After the game, back in the lockers, Westphall gave a post-game summary and praised Ben Wallace.

Several other base-paid players looked at Ben Wallace with envy on their faces, they didn't expect this guy to be the first of them to get praise from the head coach.

Brad Miller was a little frustrated and depressed, and he didn't expect to be compared to Ben Wallace, a little man, and if Ben Wallace continued to perform like this, he was afraid that he would be reduced to the second substitute in the No. 5 position in the future.

"The average rating is 12.15 million? Good. ”

In New York, David Stern received ratings for the third game of the SuperSonics, which was down another 50% from the second, but very normal, and much smaller than he expected.

This is an ordinary regular season, with more than 10 million viewers, which is a symbol of the popularity of Tekken.

The next day, November 7, at 9 a.m., the league officially announced the first week's best of the week, and Zhou won the honor.

At the same time, the league also announced the MVP ranking list, the SuperSonics won three games in the first three games, and 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 on this day, the supersonic set off and began the road trip.

There are five away games in this round, all of which are Eastern teams, with the first stop being Philadelphia.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, after settling in at a hotel in Philadelphia, Zhou Quan received a call from Philip.

"Zhou, I can't go on with the lawsuit with those 11 companies." Philip said.

"Impossible, we have the advantage in hand, how can we lose?" Zhou Quan asked with a frown.

Philip laughed and said, "I mean, those companies now want to withdraw their lawsuits and settle with us. ”

"They are plaintiffs, and I have been with them for two years in the lawsuit, can they withdraw if they want to? If you continue to fight, isn't it just a lawyer's fee, I can afford it. There are not enough barristers, so I'll ask for another dozen. Zhou Quan said coldly.

He and Phillip were talking about the 11 companies that unilaterally broke off their endorsement contracts, fought a two-year lawsuit in federal court in Seattle, and used his connections in high society to hire a lot of barristers.

The lawyers' team composed of barristers is very powerful, and the current situation is in his favor, and the lawsuit has entered the final trial, which has reached the federal Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., where Philip is now.

The lawyer team bites those companies that unilaterally cancel his endorsement contracts because of racial discrimination, and once he wins the lawsuit, he can get sky-high compensation.

His endorsement contract is large, but the compensation of the endorsement contract is only a small head, and for him, the big head is the compensation for the loss of reputation.

With his influence all over the world, even if the 11 companies are all international first-line brand companies, they will lose a lot of money.

And as his influence grew, with countless fans around the world, and now he is back in the NBA, those companies have had to seek reconciliation because they have been bitten to death by his lawyer team and have been increasingly negatively affected.

"Rogge, you inform my lawyer team that if you don't settle, continue to fight, and win the lawsuit, I will give them 30% of the compensation fee to share." Zhou Quan said.

Philip on the other end of the phone smiled excitedly: "Thirty percent compensation? That's at least $100 million, and it's an opportunity to make a lot of money, aren't they going crazy to bite those companies? ”

"Ding Ding Ding ......" just finished the phone call with Philip, Zhou Quan's mobile phone rang again, and at first glance, it was Iverson.

"Aaron?"

"Iron Fist, are you at the hotel? I want to treat you to dinner. By the way, and Matt Geiger. ”

"OK, you guys come to pick me up at the hotel, Osma Hotel."

"OK, I'll be right there."

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."

"Hey, boss."

"Hey, Matt. Hey, Aaron. ”

While greeting, Zhou Quan sat in the back, and Matt Geiger quickly stepped on the accelerator and left the hotel.

"Matt, you've been mixing well in the past two years!" Zhou Quan said with a smile.

Matt Geiger left the SuperSonics after the end of his contract after the dynasty, and relied on his championship qualifications to easily get a five-year, $38.12 million contract in Philadelphia, with an average annual salary of nearly 8 million, which is higher than Rodman's salary.

You must know that a few years ago, Jordan still had an annual salary of three or four million, and Geiger's quasi-tens of millions annual salary was really not low, and a dynasty brought him huge economic benefits.

Although he is no longer the main center this season, because of the seniority of the dynasty, he has a very high status in the locker room of the Philadelphia Digital team, second only to Iverson, and 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 please." Iverson busily said.

