Chapter 538: Half Human, Half God

The outstanding performance in the All-Star Game made Kobe a top sports star in the United States.

A player who can't even hit the team, but has the NBA's first-class commercial value, this is an unlikely thing to happen in any era.

However, such a thing really happened in 1998, and it happened to Kobe. It is really unprecedented and unprecedented.

As a result, Feiyue's brand has expanded rapidly and entered major sports goods stores in the United States.

The retail industry in the United States is well developed. In addition to the chain stores and specialty stores of big brands, the United States also has no shortage of specialized outdoor goods stores and sports goods stores.

In addition to mainstream sports brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma, many niche brands or miscellaneous brands can be found in sporting goods retailers.

First-line big brands also often cooperate with retailers to launch some exclusive or joint products.

The advantage of a well-developed retail industry is that a new product can spread throughout the entire terminal sales channel in a short period of time. In this regard, the United States at that time had an unparalleled advantage.

It is nothing new for a sports star to bring up a sports brand in the United States. Back then, Nike relied on Jordan's endorsement to successfully revive it and stand on the throne of the world's number one sports brand.

Today, Feiyue Sports seems to be replicating the path of Nike's rise back then.

Los Angeles, the Great Western Forum, this is the home of the Lakers.

Under the leadership of O'Neal, the Lakers successfully entered the playoffs. The first opponent they faced in the playoffs was the young Trail Blazers.

Since Drexler left, the Blazers have entered a period of reconstruction, and in just a few years, they have achieved results. By the 9798 season, the Trail Blazers had brought together several lottery rookies and titans in their prime.

The Little Flying Squirrel Stoudemire who just joined the Trail Blazers, and Rasheed Wallace, who is getting better and better, form the internal and external partners of the Trail Blazers, and they seem to have unlimited potential.

In the front row of the auditorium, James Bond introduced the situation of the Lakers to Li Weidong.

The facilities in the Great Western Forum arena are indeed a bit old, especially the damn air conditioner, which has never been better! I need a cold drink.

James Bond said, wiped the sweat from his head, and continued: However, Los Angeles has started to build a new arena. It started in March and is expected to be completed next year. This will be the largest arena in the United States. !

According to internal sources, after the new arena is completed, the Lakers will also move their home court there, and the commercial value of the Lakers will also increase by then, which is also good for Kobe.

Li Weidong nodded. What James Bond said was the Staples Arena, home of the Lakers in the future.

On the field, Kobe had just completed a mid-range shot, and the players facing him were not to be outdone, and immediately responded in the next attack.

The person facing Kobe is Isiah Ryder, the number one scorer of the Trail Blazers. He is very good at breaking through and scoring, and his mid-range shooting ability is also very good. It's just that this guy is a troublesome Jing! James Bond said. .

Isaiah Ryder was also considered a first-line star in the NBA at the time, averaging 20 points per game. In 1994, he won the slam dunk champion in the All-Star Game with a crotch-changing dunk, which shows that his physical fitness is also very bursting.

Ryder's career is not long, mainly because he has a lot of misdeeds off the court, such as being late for training, absent for no reason, and missing the team's plane, and he has done more than once or twice.

He also spat at fans, attacked them and even stashed marijuana. This kind of player with no professional ethics, even if he is talented and capable, will not stay in the NBA for long.

nowadays,

Ryder is still the mainstay of the Trail Blazers, but off-court troubles made him quickly lose the trust of the Trail Blazers management.

After the future Zen master took over the Lakers, he once recruited Ryder to the team, hoping that he could integrate into the triangle offense system, but this guy suddenly disappeared in the playoffs. Fortunately, the ok combination was strong enough, so no horse stumbled.

James Bond continued: Kobe's progress is really obvious. Compared with last year's playoffs, he has matured a lot. He has fully adapted to the rhythm of the playoffs.

Now it seems that the prospect of the Lakers is also very good. O'Neal was originally the best center in the league. After Kobe grows up, the combination of the two will definitely be able to hit the championship!

Boss, I really admire your vision now. When you offered a high school guard a tens of millions of dollars in endorsements and personalities, and exclusive sneakers, everyone thought you were crazy.

But now it seems that we have made a lot of money in this deal. In just two years, Kobe, a young man, is as popular as a star player. This is definitely the most successful endorsement contract in NBA history.

Li Weidong smiled: You are a bit exaggerated. The most successful endorsement contract is the endorsement of Nike and Jordan. In the NBA, Jordan's status is difficult to be surpassed. It is very good that we can be the second.

Li Weidong paused, and then said, How is McGrady's situation?

James Bond shook his head: McGrady's statistics last season are basically qualified, and he didn't bring a very amazing performance. But in terms of popularity, he is far from Kobe at the same time. At least now, there is no chance of becoming a star. potential.

Among the four shooting guards, Tracy McGrady had the most outstanding performance in his rookie season.

Also as a high school guard, Tracy McGrady will inevitably be compared with Kobe after entering the NBA.

In terms of technology and talent, the rookie McGrady may not be inferior to the rookie Kobe, but in terms of luck, McGrady is much worse.

Kobe's starting point in the NBA is Los Angeles, which itself is the second largest city in the United States. At the same time, Los Angeles also has a huge entertainment industry. The spotlight of the media is always shining here, so that Kobe can get a lot of media attention.

And McGrady started his career in Toronto, a cold Canadian city. Compared with Los Angeles, Toronto is simply a place of bitter cold. Tracy McGrady naturally did not enjoy Kobe's media exposure.

For a high school student, coming to a foreign country alone is not a good feeling, and it is for this reason that when his cousin Carter came to the Raptors, McGrady instantly became Carter's follower.

