Chapter 458: Basketball God Lin Dong!

Chapter 458 The God of Basketball—Lin Dong!

After passing the Lakers, no matter how bad the SuperSonics critics and fans are, no one dares to say that this three consecutive championships are still in doubt.

However, the disappointment of fans of other teams across the country is palpable.

——Another early finale, the Eastern Conference is too weak!

——I feel like I no longer have any interest in the finals...

——Can no one take care of that Asian guy? Where is the pride of the basketball empire?

——Three consecutive championship dynasties, the SuperSonics have made a lot of money in the past two years, and Schultz has fainted in the toilet from crying.

——I heard that his company has been listed in Longguo Xiangjiang. This guy wanted to buy back the team last year and offered 900 million, but no one ignored him.

——That is, the Sonic Queen is not interested in money, I believe this, she prefers folding stools!

——Tragic Schultz, sitting on the sidelines as a spectator during the Western Conference Finals, his eyes were red, hahaha!

——The key is that the Sonics are still young enough. Now the Japanese kid can take on Payton's shortcomings, and it feels like there will be no opponent next season.

——Yeah, let alone the finals, I feel like even the NBA is no longer interesting...

——That Dragon Kingdom lived in a good era. If he had been born a few years earlier, in the era of peak Jordan, Big Bird, and Magic, he would have been defeated!

The comments from fans across the United States and the complaints on the Internet made Stern feel uncomfortable sitting in the office.

The ratings of the Western Conference Finals went from 45 million in the first game, to 43 million in the second, 37 million in the third, and finally 39 million in G4. The visible decline in the data gave Stern a headache.

Frankly speaking, thanks to Lin Dong’s success in the global market, from the perspective of global ratings, this year’s NBA has increased compared to the previous two years. For example, Dragon Kingdom has gone from 50 million to 70 million. In Europe, There has also been a certain improvement, and the global market as a whole is still extremely hot.

But the problem is that these ratings cannot be directly converted into money for the NBA, or the conversion rate of these ratings to money is far lower than the conversion rate in the national market.

To put it bluntly, Americans are the richest people in the world...

Take the NBA's largest broadcast fees today as an example. TV broadcasts and online broadcasts in the United States only have a viewership of 40 million, but the expenses are more than 200 million US dollars per year.

And what about the Dragon Kingdom? The 70 million viewership is actually just a two-year broadcast fee of 22 million signed with CCTV over there. Note that it is still dragon coins, not US dollars! This difference is dozens of times worse.

It is true that Stern knows that the surrounding market of Dragon Kingdom is quite large and the added value is quite high. Take the establishment of NBA Dragon Kingdom as an example. That wave alone earned the NBA hundreds of millions of dollars in financing. In addition, such as Nike Such brands have taken root in Dragon Kingdom, as well as various investments in video tapes, peripheral products, advertising fees, etc. In just the past two or three years, Dragon Kingdom has brought nearly 700 to 800 million U.S. dollars in net income to the NBA.

But the problem is that there is only one financing, and the development of peripheral products in the United States also has hundreds of millions, but the difference in annual fixed income such as broadcast fees is huge.

Therefore, in comparison, the national market is still the most important core for the NBA, and the complaints of fans across the United States and the decline in ratings have naturally become the top priority for Stern.

Successful players like Michael Jordan also made American fans suffer from aesthetic fatigue after his second comeback. MVP votes were too lazy to vote for him, and the shelf life was only six years.

After all, Lin Dong is not Jordan yet. The American fans' temporary pursuit of him is based on their appreciation of local players. But after the freshness wears off, they begin to feel the discomfort of being weighed down by outsiders. They feel for Lin Dong. Aesthetic fatigue will come faster and more urgently, and it is already very good to have the shelf life of the previous two years.

Stern just hung up on a network operator, and the other party was full of complaints. This was already at least the fiftieth similar call he had received in the two days since the Western Conference Finals ended.

Too many complaints, too much dissatisfaction.

Looking at the various reports on the table, Stern couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Even if you don't take into account the fans' fatigue with Lin Dong, the Sonics are indeed too strong. A game without any suspense cannot create a truly exciting battlefield.