"Just let Matt please, Aaron, you have invited me before, Matt has not invited me to dinner yet." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

"Okay then." Iverson nodded.

"Allen, you seem to have made the playoffs last season, right?" Zhou Quan asked.

"Yes, sixth in the East, we also beat the Magic in the first round of black six, but we were swept by the Pacers in the second round."

Speaking of which, Iverson is excited because last year was his first playoff appearance.

However, he said a little unhappily: "But now we have lost three consecutive games in the opening game, even if we lose to the Spurs and the Suns, we still lose to the Clippers." ”

Hearing that Philadelphia lost to the Clippers, Zhou Quan laughed and said: "That's really worth reviewing, the Clippers are a standard bad team." ”

Matt Geiger explained: "No, boss, it's that our injuries are too bad, and the main interior line of Theolatlif and Tronjhil can't play at the beginning, and the main point guard Eric Snow is also injured. ”

"Three of the five main players were injured at the beginning?" Zhou Quan was stunned.

While chatting, the three of them went to a high-end Western restaurant.

After sitting down, Zhou Quan finished ordering the food and said to Iverson: "Allen, I have occasionally seen your games in the past two years, and your defense is better than in the rookie period, and there is progress." ”

Iverson said happily: "I followed your advice, the first thing to do in defense is not to lose position. It's a pity that there are no defensive statistics, and only averaged 1.1 steals per game last season. ”

"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, "Iron Fist King, can you teach me how to defend again?" Playing the Pacers in the second round last year, I couldn't guard against Mark Jackson. ”

Hearing this, Matt Geiger couldn't help but nod.

Mark Jackson is old, last season's regular season shooting rate was 42%, averaging 7 points and 8 assists per game, but in the second round against Iverson, he hit 53% of the shot, averaging 11 points and 11 assists per game.

Zhou Quan thought for a while and said: "Aaron, your height and tonnage are weaknesses in defense, and you can't fight against them, even if you have the right defensive position, you will be forced." ”

"What then?"

Iverson was distressed, and from Tekken, he knew the importance of defense, but no matter how hard he tried to defend, it didn't work well.

Zhou Quan said with a smile: "I have seen your game, and there are still some problems with your defensive position, which will make it less difficult for the opponent to break through you."

Although the opponent may force you, you still have teammates who can help you make up for it, and you can try to buy time for your teammates.

Aaron, I suggest you do more training on your defensive positioning, and learn to read your opponent's attacking habits.

You'll have to watch a lot of footage of your opponent's matches, for each opponent. Especially for playoff opponents, it is important to understand their habits and anticipate their offensive options as much as possible. ”

"Okay." Iverson nodded hurriedly.

"How effective are your offenses?" Zhou Quan asked knowingly.

He has watched some Iverson games, Iverson's shooting percentage is not good, he can't defend his opponents, and his offensive efficiency is still low, how can he go further in the playoffs?

Iverson thought of Tekken's shooting percentage and said with some embarrassment: "42.1 percent in the regular season and 41.1 percent in the playoffs last season. ”

Zhou Quan was stunned, and said without hesitation, and with some disgust: "So low? I haven't played in two years, and now I'm taller than you. ”

“……”

Iverson is even more embarrassed, can I compare with you, you hit 70% in the first game, 60% in the game, and 46.5% in the worst second game.

Matt Geiger cracked his mouth and laughed, feeling that Iverson was so pitiful, disgusted by the Iron Fist King, and couldn't be angry yet, but not in the team.

Zhou Quan said: "Allen, you need better stability, practice your mid-range pull-up jump shot, your breakthrough is as fast as lightning, after breaking through the first line of defense, there are many opportunities to shoot." ”

Iverson nodded hurriedly, embarrassed to speak.

……

On the night of the 8th, the main point guard of the digital team, Eric North, continued to be absent, and Iverson played against Zhou Quan, and as a result, Zhou Quan scored 36 points on Iverson's head, shooting 54.5%, and prevented Iverson from shooting 5 of 18, with a shooting rate of only 27.8%.