In his rookie season, Tracy McGrady took a relatively long time to adapt to the NBA. This suitable him did not show that terrifying offensive talent, and he was more used as a defensive vanguard.

In the middle and late stages of his career, McGrady was regarded by fans as a defensive loophole, and he was a leader in eye defense.

But during the Raptors and Magic, McGrady's defense was definitely the top in the league.

McGrady has excellent physical fitness, excellent height and wingspan, even in the low post, he is not at a disadvantage, and his awareness of assisting defense is first-rate, and his ability to block shots is excellent, making him a defensive champion.

Among the four shooting guards, only Tracy McGrady made his fortune on defense, and the other three all made their fortunes on offense.

Teams like defensive players very much, but fans may not like them, at least in terms of popularity, they are far inferior to offensive players.

Therefore, many players with excellent defense can only rely on their hair to gain the attention of fans. In the nba, anyone with weird, fancy and colorful hairstyles often means that the player's defensive ability is very good.

Another manifestation of McGrady's bad luck is that the 1998 All-Star Game has shrunk.

Due to labor disputes, the 1998 All-Star Game did not hold a dunk contest. You must know that the slam dunk contest is an excellent venue for young athletes to show themselves. Back then, Kobe relied on the slam dunk contest to attract countless fans.

With McGrady's physical talent, if he can participate in the slam dunk contest, even if he can't win the championship, he can attract a wave of fans and increase his popularity.

After the nba labor dispute ended, McGrady went to participate in the slam dunk contest and met his cousin Carter. In front of the strongest slam dunk contest champion in history, anyone would be a foil.

Compared with Kobe, McGrady's rookie season is unknown. Although the statistics are similar to Kobe's, the popularity is several grades behind.

As far as McGrady's current development is concerned, Feiyue Sports' 10 million endorsement contract is obviously a loss.

James Bond roughly explained McGrady's situation. Although he didn't say that the endorsement contract was a loss, he implied this meaning in his words.

Li Weidong smiled nonchalantly: I'm still very optimistic about McGrady, give him some time, I believe he can realize his talent.

James Bond nodded, signing such a young rookie is like a gamble.

And in the fiercely competitive NBA, it is not a high probability for a rookie to succeed, so this kind of gamble has a relatively high probability of losing.

For the two people currently signed by Feiyue Sports, Kobe has already begun to demonstrate his commercial value, which is tantamount to winning the bet. One of two bets won, and this result is already a bloody profit.

James Bond then asked: Boss, are we going to continue the 'Million Boys' plan this year?

Of course we must continue. Li Weidong nodded.

But this year's rookies, it seems that there are no outstanding high school guards. James Bond said.

Having signed high school guards as spokespersons for two consecutive years, James Bond instinctively thought that Li Weidong preferred high school guards.

Li Weidong opened his mouth and replied: Then there should be excellent guards, right? Especially at the position of shooting guard.

It turns out that the boss prefers shooting guards! James Bond nodded suddenly, and then replied: There must be shooting guards. Every year in the NBA draft, there is no shortage of excellent shooting guards.

How is the quality of this year's rookies? Li Weidong asked again.

The evaluation of this year's rookies in the media is relatively average. The quality of the rookies in 1995 and 1996 was very good, especially in 1996, which was the best rookie in the past ten years. Therefore, the quality of the rookies in the last two years should be good. Not so much, Bond replied.

Li Weidong recalled it carefully. He remembered that 1998 was also considered a big draft year. Although it was not as good as 1996, it still produced many well-known players.

Forget about other people, the number one target still has to be on Carter. Thinking of this, Li Weidong said: There is a young man named Vince Carter, I am very optimistic about him, if you have time, you can contact him !

Of the four major shooting guards, Li Weidong has already signed two, and the next target is naturally Carter, who is half-human and half-god.

Moreover, Carter's basketball shoes have always been relatively easy to sell. Even a few ugly and uncomfortable styles still sell well.

At this time, Carter was already the top star in the ncaa.

Carter studied at the University of North Carolina, which is the top basketball school in the United States and Michael Jordan's alma mater. Since Jordan was trained, North Carolina has been regarded as the first goal by countless basketball geniuses.

And the players who can become the core players in North Carolina are also NCAA stars, and they will be watched by countless scouts. It can be said that their future is limitless.

Before Carter, North Carolina's leading players were Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace. After entering the NBA, these two played well and are still the main players of their respective teams.

Now it is Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison who are raising the banner of North Carolina. These two were called North Carolina Double Stars at the time.

Moreover, Carter in college was also known as Jordan's successor.

In the 1990s, the American media blew up a lot of Jordan's successors. As long as he was a shooting guard with a height of about 6 feet 6 inches, outstanding strength, chic skills, and a good mid-range shooting ability, he would be said to be Jordan's successor.

In particular, players trained by Jordan's alma mater, North Carolina, are more likely to be dubbed Jordan's successors.

North Carolina's last successor to Jordan was Stackhouse, who was 6 feet 6 inches tall and a North Carolina shooting guard.

After Stackhouse entered the NBA, he did have a very good performance, but he is still far behind Jordan.

And this guy was a little ignorant, he once uttered wild words to his senior Jordan, but he was taught a lesson by Jordan on the court. Since then, no one has mentioned that he is Jordan's heir.

Vince Carter is also 6 feet 6 inches tall, playing the position of spike guard, and is produced by North Carolina. Of course, he is also called Jordan's heir.

After all, Carter is a college player. Unlike high school players, he has accumulated a lot of fame in the NCAA, so Li Weidong is not the only one staring at Carter. Other sports brands are also very interested in Carter.

This includes big brands in the US market such as Nike, Adidas, and Reebok, as well as Puma, which is eager to get a share of the basketball shoe market.

No pop-up window, timely update!