After the game, back in the dressing room, Westphal made a post-game summary and praised Ben Wallace.
Several other minimum-salary players looked at Ben Wallace with envy and jealousy. They did not expect that this guy was the first one among them to be praised by the head coach.
Brad Miller was a little frustrated and depressed. He didn't expect to be outclassed by the little man Ben Wallace. If Ben Wallace continues to perform like this, he may be reduced to the second substitute at the fifth position in the future. .
"Average viewership 12.15 million? Good."
In New York, David Stern received the ratings for the SuperSonics' third game. Although it dropped 50% from the second game, it was very normal and much smaller than the drop he expected.
This is an ordinary regular season. The ratings of more than 10 million are a symbol of the popularity of King of Iron Fist.
The next day, November 7, at 9 a.m., the league officially announced the Player of the Week for the first week, and Zhou Quan won this honor.
At the same time, the league also announced the MVP rankings. The SuperSonics won three games in the first three weeks. Zhou Quan averaged 40 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists, 5 steals, 2 blocks, 1.3 turnovers and 2 fouls per game, ranking first.
At noon that day, the SuperSonics set off for a road trip.
There are 5 away games in this round, all are Eastern Conference teams, and the first stop is Philadelphia.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, after settling down in a hotel in Philadelphia, Zhou Quan received a call from Phillip.
"Zhou, the lawsuit with those 11 companies can no longer be fought," Philip said.
"Impossible, we have the advantage, how can we lose?" Zhou Quan frowned and asked.
Phillip laughed and said, "I mean, those companies now want to withdraw the lawsuit and settle with us."
"They are the plaintiffs. I have been fighting the lawsuit with them for two years. Can they just withdraw if they want? If they continue to fight, isn't it just the lawyer's fees? I can afford it. There are not enough barristers, so I will hire another one." Zhou Quan Leng vocal channel.
What he and Philip were talking about were the 11 companies that had unilaterally terminated their endorsement contracts. They had been litigating for two years in the federal court in the District of Seattle. He used his connections in high society to hire many big lawyers.
The legal team composed of barristers is very powerful. The current situation is in his favor. The lawsuit has entered the final hearing and has reached the Federal Supreme Court in Washington. Philip is now in Washington.
The legal team claimed that those companies unilaterally canceled his endorsement contracts because of racial discrimination. Once he wins the lawsuit, he can receive sky-high compensation.
His endorsement contract is very large, but the compensation from the endorsement contract is only a small part. For him, the big part is compensation for reputational damage.
With its influence around the world, even if the 11 companies are all international first-tier brand companies, they will suffer heavy losses.
And as his influence grows and he has countless fans around the world, and now he is back in the NBA, those companies have been increasingly negatively affected by his legal team's accusations of racial discrimination, so they have to seek help. reconciliation.
"Roger, please inform my legal team. If you don't settle, continue fighting. If you win the case, I will share 30% of the compensation with them." Zhou Quan said.
Philip on the other end of the phone smiled excitedly: "Thirty percent compensation? That's at least 100 million U.S. dollars. This is an honest opportunity to make big money. Aren't they going crazy and killing those companies?"
"Ding ding ding..." Just after finishing the call with Philip, Zhou Quan's cell phone rang again. When he saw it, it was Iverson.
"Aaron?"
"Tekken King, have you arrived at the hotel? I'd like to treat you to dinner. By the way, there's also Matt Geiger."
"OK, pick me up at the hotel, Osma Hotel."
"OK, I'll be there soon."
Half an hour later, at almost six o'clock, Matt Geiger drove over in a Mercedes-Benz SUV, with Iverson sitting in the passenger seat.
"Hey, Iron Fist King."
"Hey, boss."
"Hey, Matt. Hey, Aaron."
While saying hello, Zhou Quan sat in the back, and Matt Geiger quickly stepped on the accelerator and left the hotel.
"Matt, you've done well these two years!" Zhou Quan said with a smile.
Matt Geiger left the SuperSonics after the dynasty when his contract ended. Relying on his championship credentials, he easily got a five-year, $38.12 million contract in Philadelphia, with an average annual salary of nearly 8 million, which is better than Rodman. The salary is even higher.
You must know that a few years ago, Jordan was still earning an annual salary of three to four million. Geiger's annual salary of nearly ten million is really not low. A dynasty has brought him huge economic benefits.