As for the ratings, what the operator said on the phone just now piqued Stern's interest.

"David, Americans are the strongest in every aspect in the world. We are used to being superior. If you insist on getting an Asian to ride on top of us, no one will be truly happy. If you don't believe it, just wait and see. The ratings will continue to drop next season, or even plummet!"

Stern frowned: "To cause injustice on the court and interfere in the game will only make us lose more viewers."

"Oh, is there no other way but for the referee to control everything? Hahahaha, let me give you the best advice and ideas."

"People always like to watch stories about brave men slaying dragons. It took the people of the Dragon Kingdom three years to become the biggest dragon in the NBA. If you can organize a few teams of brave men... hahaha, don't worry about destroying the balance and defeat the dragon. This is the ending that the fans are most eager to see, and it is also the most important thing at the moment! When the evil dragon is gone, you can just break them up again if you want to maintain balance."

"The league has a salary cap system, and the thirty team owners all have their own demands, which involve their own interests, so the Olympic team you imagine is impossible." Stern said calmly.

"You set the league system. In order to keep Bird with the Celtics, didn't you also come up with bird rights? As long as you are willing to operate, as long as those guys also have the heart to slay the dragon, these are not problems. Many super giants would be willing to take one year less money and get the honor of slaughtering the gods! As for the team owners, they are all looking for money. As long as someone is willing to pay, why don't they support it? Besides, there are some that are very cheap. Haven’t you become a super giant yet?”

"As for how to operate specifically, how to balance public opinion, how to create topics, and how to make transactions reasonable in everyone's eyes, I believe that you, the founder of modern NBA basketball, will know much better than me. Of course, if you have any other I'm all ears, I can only tell you my final request."

"Our contract still has one year left. I don't care who wins the championship. I'm not a fan of any of them. I only care about the ratings. If the ratings continue to decline next year, then I'm sorry, maybe your contract will be significantly reduced. Yes, this is not just my idea, I believe it is also the idea of ​​all media people and even fans across the United States.”

"David, you are the master of the NBA, you think about it yourself."

... Pulling his thoughts out of the phone call just now, David Stern fell into deep thought.

After a long time, he took a long breath.

It is enough for me to protect myself all the way and give an Asian three consecutive championships. Next season, it may be time to make some changes.

…………

The 76ers and the Pistons fought for 6 games. Compared with the sharp spears in the hands of Iverson and Chris Webber, the strong shield of the Pistons' five tigers is obviously better.

The battle between offense and defense, six consecutive games that were extremely similar but extremely "inefficient scoring", 88:87, 86:82, 89:93, 87:91, and the last two games were played after two overtimes. 98:95, 101:100, the Pistons won the Eastern Conference Finals with difficulty.

In previous years, this series would definitely be one of the classics, with the NBA's iron-blooded defense and the most impactful offense. Every move and every move from both sides was back-and-forth, and it felt like a punch to the flesh. .

It's a pity... After the United States has become accustomed to the SuperSonics often scoring 120 points in games, it seems a bit unsatisfactory to watch the various iron games between the two sides. The average viewership is about 33 million, which is less than the Western Conference Finals. Much worse.

More importantly, it is clear across the United States that the winner, whether it is the Pistons or the 76ers, is simply unable to compete with the SuperSonics.

A game that loses suspense too early will bring about a sharp drop in the ratings of the finals.

The overall ratings nationwide were around 36 million, setting the lowest ratings for the NBA Finals in the past three years.

The SuperSonics lived up to expectations and eliminated the Pistons cleanly with a 4:0 score.

There is no intention of deliberately returning to the home court to win the championship in order to sell more tickets. Obviously, it is not just Yang Dong who "sees money as dirt". In fact, the shrewd Queen of Seattle still cares about money, but she cares more about a person who is enough to remember. An honor that absolutely no one can surpass in the history of basketball.

Not only is it three consecutive championships, but it is also a perfect championship with no defeat in the NBA playoffs and 16 consecutive wins!

Despite all the complaints from other parts of the country, Seattle is going crazy again.

