That night, several mainstream media outlets, such as NBC and TNT, adjusted the chances of the Bulls and SuperSonics winning the championship in time.

For example, on NBC, the Bulls have only a 10% chance left, and the SuperSonics have a 90% chance of winning the championship.

This still saves face, and there are those who don't, such as many Seattle and Detroit media, the Bulls' chances have become duck eggs, and the supersonic has a 100% chance of winning the championship.

At noon on the 9th, David Stern arrived in Chicago with the championship trophy.

That night, TNT did another show in Chicago.

The host is the magic bird group again, and then invited four guests, namely Chamberlain, Bill Russell, George McCann, and Abdul-Jabbar.

The six people are all proud of their respective eras, which shows that TNT has also invested in this show before the end of the finals.

Among these people, George McCann is the oldest and oldest, and he is 72 years old this year.

The NBA's first real superstar, at his peak, had the highest annual salary in the NBA league at the time, with an annual salary of $35,000, so he had to work part-time as a lawyer while playing in the NBA.

At that time, salaries were too low, and a superstar-level Hall of Famer like Bob Cousy earned $8,000 a year.

This show is what TNT wants to do, and there is only one theme, that is, Zhou Quan and Michael Jordan, who is stronger at the moment.

Compare from various aspects, personal strength, career accolades, social status, social influence, wealth, impact on the NBA league, and more.

In the hotel, the management chartered a bar, and the supersonic speed went up and down, including the wife and girlfriend group, all watched the show together.

Jordan didn't want to watch this show, he originally wanted to go to the casino to play a few cards, but he still wanted to know who was stronger among the six people, he or Zhou Quan, so he turned on the TV.

However, he didn't want to watch the show with his family, so he hid in the smoking room of the villa alone, lit a cigar, asked his wife to help him make a pot of coffee, and watched the show quietly.

Larry Bird got straight to the point after his opening remarks, saying, "The subject is clear to everyone, let's get started." George, why don't you come first? ”

George McCann, who is already old, also took the lead, nodded and said: "This finals, the result is basically impossible to change, 1-3 behind, the probability of the Bulls turning the tables is too low, Iron Fist will win the championship for the third time, who is against my words?" ”

Everyone shook their heads, and even Magic Johnson, who supported Michael Jordan the most, had to nod.

"I'm against it."

The whole world agrees with George McCann's words, only Jordan is against it, and when it comes to the most desperate moment, he will not give up.

George McCann continued: "Then both of them are triple crowns, and in the most important honors, Iron Fist will tie Jordan.

As for other accolades, I think as long as Iron Fist's career continues and there are no major injuries that affect his career, he will slowly catch up with Jordan. ”

Abdul-Jabbar said: "I agree with George, when it comes to honor, Iron Fist is at least not inferior to Michael Jordan. ”

"What about you?" Larry Bird asked with a smile.

Chamberlain said: "We're comparing their present and past, not the future, so I don't think Iron Fist has equaled Michael in honors. ”

Magic Johnson chimed in: "That's exactly what we're talking about, now, not in the future." While Tekken has won a lot of accolades, it's clear that Michael has more hard accolades. ”

Bill Russell finally spoke: "If you only compare the present, then I also think that Jordan's current honor is more advantageous. ”

"Well, if you want to compare it this way, it's that Iron Fist is slightly inferior." George McCann said helplessly.

Then he said: "In terms of personal data, in the first four games of this finals, Iron Fist surpassed Jordan in all aspects, and this regular season is the same, so can we think that in terms of personal strength, Iron Fist has surpassed Jordan?" ”

Everyone looks at me, I look at you, and they all nodded in the end.

Neither Magic nor Chamberlain objected, after all, only comparing the current one, that is, the data of Iron Fist is better.

George McCann added: "Personal strength, honor, two people have an advantage, then the rest of social status, influence and wealth, and the impact on the NBA."

Social status, they each had a trip to the White House personally invited by the president, and they often attended yacht clubs in high society, and I think they have quite a social status. ”

Everyone nodded, and George McCann continued: "Social influence, since Iron Fist won the World Championship last year, he has surpassed Michael Jordan and has a global social influence. ”

Speaking of this, he looked at the crowd again, and after seeing everyone nodding, he said: "As for wealth, Iron Fist is the number one money-absorbing machine in sports today, but Jordan has a longer career, and he has earned ahead, so I think on this one, the two are tied." ”

"Yes, so to speak."