Although he is no longer the main center this season, because of his dynasty qualifications, he has a very high status in the Philadelphia Digital Team locker room, second only to Iverson. He has a high voice and is one of the leaders of Philadelphia.
"Boss, I'll invite you today." Matt Geiger said happily.
"Matt, I'll treat you as promised." Iverson said hurriedly.
"Let Matt invite you. Allen, you have invited me before, but Matt hasn't invited me to dinner yet." Zhou Quan said with a smile.
"Okay." Iverson nodded.
"Allen, it seems you made the playoffs last season, right?" Zhou Quan asked.
"Yes, sixth in the Eastern Conference. We also defeated the Magic in the first round, but were swept by the Pacers in the second round."
Speaking of this, Iverson is very excited because last year was the first time he reached the playoffs.
However, he said a little unhappy: "But now we have lost three consecutive games in the beginning. Forget it we lost to the Spurs and Suns, we also lost to the Clippers."
Hearing that Philadelphia lost to the Clippers, Zhou Quan laughed and said: "That is indeed worthy of review. The Clippers are a standard bad team."
Matt Geiger explained: "No, boss, it's because our injuries are too serious. The main interior pair of Theo Ratliff and Troon Ihir couldn't play in the beginning. The main point guard Erics Nuo is also injured."
"Three of the five main players were injured at the start?" Zhou Quan was startled.
While the three of them were chatting, they arrived at a high-end Western restaurant.
After sitting down, Zhou Quan finished ordering and said to Iverson: "Allen, I have occasionally seen your games in the past two years. Your defense is better than when you were a rookie. You have improved."
Iverson said happily: "I followed your advice. The first thing to do in defense is not to lose position. Unfortunately, there is no defensive data. Last season, I only averaged 1.1 steals per game."
"But defensive efficiency is better than if you get two steals or three steals, isn't it?" Zhou Quan said.
Iverson nodded and said sincerely: "King of Iron Fist, can you teach me how to defend? Last year we played the Pacers in the second round and I couldn't guard Mark Jackson."
Hearing this, Matt Geiger couldn't help but nodded.
Mark Jackson is old. He shot 42% from the field last season in the regular season and averaged 7 points and 8 assists per game. However, in the second round against Iverson, he shot 53% from the field and averaged 11 points and 11 assists per game. Iverson could neither prevent the opponent's scoring nor the opponent's passing. Philadelphia was swept. Iverson's defeat at this point was a very important reason.
Zhou Quan thought for a while and said: "Allen, your height and size are defensive weaknesses. If you can't fight against him, you will be overpowered even if your defensive position is correct."
"What should we do?"
Iverson was very distressed. From the Iron Fist King, he knew very well the importance of defense, but no matter how hard he tried to defend, the effect was not good.
Zhou Quan smiled and said: "I have watched your games and there are still some problems with your defensive positioning, which will make it less difficult for the opponent to break through you.
Although your opponent may forcefully attack you, you still have teammates who can help you make up for it. Just try to buy time for your teammates to make up for it.
Allen, I suggest you do more training on defensive positioning and further learn to read your opponent's offensive habits.
You have to watch a lot of video footage of your opponents, every opponent. Especially for opponents in the playoffs, you need to understand their habits and anticipate their offensive options as much as possible. "
"Okay." Iverson nodded quickly.
"How's your offensive efficiency?" Zhou Quan asked knowingly.
He has watched some of Iverson's games. Iverson's shooting percentage is not very good, he cannot defend his opponents, and his offensive efficiency is still low. How can he go further in the playoffs?
Iverson thought of the King of Iron Fist's shooting percentage and said with some embarrassment: "Last season, it was 42.1% in the regular season and 41.1% in the playoffs."
Zhou Quan was startled and said without hesitation and with some disgust: "So low? I haven't played for two years, and now I'm higher than you."
"..."
Iverson is even more embarrassed. Can I compare with you? Your shooting percentage was 70% in the first game and 60% in the game. The worst in the second game was 46.5%.
Matt Geiger burst into laughter. He felt that Iverson was so pitiful. He was despised by the Iron Fist King and could not be angry. This was not the case in the team.
Zhou Quan said: "Allen, you need better stability. Practice your mid-range pull-up jump shots. Your breakthrough is as fast as lightning. After breaking through the first line of defense, you have many opportunities to take action."
Iverson nodded quickly, embarrassed to speak.