This is no ordinary championship, but three consecutive championships in the NBA, which symbolizes the highest palace in the world. This is a dynasty!

For Seattle, a city where sports are popular, there are many sports that were once more popular than basketball. Football, baseball, and ice hockey are all Seattleites' favorites.

But now, there is only basketball!

It doesn’t matter to other cities, but at least for Seattle...

In the two years from last year to this year, the entire city not only renovated the Key Arena, but also added at least 50 professional basketball halls. Various basketball training classes are everywhere in Seattle, and roadside wild courts are also available. They are springing up everywhere.

Basketball is the most popular sport in Seattle today, bar none!

Although as early as the end of the Western Conference Finals, the entire city already 'knew' that the championship must be theirs, but when the final whistle of G4 between the SuperSonics and the Pistons sounded, the huge 122 on the screen symbolized the Pistons' lack of resistance: A score of 101.

When the Sonics Prince Lin Dong won the championship trophy at the Pistons' home court in Detroit, Michigan, it still made all Seattle fans go crazy.

Parade?

I have swam twice before, from the city-wide carnival when I won the first championship last year, to the slightly cooler enthusiasm when I won last year, to this year... This is not only the carnival of Seattleites themselves, but also the surrounding Issaquah, Tower Fans from nearby cities such as Quewela, Auburn, Black Diamond City, etc., who regard the SuperSonics as their home team, flocked to downtown Seattle crazily, crowding the streets in the entire city until they were filled to the brim.

The SuperSonics bus from the airport had to go around two more blocks for this purpose. After all, you can't favor one and the other. You have to go around wherever there are fans waiting.

The original 6-hour drive when he won the championship for the first time, this time it took nearly 10 hours. The carnival in the whole city lasted from 9 o'clock in the morning until dark, and Payton was so tired that he fell asleep on the roof of the car.

04-05 championship, three consecutive championships!

And three consecutive MVPs, three consecutive FMVPs, three consecutive scoring champions, three consecutive assists champions, and even three consecutive DPOYs, three consecutive first-team All-NBA, three consecutive first-team Defensive... In the past three years, he almost won all the NBA honors by himself!

Even the most harsh commentators can no longer say that "Lin Dong is still a long way to surpass Jordan, and his honors are not convincing enough."

Now across the United States, whether they like Lin Dong or hate Lin Dong, they have officially put this Asian on a par with Jordan.

For those who hate him, this is already a guy who is not inferior to Jordan, and is the real, "living" basketball god in the NBA today.

The only point of doubt is that the opponents Lin Dong encountered were not "strong enough", just because the current NBA is not as fragmented as the era of Bird and Magic.

At the same time, those who talk about Michael Jordan's rookie season also completely ignore the situation in the Bulls at that time. You know, when Michael Jordan first walked into the Bulls' locker room, he did not see the historical point guard like Payton, and the vigorous potential army such as Sakuragi Hanamichi, Iguodala, and Chandler, but a bunch of trash in the locker room who smoked cigars, played cards, and even XD, and did not even look at Michael.

And this is obviously the only reason why Jordan's performance in his rookie season was not as good as Lin Dong's. You obviously can't say that Lin Dong has surpassed Jordan because of this. It is not fair and a bit overestimated to even compare him with Jordan.

But for those fans who like Lin Dong, the view is obviously completely different.

They think that Lin Dong has surpassed Jordan and has become the only real basketball god in the NBA!

Is Kobe not strong enough? Is Yao Ming not strong enough? Or are Duncan and O'Neal not strong enough?

Michael Jordan? Did he win three consecutive DPOYs? Did he do all this as a rookie? Did he average 40+ in the playoffs? Did he average a triple-double in the playoffs?

Speaking of the locker room, Jordan's teammates who were not motivated were all veterans in the NBA, while Lin Dong's teammates in his debut season were all freshmen. No matter how much potential they had, it couldn't change the fact that they won the championship with a team of rookies.

Besides, Lin Dong is still young. When he plays in the league for more than a dozen seasons like Jordan, his honors will be beyond Jordan's reach!

The creator of the three consecutive championship dynasties, he is the real basketball god - Lin Dong!