The Numerics, lacking three main players, started with a four-game losing streak, while the SuperSonics won the opening four in a row and flew to Washington the next day.

Next, Zhou Quan led a group of young base-salary players and three veterans to defeat the Wizards, Cavaliers, Pistons, and Nets on the road in a row, winning eight consecutive victories in the opening game, and the first record in the league.

In these eight games, Zhou Quan has at least eighty percent of his strength, averaging 38 points, 4 rebounds, 11 assists, 4.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, with a shooting rate of 50.8%.

After three months of training before the season and half a month of competition, his form is quickly recovering.

Seven of those eight games were broadcast live across the U.S., with a staggering 11.15 million viewers per game. In the Seattle metro area alone, the viewership was as high as 2.65 million.

Driven by the supersonics, the league's average viewership has increased to 2.66 million, up from 1.2 million last season, which has doubled.

The increase in ratings symbolizes an increase in business 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, he defeated the Warriors at home, and the SuperSonics rushed to Vancouver overnight.

In this city with a large number of Chinese, Zhou Quan's popularity is very high, but unfortunately, in the back-to-back games on the 18th, the supersonic lost the game.

With 9 wins and 1 loss, it is still the first in the league.

The Spurs, who have the highest championship aspirations this season, have a 7-3 record, losing to the Suns, Jazz and Bucks, respectively.

20, Seattle New Center Coliseum.

At six o'clock in the evening, Zhou Quan came to the stadium.

In addition to himself, there were four private security personnel, divided into two vehicles.

I happened to meet old acquaintances, Charles Barkley, and Kenny Smith in the parking lot.

"Hey, two, welcome to Seattle." Smiling, he raised his hand in greeting.

"Hey, Iron Fist." Kenny Smith replied with a grin and beckoning.

"Hey." Barkley smiled dryly and nodded.

"Fliggy, this expression, are you upset to see me?" Zhou Quan asked directly.

"No, I didn't."

Barkley immediately explained: "I'm a little bit cold, not feeling well. ”

"Charles, do you have a cold?" Kenny Smith said in surprise.

Barkley glared at Smith and said angrily, "Kenny, don't you know if I have a cold?"

Smith said suspiciously: "Do I know, or do I not know?" ”

“……”

Barkley was about to be, and his old face was flushed.

"Haha......"

Zhou Quan couldn't stop laughing, waved at the two, turned around and left.

"This guy is getting bigger and bigger now." Looking at Zhou Quan, who was surrounded by four security guards, Barkley said with emotion.

"Because he is the world's No. 1 sports superstar, with his own top-level aura, he started a tens of billions of dollars listed company from scratch, and he is also the second largest shareholder of Amazon, of course there must be pomp and circumstance outside." Kenny Smith said with a look of envy.

"The world's number one sports superstar? That's not necessarily, football is the number one sport in the world, like Ronaldo, Barty, Zidane, Owen, who is not better than him? The NBA is far less influential than football, especially in Europe. Barkley was unconvinced.

Kenny Smith looked at Barkley with idiotic eyes and said, "I'm talking about the NBA?" I'm talking about boxing? I'm talking about golf? ”

"......" Barkley was speechless.

Kenny Smith said: "The soccer superstars you're talking about are really strong, but they're only in their own niche.

And Iron Fist is the double king of basketball boxing, and golf is not bad, world-class level, and if you invest more time, you may be able to become the king.

His status in the world of sports is that he is the number one in the world. And his athletic talent, are these people comparable?

As for popularity and influence, is Iron Fist worse than them? Even if they are inferior to them in Europe and South America, in the United States, in Asia, crush them, right? ”

"But, then, forget it, Kenny, I'm not fighting with you, and it's none of my business." Barkley snapped and shut his mouth again.

……

After Zhou Quan left the parking lot, he went to his office here.

The office is very luxuriously decorated, with a bed, and every time he plays the home game, he will take a break here.

To be honest, the smell of the locker room is very big, the body odor of whites and blacks is very big, plus the smell of various perfumes, the smell of feet, the smell of smelly socks, the average person can't adapt to it at all, although he has already adapted, but with this office, he prefers to stay here for a while.

(End of chapter)