The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball
Chapter 258 - 152: Dividing Military Authority by Eight - Part 2

Chapter 258: Chapter 152: Dividing Military Authority by Eight - Part 2

"Why?" Rondo was still perplexed.

"If you were Nike’s top endorser, and you won a championship as the second-in-command, how should Nike promote you?"

Hansen had stumped Rondo with that question.

He really couldn’t picture that.

But the sense of incongruity was very strong.

Just imagine if Pippen was Nike’s top endorser, and then under Jordan’s leadership, he had won a dynasty...

At that time, it wasn’t about whether or not they won the championship; it was about Nike’s prestige.

And Nike couldn’t just switch endorsers whenever they wanted, given the endorsement contract was signed and in place.

So, as incredible as it seems, it made sense: I don’t want a championship if I’m not the FMVP.

This feeling was exactly like when Hansen was negotiating with Ferry back in the day, "Chosen One," that was the shackle around James’s neck.

He seemed untouchable, but in reality, every step he took was not his to decide.

This was the inevitable outcome of being pushed into a position without having the power.

"Could we be overthinking it with our conspiracy theories?" Although Rondo understood, he still found the idea of a professional athlete acting this way baffling.

"Let’s keep watching."

The two continued to focus on the game.

However, the more they watched, the more Rondo believed what Hansen said was true.

Because by the fourth quarter, James had only attempted eight shots and scored 6 points...

That clearly couldn’t be explained by normal reasoning.

Remember how James struggled against the Grizzlies during the regular season?

But he still managed to score in double digits because staggered scoring runs made it easier.

But now, it wasn’t about whether James could score or not, it was as if most of the time he didn’t even want to; whenever he got the ball, he would either pass it to Wade or drive in and then dish it out, with an offensive desire so low it was alarming.

The Heat ultimately lost the game 83 to 89.

Nowitzki wasn’t as good as last time, making 8 out of 19 shots for only 24 points, Terry 17 points, Marion 16 points, and O’Neal 13 points.

Wade had a futile 32 points, Bosh a futile 24 points, and James made only 3 out of 11 shots for 8 points.

Although it was slightly different from what Hansen knew, the "eight points to delegate the military authority," the inevitable still happened!

Uh, at this moment, both old and new LeBron fans on social media had collectively vanished.

"If only LeBron scored the same as last game, we would’ve won," Rondo, unwilling to accept it, pulled out 500 US dollars.

Hansen laughed as he took the money, then jiggled the bills in his hand,

"I’ll treat you to a nice meal later."

Rondo’s mouth twitched; he was willing to accept his loss, the money was now Hansen’s, but it all felt too weird.

It’s all James’s fault!

"Does LeBron really not want to win?" Rondo couldn’t help but ask as he stood up.

"Of course he wants to win, and he even wants the FMVP! How about we make a bet, I wager LeBron will shoot more than DW next game."

"Never mind that, I’d better save my money," Rondo’s mouth twitched again.

Hansen laughed heartily, patting him on the shoulder.

You see, understanding James is actually quite simple!

On their way to dinner, Kanye West transferred half a million.

Hansen sent the money along with the screenshot on social media directly to Swift.

With this move, West was sort of paying a little interest for the mic-snatching incident back then.

The G3 game was over, but the fun wasn’t.

Because after G3, all of the Heat were predictably making excuses for James.

Wade said James was just in bad shape, Riley said James had hurt his right hand since G1 and had been fighting through the injury, Spoelstra said it was my strategic arrangement that went wrong.

With the previous "Videotape Gate" incident, this reaction was too damn reasonable.

And what about James?

James had vanished, not even showing up for the press conference.

But a day later, he posted a personal status on social media:

"Now or never."

This tweet was very easy to understand; it simply summarized that James was expressing his determination, to achieve success or die trying.

And then, Rondo really did save his money.

Wade was still the Heat’s top scorer, but he only attempted 12 shots, scoring 23 points.

Bosh also attempted 12 shots, scoring 19 points.

James took 19 shots and got a triple-double, scoring 17 points with 10 rebounds and 10 assists...

This made Hansen laugh.

Honestly, he knew those famous memes back then, but he couldn’t possibly remember the game details that clearly.

What he and Rondo had talked about was just off-the-cuff remarks.

And yet it had all come true.

The peach may be sweet, but James simply couldn’t pick it; he didn’t have the ability, you know!

But anyone with a brain could see, Wade was nearly playing at his 2006 level, and the Heat were barely keeping it even with the Mavericks.

Even with an injured Nowitzki, the Mavericks team was much stronger than what those media analysts had posited.

to 115.

The Heat lost decisively.

Hansen knew, this year’s Finals had ended.

Two days later, James finally became the Heat’s Scoring King, scoring the team-high of 21 points.

The Heat lost again to the Mavericks, scoring 95 to 108, with an overall 1 to 4, resulting in a gentleman’s sweep by the Mavericks.

There wasn’t much suspense in the game, but there was a moment that made Hansen burst out laughing.

James went to post-up.

But unlike what he had imagined, it wasn’t Baria defending him but West.

However, the result was the same; James couldn’t budge...

Only difference was, West relied more on technique than Baria’s defensive style.