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The Lakers' opponent in the second round of the playoffs is the Sacramento Kings, who defeated the Dallas Mavericks 4-1. Though Nowitzki led the Mavericks with an average of 26.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game, often criticized for his supposedly soft playing style, he displayed toughness throughout the series.
However, despite the Mavericks' array of star players, Nowitzki's most reliable teammate turned out to be Marquis Daniels, an undrafted player from 2003. Over the 5 games, Daniels averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game with a shooting percentage of 42.7%, emerging as the Mavericks' most consistent scoring option after Nowitzki.
As for the rest of the Mavericks' lineup:
Nash averaged 13.6 points and 9 assists but only shot 38.6%. The team's offensive rhythm seemed out of sync with this historically great point guard's playing style.
Michael Finley, Antoine Walker, and Antoine Jamison, all former All-Stars, delivered lackluster performances. Consequently, the Mavericks fell to the Kings, who also favored an offensive style, and were eliminated 4-1.
As for the Kings, they are an old rival of the Lakers. During the Lakers' three-peat championship run, they faced the Kings in two playoff seasons. In the 2001-02 season, the Kings' Princeton offense was fully developed, and their firepower reached its peak. They pushed the Lakers to seven games in the Western Conference Finals, nearly bringing them down.
This series is also remembered as the most controversial in the era of the Shaq-Kobe dynasty. In Game 6, the Lakers, already down 2-3, were favored by the referees with 40 free throws in the game. To put it in perspective, in the entire playoff series between the Lakers and the Warriors in future years, the most free throws the Lakers ever had was 42.
Given the slower offensive tempo of the 2001-02 NBA compared to the rapid pace of the 2022-23 season, Game 6 became known as the "Darkest Western Conference Finals," shattering the Kings' hopes of winning a championship.
However, three years later, the landscape has changed. The Kings' roster has undergone significant changes and lacks the dominance of the 2001-02 season. Though the Shaq-Kobe duo is not as potent as before, the Lakers' lineup, bolstered by the addition of Wang Chong, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, is significantly stronger than it was.
As the two old rivals face off in the second round, most people believe the Lakers have a better chance of winning and advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
The first game of their series began on May 4 at the Lakers' home court, Staples Center. With 66 wins in the regular season, the Lakers enjoy an absolute home-court advantage regardless of their opponent.
This matchup was also broadcast live in China, across the ocean. Yao Ming's Rockets were defeated by the Timberwolves 4-1 in the first round, as expected.
Kevin Garnett, at the peak of his career, was simply unstoppable. Over five games, he averaged 25.8 points, 14.8 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks per game. Yao Ming had no answer for Garnett. Though Yao hadn't yet reached his later years' size, he couldn't keep up with Garnett's agility, which was comparable to that of a guard. As a result, Yao Ming was worn out in each game, averaging only 15 points and 7 rebounds—a less-than-ideal performance.
With the Rockets out of the playoffs, Chinese fans shifted their attention to Wang Chong. Although Wang Zhizhi's Heat advanced to the second round, Wang Zhizhi himself had no opportunity to play, spending the season on the bench. As for Mengke Bateer's Raptors, they didn't even make the playoffs, further disappointing fans.
With all three serious Chinese players eliminated from the playoffs, Chinese fans naturally turned to support Wang Chong. Even though Wang Chong is Chinese-American, he shares the same blood. Supporting a compatriot isn't wrong, is it?
In this era, and even a decade later, when the internet is well-developed and trolls and critics run rampant, Jeremy Lin gained a massive following in China for his achievements, earning fame and wealth disproportionate to his abilities.
If Jeremy Lin could achieve this, Wang Chong, who started at a higher point and accomplished far more than Lin, is second only to Yao Ming in popularity in China. His fanbase is already substantial.
Numerous domestic manufacturers tried to reach out to Wang Chong for commercial endorsements, going so far as to leverage their connections with Yao Ming for an introduction. While making money is undoubtedly appealing, Wang Chong believes the timing isn't right yet.
Commercial endorsements are not as simple as signing a contract and receiving payment. Signing a contract also means adhering to conditions, such as filming commercials and participating in promotional activities.
For Wang Chong at this stage, the right approach is to focus more on playing and delivering more outstanding performances. After winning the championship with the team this season, he will have ample time to make money in the offseason.
Recently, both Nike and Adidas have also been unable to hold back and have presented him with sneaker endorsement deals.
Before Wang Chong joined the league, Nike offered him a 6-year, $12 million contract, but he turned it down for being too low.
Now, only half a year later, Wang Chong's market value has skyrocketed several times.
Currently, Nike's latest offer for Wang Chong is $50 million over 5 years.
In 2003, this was already a very high offer. Even the league's most popular players, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter, only had shoe deals worth $45 million and $40 million over five years, respectively.
As Nike's competitor, Adidas has traditionally focused more on soccer. Consequently, their roster of signed basketball stars is far inferior to Nike's. However, in terms of wealth, Adidas is on par with Nike.
Their current top basketball athletes are Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.
Recognizing the commercial value behind Wang Chong, Adidas offered him a 6-year contract worth $77 million—an average of $12.83 million per year, which is $2.83 million higher annually than Nike's offer.
As soon as Wang Chong began negotiations, his shoe deal immediately surpassed the two most popular players in the league, second only to LeBron James among the 2003 rookies. This left his agent, Thomas, stunned.
Only then did he truly understand why Wang Chong had the courage to reject Nike's initial multi-million-dollar sneaker contract offer.
The six months of waiting indeed paid off. Wang Chong can now earn $12.83 million annually, a significant leap from the $12 million for six years that he was initially offered!
Because of this, when Wang Chong faced these large annual salary offers from Nike and Adidas, he calmly chose to reject them, stating his preference to discuss the contract after the season. Although Thomas was once again shocked by Wang Chong's boldness, he did not question his decision this time.
After all, Thomas, who brokered a shoe deal for Dwyane Wade with an annual salary of just $400,000, wasn't in a position to question Wang Chong.
Especially now that both Wang Chong and Wade have proven their worth, Wade's $400,000 shoe deal from back then has left both Wade and Thomas full of regret.
End of this chapter
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