Magic Johnson nodded, and the others did not object.

George McCann added: "In the first five, Jordan has one advantage, two are drawn, and two are disadvantaged. Iron Fist has two advantages, two draws, and one disadvantage. Overall, Iron Fist has the upper hand.

The last item is the influence on the alliance. In fact, I think this item should be expanded, and the influence of the entire sports world will be fairer to Iron Fist. ”

Abdul-Jabbar said, "George, I think so too. Since the all-round comparison, then their influence in the entire sports world should not be overlooked. ”

Chamberlain said: "But we are both from the NBA, so it's more appropriate to compare the influence of the NBA. ”

George McCann and Abdul-Jabbar immediately looked at the Magic Bird, these two were the hosts, and it should be up to them to decide.

Larry Bird didn't ask the magician's opinion, and immediately said: "Whether it's social influence or social status, we compare global and multifaceted, so in the last one, I think it's important to compare the influence of the two on the entire sports world." ”

The Magic disagrees with this sentence, according to George McCann's comparison, Michael is already at a disadvantage, and if he does this again, he will lose.

But he couldn't object, that position was too biased, so he didn't speak.

Chamberlain was about to speak, but Russell preemptively said, "You all have a point, listen to me first." ”

After everyone nodded, he said, "From the NBA, Michael Jordan is undoubtedly a great star with extraordinary influence.

Even before he won the title, before Tekken entered the league, he took the league to new heights with his superior personal influence. ”

Everyone nodded again, and Russell continued: "If we only compare the impact on the NBA, then no matter how good Iron Fist is right now and how high the ratings are, he will always stand on the shoulders of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Magic. ”

Seeing that everyone was nodding, especially Magic and Big Bird, their faces were all smiling, and he also smiled: "So just referring to the NBA, there is no doubt that Michael's influence now exceeds that of Iron Fist."

As for whether Iron Fist can take the NBA to new heights in the future, sorry, we're comparing the present and the past tonight. ”

"Six, tie." Magic Johnson said with a smile.

Abdul-Jabbar hesitated for a moment, then said, "Larry, Erwin, you must have not forgotten the SuperSonics' regular season ratings this season, right?" ”

At the mention of this, everyone immediately showed a look of envy and shock on their faces.

Magic Johnson immediately said: "Karim, I know what you mean, but the influence that Iron Fist has brought to the supersonics, this kind of change, is still only in the supersonic game, and the ratings of the entire league have not improved much."

I mean, it's only the league's overall ratings that goes up a bit to prove his influence on the league. ”

"It's not without improvement, this year's league regular season is up 10 percent year-on-year, which is a big change, and I'm looking forward to continuing to improve," Larry Bird said. ”

Magic Johnson said: "Compared to the increase in supersonic speed, this magnitude is too small, and it can't even be attributed to the influence of the iron fist, and there is a natural increase." ”

Abdul-Jabbar frowned and said: "Then you should know the ratings of this finals best, the G1 battle is 39 million, and so far, the average rating of the four games is as high as 26 million, which is higher than the 25 million in last year's finals."

You must know that Jordan defeated the Lakers to win the championship for the first time in 91, and the average viewership of the Finals was only 8.5 million, which was 3 times that of that year. ”

The magician immediately said, "This is indeed very high, which shows that Michael and Iron Fist have an amazing influence." But I think that influence is declining, you must know that last year's Finals G6 game was 56 million viewers, and this time it was only 39 million.

Karim, so I think the impact of this crossover is only temporary, it simply can't last, it can't fundamentally power the development of the alliance. ”

Chamberlain also said: "At the time of the finals last year, Iron Fist was not the world boxing champion, and then he became the world boxing champion, but the ratings of this year's finals were not as good as last year, so I agree with Erwin's words, his crossover is indeed huge, but it is only a temporary freshness, and many new fans have not stayed." ”

Abdul-Jabbar shook his head and said: "In any case, even if it is not as good as last year's finals, the current ratings are far several times higher than before, which is an indisputable fact." ”

The Magic smiled and said, "Well, in a few seasons, if this kind of ratings can continue, and the ratings of the entire league can increase significantly during the regular season, then the impact of Iron Fist on the league can be demonstrated."