…
On the night of the 8th, Eric Snow, the main point guard of the Digital Team, continued to be absent. Iverson faced off against Zhou Quan. As a result, Zhou Quan scored 36 points on Iverson's head, shooting 54.5% from the field, and was able to defend Iverson. 5 of 18 shots, a shooting percentage of only 27.8%.
The digital team was missing three main players and lost four consecutive games in the beginning. The Sonics won four consecutive games in the beginning and flew to Washington the next day.
Next, Zhou Quan led a group of young basic-salary players and three veterans to defeat the Wizards, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Nets on the road, winning the first eight consecutive games and ranking first in the league.
Zhou Quan has played at least 80% of his strength in these eight games, averaging 38 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of 50.8%.
Through three months of training before the season and half a month of competition, he is quickly regaining his form.
Among these eight games, seven of the SuperSonics games were broadcast live across the United States, with ratings reaching an astonishing average of 11.15 million people per game. In the Seattle metropolitan area alone, the viewership was as high as 2.65 million people.
Driven by the Sonics, the league's average viewership has increased to 2.66 million, which is much higher than last season's 1.2 million and has doubled.
The increase in ratings symbolizes the increase in commercial sponsorship, ticket revenue and other operations.
It can be said that the effect of Zhou Quan's comeback is immediate.
On November 16, the team returned to Seattle.
On the 17th, after defeating the Warriors at home, the SuperSonics rushed to Vancouver overnight.
In this city with many Chinese people, Zhou Quan is very popular, but unfortunately, in the back-to-back games on the 18th, the SuperSonics lost.
9 wins and 1 loss, still first in the league.
The Spurs, the team with the highest claim to win the championship this season, have a record of 7 wins and 3 losses, losing to the Suns, Jazz and Bucks respectively.
No. 20, Seattle New Center Arena.
At around six o'clock in the evening, Zhou Quan came to the arena.
In addition to himself, there were four private security personnel traveling in two vehicles.
I happened to run into old acquaintances, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith in the parking lot.
"Hey, you two, welcome to Seattle." He said with a smile and raised his hand.
"Hey, Iron Fist King." Kenny Smith responded with a smile and wave.
"Hey." Buckley smiled dryly and nodded.
"Fliggy, are you unhappy seeing me with this expression?" Zhou Quan asked directly.
"NO, I didn't."
Barkley immediately explained: "I have a bit of a cold and I'm not feeling well."
"Charles, do you have a cold?" Kenny Smith said in surprise.
Buckley glared at Smith and said angrily: "Kenny, don't you know if I have a cold?
Smith asked doubtfully: "Then do I know, or do I not know?"
"..."
Buckley was furious, his face red.
"Ha ha……"
Zhou Quan laughed loudly, waved to the two of them, turned around and left.
"This guy's pomp is getting bigger and bigger now." Buckley said with emotion as he looked at Zhou Quan who was surrounded by four security guards and walked away.
"Because he is the world's No. 1 sports star, has a top-notch aura, built a tens of billions of dollars in listed companies from scratch, and is the second largest shareholder of Amazon. Of course, he must have a grand appearance outside." Kenny Smith said with a look of envy. .
"The world's number one sports star? That's not necessarily true. Football is the world's number one sport. Who is not better than Ronaldo, Batty, Zidane, or Irving? The influence of the NBA is far less than that of football, especially in the Europe." Buckley said unconvinced.
Kenny Smith looked at Barkley like he was an idiot and said, "Am I talking about the NBA? Am I talking about boxing? Am I talking about golf?"
"..." Buckley was speechless.
Kenny Smith said: "The football superstars you mentioned are indeed very strong, but they are only in their own specialized fields.
Iron Fist is a double champion in basketball and boxing, and golf is not bad either. It is a world-class game. If you invest more time, you may be able to win the championship.
His status in the world of sports is No. 1 in the world. And his athletic talent, can these people compare to it?
As for popularity and influence, is Iron Fist worse than them? Even if you are not as good as them in Europe and South America, you can crush them in the United States and Asia, right? "
"But, well, forget it, Kenny, I won't argue with you, and it's none of my business." Buckley huffed and closed his mouth again.
…
After Zhou Quan left the parking lot, he first went to his office here.
The office is very luxuriously decorated and has a bed. Every time he plays home games, he will take a rest here.
To be honest, the smell of the locker room is very strong. The body odor of white people and black people is very strong, plus the smell of various perfumes, feet, and smelly socks. Most people can't get used to it. Although he has adapted, but with this office, He would rather stay here a little longer.
(End of chapter)
