Chapter 679: Chapter 480: Damn Good Guy (Combine Volume)_3 Chapter 679: Chapter 480: Damn Good Guy (Combine Volume)_3 The next day, James and the Lakers left just as the Supersonics had a few days prior.

Before he left, however, James updated his Twitter:
“Goodbye, Cleveland. So many memories here. I miss all the places I pretend to miss. #KINGJ”
December 11th
Yu Fei missed the away game against the Memphis Grizzlies due to personal affairs.

This was the first time he had broken his record of perfect attendance over the last three seasons.

People inside the Supersonics knew where he had gone.

Today was the 50th birthday of Yu Fei’s mother, Yu Fenglin. In past years, Yu Fei had been absent on this day for various reasons.

Turning 50 is significant, marking, for most people, two-thirds of a life completed, so Yu Fei decided to spend this day by his mother’s side.

If the price was only missing a single inconsequential regular-season game, then there was no need to hesitate.

It just so happened, on this same day, Roy, who had been on the “Daily Watch List” for five days following a reevaluation that confirmed he was unharmed, made his official return.

This certainly wasn’t good news for Durant.

Durant had been averaging 30 points in the games Roy missed, performing exceptionally well.

But with Yu Fei absent, it meant that the Supersonics had 18 shot opportunities up for grabs, and Durant was naturally not about to be shy.

In the game against the Grizzlies, Durant took 32 shots, making 21 of them, scoring a career-high of 50 points along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

After the game, Durant, as usual, gave an interview to ESPN.

He spent 10 minutes in Jim Gray’s studio talking about “how I stepped up in Frye’s absence.”

However, the situation changed when he arrived at the press conference.

First, Durant answered some typical questions, then a reporter from Memphis threw an unexpected curveball: “Kevin, how do you feel about Brandon Roy’s endorsed Reebok sneakers far outselling yours?”

“What?” Caught off guard by the question, Durant was equally surprised, “You said what?”

“Reebok… Brandon Roy’s endorsed Reebok sneakers are outselling yours. Does that affect you?”

It was a direct hit.

Inside Nike, the consensus regarding Durant had always been, get close to Frye, imitate Frye, become Frye, surpass Frye.

Durant had made little progress over the past two years, and now, even Roy’s sneakers were outselling his, which indeed was an annoying issue.

That was also the reason Durant insisted on having the ball.

There are not many people who would buy a pure shooter’s sneakers.

He needed to step up further and become the core.

The title of the Son of America sounds appealing, but if one cannot be a winner in the commercial realm, quickly another Son of America will come to replace him.

Durant sidestepped the heart of the question and simply replied, “The only sports brand I know of is Nike.”

“Even if you can’t find a single person in Seattle wearing Nike?”

Immediately, anger flashed across Durant’s face.

He wanted to say that there were people in Seattle who wear Nike.

But Nike is a commercial empire; he could not speak on behalf of Nike. It’s not difficult to find a few people in Seattle wearing Nike brand, the hard part is finding someone who would choose Durant’s Nike over Yu Fei and Roy’s Reebok.

Struggling to control his anger, Durant barely managed to respond, “I’ve seen people in Seattle wearing Nike.”

The reporters did not dwell on the topic.

They did want to stir things up, but Durant was too composed, showing not even a hint of irritation.

This is the discipline of the Son of America.

That night, back at the hotel, Durant had someone check the sales figures for Roy’s endorsements compared to his own.

The results infuriated him.

He had been played!

His Nike sneakers and the brands he endorsed certainly did not outsell Roy’s in the Seattle area, but nationally, his sales figures were much better.

Just because they didn’t outsell Roy’s in Seattle, what did that prove? Who could outshine Roy in Seattle?

If it comes to authentic heritage, Roy is even more of a city son than Yu Fei.

Moreover, when Reebok marketed Roy’s sneakers, they leveraged Yu Fei’s popularity to drive sales.

Therefore, it was only natural that Roy’s endorsed products sold better than Durant’s in Seattle and the State of Washington.

“The media…” the real Durant cursed in his hotel room to his confidants, “They’re all fucking bastards raised in a cesspool, none of them are trustworthy!”

None of Durant’s confidants made a comment.

No one knew better than they how angry Durant was at that moment.

Just then, the phone rang.

Someone answered it then said to Durant, “Kevin, it’s Lynn on the phone.”

“Wait a second.”

Durant walked to the bathroom, washed his face, took a deep breath, and tried his best to get into the role of the boy next door.

Then he came out, picked up the phone, and said with a calm voice, “It’s me, Uncle Merritt.”

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“Kid, you were outstanding tonight. That’s the level you should be playing at. Keep it up,” the voice on the other end said, “You should use this as leverage to ask for more shot opportunities from the team. You’ve proven yourself; it’s what you deserve!”

Durant replied, “It’s because Frye wasn’t there.”

After efficiently scoring 50 points on 32 shots, his humility was surprising.

The person on the other end of the call clearly realized that Durant was not a ruthless maniac like James and Kobe, willing to do whatever it took to climb higher.

“Right, kid, you are correct. But you should think about it, doesn’t Frye want you to be better? Doesn’t Frye want to have his own Scottie Pippen?”