Chapter 296: Chapter 76: [You Can’t Imagine Jack’s Happiness]
As expected, the Lakers attacked Carlisle’s ugly Hack-a-Shaq strategy after the game.
According to them, this strategy would ruin the NBA.
Quite the lofty accusation.
However, the Pacers acted as if they hadn’t heard a thing.
After defending their two home court games, Indiana was only two wins away from the first championship trophy in franchise history. Long after the game, the fans refused to leave, shouting excitedly and jumping for joy around the court.
The people of Indiana have a very pure love for basketball.
The basketball atmosphere is also fantastic.
If the Pacers win the championship this year, the entire city will go wild.
When Larry Bird entered the locker room, his voice was trembling with excitement.
He had never been this close to his dream: to bring a championship trophy to Indiana.
He hadn’t achieved it during his college career, nor during his professional playing career... but now, as the team’s general manager, he was finally about to make it a reality.
He hugged Su Xi tightly, unwilling to let go for a long, long time.
Su Xi couldn’t help but say to him, "Let go, Larry. If you keep hugging me like this, we’re going to catch feelings..."
Larry Bird gave Su Xi two hard squeezes before reluctantly letting go.
Whether it was Bird, head coach Carlisle, all the players in the locker room, or even the entire Indiana fanbase, everyone understood one thing very clearly: the only reason the Pacers had made it this far was because of Su Xi.
The logic was very easy to deduce: last season, the Pacers had the same lineup—in fact, their core lineup was just as strong, if not stronger—but they were eliminated in the first round of the East by the Boston Celtics.
This season, many people had initially criticized Bird for trading away numerous elite players and draft picks to get Su Xi.
But now, they had set a new franchise record for wins, swept their way to the Finals, and taken a 2-0 lead.
Their achievements thus far were already a victory that exceeded all expectations.
So how could Larry Bird not hug Su Xi so affectionately? To be honest, he hadn’t hugged anyone that tightly in over 20 years, not even his wife.
Su Xi was a little uncomfortable. Bird’s body odor was a bit strong. A common ailment among old white guys.
’I’ll have to keep my distance in the future.’
At this moment, the team’s desire for the championship had reached an unprecedented level. The same was true for Su Xi. As long as he won the championship, he could obtain the Supernatural Sense of Distance Talent from Larry Bird, which was also an incredibly powerful acquired super talent.
Larry Bird’s ability to secure his place as the greatest small forward in history was largely thanks to this acquired super talent. After all, his innate talent wasn’t considered top-tier.
At that moment, Su Xi couldn’t help but wonder: ’I’ve already obtained the acquired super talent of Isaiah Thomas and the acquired super talent of Magic Johnson. If I get Larry Bird’s acquired super talent as well...’
’...then... can I combine the power of three dominant figures of the 80s and achieve a level of dominance that surpasses even Michael Jordan?’
’Can I rule an entire era?’
Su Xi’s ambition surged uncontrollably.
He had never considered this question before. Previously, he had been stuck at the level of ’personal struggle.’
But now, two games into the Finals, a massive prize was right in front of him. It was hard for him not to consider the course of history.
Nike was already building up the hype.
With Su Xi racking up so many concrete achievements—leading the Pacers to the Finals as their leader, sweeping three rounds in the East, and now defeating the Lakers twice—Nike began running their "Man of Destiny" ad campaign, which they first launched as part of their marketing in Asia.
Then, in a classic "export-to-import" marketing move, they began to cast Su Xi in a mysterious, powerful, and fated light back home.
First, on various online platforms, their campaign focused on portraying Su Xi as a monarch from the East.
This opening gambit was almost identical to how the mainstream media had built up LeBron James as "The Chosen One."
The sports world in the United States loved this kind of "divinely-gifted" narrative, because talent is innate. Just by standing there, LeBron James exuded an energy of powerful talent. Wasn’t that something you’re born with?
Su Xi hadn’t received this kind of treatment before because his talent wasn’t considered that strong.
But now... Nike was about to pay Su Xi over forty million USD. How could they not push this marketing angle?
Otherwise, it would be difficult to recoup their investment.
As soon as Su Xi signed the contract with Nike, he took half of the total endorsement fee. Then, he received a 10 million USD bonus for making the All-NBA team. And now, if the Pacers won the Finals... there was no way the Finals MVP would be in question, unless the NBA itself wanted to go out of business.
After all, there wasn’t even any suspense within the Pacers organization.
While Nike could influence some of the votes, it just wasn’t worth it.
Although paying out 20 million USD was painful, souring their relationship with Su Xi would be an even greater loss.
Since they had already boarded this pirate ship and were now partners with shared interests, their only option was to double down on their investment to generate an even bigger return.
Su Xi’s promotional resources skyrocketed, and the person most unhappy about it was LeBron James.
Originally, LeBron James had been the undisputed top dog at Nike. After all, Jordan had been spun off into its own sub-brand. Hardaway, a previous signee, couldn’t even play anymore. Kobe had been poached from Adidas, and the sneaker world valued loyalty—not serving two masters—plus, the scandal factor meant he was never heavily promoted. Vince Carter had jumped between brands, essentially erasing his commercial influence.
