Champion Creed
Chapter 573 - 573 206 He doesn't even seem like a professional player Vote for monthly tickets!

573: 206: He doesn’t even seem like a professional player (Vote for monthly tickets!) 573: 206: He doesn’t even seem like a professional player (Vote for monthly tickets!) Gary Payton’s historical status in this timeline is very worrisome because he was utterly destroyed in the ’96 Finals.

In the original history, when people thought of Payton, they would recall his defensive highlight against Kobe in ’96.

Although a closer look at the game reveals it wasn’t solely Payton’s doing, that round of the Finals indeed brought Payton prestige.

And now?

Whenever people bring up Payton, they remember how he, as the DPOY, was utterly humiliated by Roger in ’96.

The ’96 Finals brought Payton nothing but shame instead of honor.

Even the Admiral was saved by comparison because Dream’s dominating performance against the Admiral wasn’t as complete as Roger’s against Payton.

Payton dreams of washing away such disgrace, but the chances to face Roger are just too few.

And last season, due to internal team issues, the SuperSonics lost both games against Magic.

This time, Payton had finally seen a glimmer of hope to restore his reputation.

Yet the Hawks broke the game open with an unbelievably accurate three-point shot, forcing him to confront Roger once again.

The old shame hadn’t been washed away before the new disgrace came knocking at the door.

When Roger asked Payton how he wanted to embarrass himself, Payton didn’t even dare to retort.

He spread his arms, his gaze focused.

A steal?

Payton didn’t dare to make a move!

Just now, when he slightly exposed his front foot to Roger, he was bypassed in one step.

If the steal failed, Roger would surely score.

“Worthy of SPOY, you’re just on solitary defense, why so nervous?” Roger taunted Payton with trash talk while looking for an opportunity.

“I’m not nervous at all, I have a hundred ways to stop you!”

“Never talk back to a savior so loudly.”

Roger found an opening and drove past Payton on the left.

Payton shuffled to block, but Roger swiftly changed direction, and slipped past Payton.

Because the other SuperSonics were pinned outside the three-point line, Roger’s path opened up suddenly.

A quick stop, a mid-range shot, scoring amidst desperate interference from the opponent.

Destroying Payton was just too easy for Roger.

“Dammit, damn it!” George Karl helplessly banged the tactical board, Payton although beaten just now, had recovered quite quickly.

But to Roger, that bit of interference seemed hardly enough.

“The biggest trait about Michael and Roger is, they can easily do the ‘I’m gonna score 30~35 points tonight, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me’ thing,” Steve Jones used a phrase that people once used to describe the Iceman.

Of course, Roger and the Iceman had quite a gap now.

He had resistance, defense, a desire to win.

All of this had long since surpassed the former template by far.

The second quarter had just started, and the Seattle fans in attendance felt powerless.

Payton, the strongest defender of the ’90s at the point guard position, was like a thin film in front of Roger, providing no protection whatsoever to the basket behind him.

The game continued, Payton with a bounce pass assisted a cutting Vin Baker for a slam dunk, temporarily steadying the score.

But as long as Payton could not handle Roger, the SuperSonics couldn’t close the gap.

This time, Payton changed his defensive strategy, pressing Roger closely, not giving him any space to dribble or shoot easily.

But Roger used stronger physicality to back Payton down and then found an opportunity to drive.

Payton, this time, stuck closely to Roger’s side from beginning to end, without any positional mistakes.

But Roger forcefully barged into the paint carrying Payton along and then took off, slamming a one-handed dunk over Payton!

“This is you, SPOY!” Roger roared as he landed.

“God, Gary is as powerless as a child!” Steve Jones could hardly bear to watch.

To let Roger score was one thing, but to allow him to finish with such an explosive dunk was utterly embarrassing.

Years of patient and scientific weight training had made it so that Roger no longer lost out in terms of strength in these matchups; he could execute many such violent finishes, easily switching roles between berserker and assassin.

Moreover, his opponent was a point guard.

No matter how much of a size advantage Payton had at the point, he was still a point guard.

He was indeed tough enough, but when facing someone just as tough and stronger than you are, you’re out of luck.

Roger dunked right over the top of Payton’s head, and that visual impact was much stronger than a mere shot.

Payton’s confidence also suffered a devastating blow.

SPOY, a term coined by Roger himself, had become his nightmare.

Payton was left in complete disarray as Roger had already scored 14 points by the seventh minute of the second quarter.

And amongst those points were several humiliating power plays.

Fortunately for Payton, he was saved.

The SuperSonics started to relax their lockdown on the perimeter and began double-teaming Roger again.

Even though Roger was on an offensive roll, he remained calm facing the double-team and continued to pass the ball to his teammates.

This was a truly commendable quality.

Indeed, simply passing the ball to the open teammate is a basic principle known to everyone who plays basketball.

But for a superstar, it is indeed a valuable quality.

Every superstar has a desire to shine, especially when they’re on a roll.

Even those players hailed for their excellent vision sometimes pass over the open teammate in favor of showing off.

In reality, they only pass when necessary.

But Roger didn’t let it get to his head; he acknowledged that dominating Payton felt great.

Still, when his team needed him, he calmly handed the ball over.