturbed.

Therefore, the Magic Team had to announce publicly that O’Neal was temporarily leaving the team due to “personal matters.”

What kind of personal matters?

Sorry, no comments.

Curiosity is the media’s favorite tool.

Fans who can’t get answers will look to the media for them.

The media also lacks the answers, so what do they do?

It’s simple, they make up their own!

The American media is the most truthfully transparent media in the world.

Some media claimed that O’Neal encountered the same kind of fishing expedition in Orlando as James Worthy.

To make this claim seem credible, they even found a “witness.”

An anonymous source told reporters, “I saw a tall woman in fishnet stockings enter Shaq’s room; she was at least 190 cm tall!

Soon afterward, the police burst in and dragged Shaq out.

I wasn’t under the bed, but I truly saw it clearly!”

Given Shaq’s size, the “190 cm tall woman” detail seems quite plausible.

However, this clever detail ironically proved that it was all fabricated.

Other media claimed O’Neal had completely broken off relations with the team due to contract renewal issues and had left without saying goodbye.

These rumors might not seem far-fetched, after all, the last time rumors even speculated he had died.

What really concerned O’Neal were not these rumors, but other things.

After Roger once again performed brilliantly and won two games, the media narrative began to be very unfriendly towards Shaq.

If the Magic Team could continue to win without Roger, then what was his purpose?

“Shaquille O’Neal might be the most overrated star in history.

Before he met Roger, he hadn’t won a single playoff round, but Roger could still harvest victories without him.”—Orlando Sentinel.

Shaq had disappeared again, but sadly, the Orlando fans were used to this.

Honestly, his attitude didn’t deserve a championship.—Sun Sentinel.