"This year's regular season ......" Stern sat at his desk and did a summary of the playoffs with Xiao Hua.

"Overall ratings increased by 27.3%! Lakers' game ratings increased by 43.7%! Our next broadcast contract will be a sky-high price! Xiao Hua looked excited, there is nothing better than this!

Founded in 1946, the NBA was a late addition to the four major professional leagues in the United States, and it wasn't until the 1953-1954 season that the NBA had television broadcasts, but only 13 games. Through these 13 games, the NBA made a profit of $39,000, which was quite good for the NBA league in its early days.

After that, both NBC and ABC broadcast the NBA, but they never paid the NBA league a penny, a situation that lasted until 1973. Beginning with the 1973-1974 season, CBS signed a contract with the NBA to pay the NBA a total of $27 million in broadcast fees for three years. Since then, CBS and the NBA have renewed their contracts four times, and in the 1986-1987 season, the NBA's broadcast fees have risen to $174 million over four years, almost five times that of 13 years ago.

On April 28, 1993, NBC, TBS, TNT signed a four-year, $892 million (94-98) contract.

And this year, it is the year of the termination of the contract! The 4-year contract expires and a new contract needs to be confirmed.

It is also a year for the league to climb to a new peak!

Jordan and Kobe Bryant also have a kind of superstar who has taken American professional basketball to a new level, and they are no longer at the bottom of the big four leagues! The current NBA can almost compete with football!

With a huge broadcast contract, Stern has plenty of money to make a big splash!

"This contract, there is no rush to negotiate." There was a flash of light on Stern's glasses.

Not yet, not yet at the highest peak!

The playoffs will be even more exciting than the regular season!

This year's championship will be the one with the highest gold content in history! Two god-level players, a large number of superstars. Their collision in the playoffs will propel the influence of MLB to the next level!

Let's talk about everything when the dust settles on the epic playoffs!

...

April 23, 1998, Los Angeles, Great Western Forum Arena.

"Playoffs, here!" The magician is full of vitality to the ears of every audience in front of the TV!

"Welcome to NBC's Major League Basketball League! Playoffs opener! Lakers vs. Houston! Kenny Smith was equally excited! Commenting on his parent team, watching his teammates who once won the championship together such as Olajuwon, Drexler, and Thorpe continue to struggle on the field, Kenny Smith was inexplicably a little throbbing!

"The Lakers and Houston played each other in the Western Conference Finals last year! That series is still unforgettable, and this year's Lakers are still No. 1 in the West, while Houston has dropped to No. 8 in the West. ”

"If you underestimate the Houston Rockets, you are very wrong! Houston is arguably the least serious team in the league in the regular season! ”

"The Big Three are resting in a row, and they just want to play at their peak in the playoffs! In addition to the Big Three, Houston this season has also added Sam Kassel, the best sixth man who averages 15.2 points per game! and Thorpe, the former partner of Big Dream Olajuwon! ”

"Houston was the first team to adjust to the playoffs, and while the Lakers were still going all out to win 73, they were already preparing for this year's playoffs!"

"I believe that after so much time and results, the state of Houston's superstars has adjusted to the peak!"

"This is the opening game of this year's playoffs and the most eye-catching matchup of the first round of the series!"

"The Lakers' starting lineup remains the same."

"Houston starters – Jim Jackson, Mario Ely, Clyde Drexler, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon!"

"The game between the Lakers and Houston is on the verge of breaking out!"

"Little fat man, you've played well this year." Olajuwon and O'Neill walked to the center circle and hugged in greeting. The league's No. 1 center for many years finally has a satisfactory successor.

"Thank you, old fellow, for the compliment, but it won't show mercy to my men!" O'Neill rubbed his big hands together, full of interest. Being praised by the big dream, there is a trace of joy in my heart, this can't be expressed!

Barkley has a fierce face!

He's been holding back all season!

Between Olajuwon and Barkley, Houston must choose to dream big! Barkley's desire to fight hard in the regular season was suppressed.

Current Fliggy! It's like a wild boar that has been starved for three days! Can't wait to turn it all upside down!

"Kobe, congratulations on winning the MVP." Drexler gave Kobe a hug.

"Thank you, Clyde." Bryant smiled.

The MVP, which will be presented in the next game, will be presented by Stern himself.

"Guys, are you ready? The race is about to begin! Dik Bavita came to the Lakers logo and called all the players together.

"Game on!"

The basketball was thrown high into the sky, and O'Neal won the jump ball by a narrow margin.

"Advance!" Kobe Bryant shouted with the ball and started in an instant!

The Rockets and Lakers are two familiar teams!

For this kind of old man team, the pace must be fast! can't give them a slow play, and use the positional battle of the uncle's health ball to drag the Lakers into the rhythm of the Rockets.

In the middle of the half, Bryant quickly played a block with Horry.

"Change the guard! Barkley switched defenses in front of Kobe! ”

"It's a more proactive change of guard! Looks like Fliggy wants to have a fight with Ko! ”

"Fliggy has been suppressed for too long this season! If it weren't for the championship, he wouldn't have been able to endure such a situation, jumping from the Suns to the Rockets, and as a result, the Suns were fifth in the West and the Rockets were eighth in the West this season! ”

"It's a naked humiliation!"

Barkley gritted his teeth!

Little did he know that he had become a laughing stock!

The Suns left him, and little changed in his record. And Houston's record is getting worse and worse!

It's been two years!

In the regular season of the first year, Barkley also felt that this team had a play and could win the championship.

And this year, Barkley is a little desperate.

Black Eight wins?

This is also the hype of unscrupulous media, even if Houston can beat the Lakers by luck, there are a lot of top teams behind them.

It's so hard!

Even after a full season, Barkley found it difficult to win the title.

And if you can't win the championship...

I'm 35 years old, how many years do I have to play?

"Damn it! That's it! Barkley was stunned for a moment when he thought of this.

And Kobe Bryant caught this short 0.1 seconds!

Sell!

Three-point shot!

"Hit! Kobe, the new MVP, scored three points decisively and scored the first point in this year's playoffs! ”