I think that after Jordan entered the league, it took many seasons to slowly cultivate a large number of loyal fans, and the overall ratings of the league have continued to increase significantly, and Iron Fist is now only a short-term influence. ”

Abdul-Jabbar thought for a moment, nodded and said, "Then we'll see in a few seasons." ”

Russell nodded: "This is our only evaluation of the impact on the NBA, if the scope is expanded, to the whole world, the entire sports world, then there is no doubt that Iron Fist will prevail." So now it's up to TNT to decide the outcome, it's your business. ”

Everyone shrugged their shoulders and looked at producer Tom McSon, who was sitting off camera.

McSon also shrugged his shoulders, stood up and said, "We mean to put it on the global and the whole sports world to evaluate and compare. And you all have to have your say, not George alone.

In addition, I would like to remind you that their impact on the world of sport refers to the real contribution they have made and the changes they have brought to the world of sport, not just a name, what achievements and honors they have made, or how much money they have earned.

For example, Michael Jordan, who elevated the NBA to new heights, brought him to the third place in the big four leagues of North American professional sports, and that was the real influence, and he changed the status of this league. ”

Abdul-Jabbar laughed: "In that case, although Iron Fist is currently holding the World Champion title, he really hasn't changed the influence of the sport. ”

Tom McSon nodded, "So our comparisons and evaluations should be more rigorous." ”

In the hotel bar, Zhou Quan didn't pay much attention to this show, and he didn't feel interesting.

Because he feels that he and Jordan are not people of the same era, he is nine years younger than Jordan, he is now in his prime, Jordan has begun to go down, Jordan's career has entered an advanced stage, and he has just entered his prime, and comparing them together, it is not fair to Jordan, and it is not fair to him.

Over there, Jordan turned off the TV directly.

No matter how you compare, he can't win the Iron Fist, at most a tie.

And what he wants most now is a comeback.

The show lasted for an hour, and in the end, everyone said their own thing, and they didn't fight for a result, and in the end, it didn't work, and the fans watched a lively one.

On the 10th, the G5 game day of the finals, it was also the last home court of the Bulls.

In the evening, the United Center Arena is full of stars and high ratings, attracting celebrities from all walks of life.

The championship trophy was placed at the exit of the players' tunnel, with David Stern sitting on the sidelines, Jerry Rainsdorf on the left and Ballmer on the right.

He was very satisfied with the finals this time, and the average viewership exceeded 26 million, which was higher than last year's finals.

The highest game reached 39 million, although it is not as good as last year's finals, but he believes that this is the data after precipitation.

This stat makes him happier than last year's Finals stats, which were a sudden spike and too much moisture, and this year's stats show that there is a large number of new fans who have become true NBA fans.

The two powerhouses compete, this is the influence of Iron Fist + Flying Man, which makes him very proud of the situation of black and yellow hegemony created by himself.

Such ratings were unimaginable a few years ago, even if Jordan defeated Magic 4 to 1 in 91 to win the championship, the highest one was only more than 10 million viewers, and the average rating of the finals was only 8.5 million, which has only tripled in a few years.

He also watched the show that TNT did last night, and of course he thinks Jordan and Iron Fist have more influence on the NBA.

But now Iron Fist is also influencing the development of the league, as evidenced by last year's Finals and this season's ratings, and as long as that impact lasts for a few seasons, Iron Fist's influence in the NBA can catch up with Jordan.

And the influence of Iron Fist is influencing the promotion of the NBA around the world, and it is extremely important that the NBA makes a lot of money just because of the rights purchased by TV stations large and small around the world in the playoffs.

He hopes that impact will last, as Tekken's peak has just begun, and he expects his peak to last as long as possible.

But a good star also needs to meet a good opponent, and the current Jordan and Bulls rosters are okay, and he doesn't want to see this Bulls team dismantle and rebuild now.

"Jerry, if you need to be strengthened, you will be strengthened, and the league wants to see the Bulls continue to appear in the Finals." He said to Reinsdorf.

What else could Rainsdorf say, nodding and saying, "David, I will try to keep the lineup stable, and I also hope that Jordan and Pippen will stay in Chicago." ”

Stern nodded, turned around and said to Ballmer: "Steve, your investment in the supersonic is fantastic, originally I was worried that the supersonic market in Seattle would be squeezed out by the other three major leagues, but now it ......"

"It's them who should be worried now, haha!" Ballmer said triumphantly.

David Stern smiled like a flower on his face and said, "In the first two games of the finals, Seattle's regional ratings exceeded 90%, which is amazing!" ”

"The new stadium is almost there, it's being renovated, and after it goes into service in '97, I think supersonic will get even better." Ballmer said with confidence.

(End of chapter)