Champion Creed
Chapter 478 - 478 179 This is really too bad asking for monthly tickets!

478: 179: This is really too bad (asking for monthly tickets!) 478: 179: This is really too bad (asking for monthly tickets!) Several years ago, the Nike team thought that all Roger could destroy was Penny.

But now, things had gone far beyond their expectations.

The day after Jordan faced the most humiliating night of his career, the media around the world raced to report on Jordan’s failure.

You had to admit, Michael Jordan was still the most followed player on this planet.

Even his failures were so captivating.

Over the past three years, Roger’s actions against Jordan had turned Nike’s marketing into a joke.

They tried to package Jordan as a perfect player, an unbeatable god.

But in the face of three consecutive years of failure, those wrappings were ruthlessly torn apart.

Roger had dismantled the dynasty Bulls, forcing Jordan to flee to New York.

Then, he won against Jordan again in New York.

In the face of such overwhelming failure, Nike’s formidable media power was helpless.

In Akron, the young Dru Joyce gleaned a lesson from Michael Jordan’s tragedy: “If a player has no strength, it’s no use running anywhere.”

The little friend beside him, LeBron James, thought deeply.

Is it no use running anywhere?

No, if Michael and Shaq had been willing to communicate in advance last summer and had gone together to a place that would benefit everyone, then things might have been different.

The key isn’t where you go, it’s about choosing the right teammates.

Roger was lucky; without Shaq as a teammate, he would have nothing.

So, choosing teammates wisely was an art form.

The evening after Jordan lost the game, many television stations began playing Jordan’s highlights and short documentaries.

This was the only way Nike could currently salvage Jordan’s dignity.

Now that Jordan had completely become a loser, they could only try to dilute Jordan’s current failures by making fans recall the Jordan at his peak.

They tried to remind fans that Michael Jordan was once a great player.

But these efforts seemed more like a preview of Jordan’s funeral.

They were more like telling the fans: Look, that’s all in the past.

And the Jordan of the past has died.

Even many believed this was a signal that Jordan would not return to the Knicks next season.

Because only when reminiscing about stars who were about to retire would stations repeatedly play their highlights.

Now, the basketball world was filled with two major uncertainties: Where would Shaq go and would Michael retire?

If Jordan were to retire, would he be considered as having been forced into retirement by Roger?

Many still found it hard to accept.

Maybe Roger had ended Jordan’s career for good, had ended an era.

But whether you accepted it or not, the march of time never waits for anyone.

Even when the wheels of time turn, you can hardly perceive it.

Like tonight, another era’s pulse beat madly on.

The San Antonio Spurs won the No.

1 pick in the lottery with a 21.4% chance.

In 1987, the Spurs landed the No.

1 pick and got David Robinson.

Ten years later, they were in luck again.

Popovich sneeringly told the reporters after the lottery ceremony, “Our ticket sales colleagues are working very hard now.”

Indeed, on the day the Spurs secured the No.

1 pick, their season ticket sales surged by 3,000.

At this moment, few realized that the wheel of a new era had already begun to turn.

Shaq, Kobe, Duncan, the boy from Akron…

Players of a new era were joining the game one after another.

But there were some who were wise.

Red Auerbach, seeing the Celtics miss out on the No.

1 pick and not even landing a No.

2, immediately understood everything.

He told the reporters, “I’ve lost the motivation to work.”

Because he realized that his era was completely over — there was no place for him in David Stern’s NBA.

Auerbach’s glory needs no words, but even someone as storied as him had his day of being left behind by the times.

So even if Roger truly ended Jordan’s career, it was quite a normal thing.

Nothing is eternal, everything is scenery.

If you aim to achieve eternity, it’s best to leave a sufficiently dazzling legacy behind.

As Michael Jordan suffered the most painful defeat of his career, and as Spurs fans dreamed about the Twin Towers combination of David Robinson and Tim Duncan, Olajuwon, Drexler, and Barkley were also witnessing the end of their era.

In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals, with the last 2.8 seconds left, the Houston Rockets and the Utah Jazz were tied at 100.

Charles Barkley was sweating profusely, hardly believing the game had turned out this way.

Because just four minutes before the end, the Rockets were ahead by 10 points at 94-84.

Karl Malone, being heavily defended by Barkley, was contained; Hornacek was closely guarded by Mario Elie, and Mutombo had no chance of scoring against Dream.

When their backs were against the wall, that averagely athletic white veteran guard stood out.

In the last three minutes, he scored 10 points to help the Jazz tie the score.

In the final 2.8 seconds, it was the Jazz’s ball possession.

They were about to inbound the ball, and Jerry Sloan had arranged a star-burst strategy.

Bryon Russell was ready to throw the inbound, with most of the Rockets’ defensive attention on Karl Malone and Hornacek.

Even though Stockton had scored 10 points in the previous three minutes, he still was not given the attention he deserved.

In reality, this guy was a true killer.

Very few could score a buzzer-beater over Michael Jordan’s head, but John Stockton had done it back in 1989.