Chapter 685: Chapter 482: The Chosen One Battles Nike’s Twin Walls Chapter 685: Chapter 482: The Chosen One Battles Nike’s Twin Walls Marc Gasol won the initial jump ball for the Lakers.

The Lakers’ first attack was very simple.

Richard Hamilton made a symbolic run from the inside to the outside, and James, at the top of the arc, passed him the ball, but Durant defended tightly, and Hamilton had no opportunity.

So, Hamilton passed the ball to Kobe, who had positioned himself down low.

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Even though the game had just started, the Staples Center was already going crazy for Kobe.

Fei took the opportunity to taunt James, “Do you think Lakers fans would do this for you?”

James ignored him.

Kobe made a turn-around jump shot, a signature move, and a “Duang” sound came from the basket, more befitting the Kobe label than the move itself.

“Oh! Come on!” Snoop Dogg, the famous rapper, repeatedly called out to Kobe, “Kill Brandon Roy, N-word! You are Kobe, N-word! Play like Kobe, N-word!”

Shortly after, Oscar-winning Actor Jack Nicholson leapt up and shouted, “Beat SE!”

“SE” is an acronym for the Supersonics empire, and this slogan elicited a wide reaction.

However, the noise quickly subsided.

Because Fei took the pass from Roy, dribbled to the right frontcourt, pointed to the corner, seemingly directing Durant to position himself, but actually planning to send an alley-oop to Little O cutting to the basket.

The Lakers’ starting power forward, Ron Artest, was not excited about tonight’s match.

As a small forward with a power forward’s physique, the Lakers’ coaching team moved him to power forward, aligning with the small-ball era concept.

But Artest was not happy because not every team had embraced small-ball, meaning he often had to match up with power forwards from the old era.

The Supersonics’ starting power forward, Little O tonight, belonged to the old school big men.

Artest ran with him halfway, suddenly losing him.

Little O charged to the basket, jumped to catch Fei’s pass, and dunked.

It was the Lakers’ turn.

James brought the ball past the halfcourt, first positioning himself outside, directing his teammates to run into position.

If fans of the Jordan-era Chicago Bulls watched the Lakers’ game, they would surely notice that James now played the role Scottie Pippen had for the Bulls.

Phil Jackson has always disliked the ball-dominant system Fei pioneered; making James the Lakers’ Pippen became the coaching staff’s greatest challenge as soon as he joined.

Making James into Pippen was as difficult as trying to make Curry play like Irving. Though the two shared similarities, their style, basketball IQ, and philosophies were entirely different.

So far this season, the main problem was that James understood the Triangle Offense but did not integrate into it.

As the one responsible for passing, he chose to make the tactics adapt to him.

Eventually, the Zen Master himself adjusted, increased James’ tactical freedom, and resolved the disagreement.

This time, James did not organize the offense but had Pau Gasol come up to set a screen for him.

A screen and drive initiated by the playmaker was not common in the Triangle Offense.

But if the Lakers were to make no. 23 and no. 24 coexist, they needed self-adaptive adjustments.

Gasol’s screen effectively blocked Fei, allowing James to drive hard into the paint. Although Brown managed to maintain his position, he never expected that after stepping hard, the opponent could rise again mid-step and forcefully complete a layup.

“This!!!” Brown thought to tweet, “Is that legal?”

Little O disdainfully said, “Rules changed a year ago, hasn’t your brain caught up yet?”

James’ layup earned cheers.

The only regret was that it wasn’t a dunk; otherwise, he would have glaringly stared down Fei.

But regardless of any additional gestures, this ball broke through Fei’s defense.

Fei was determined to hit back in the next round.

Just as Roy was about to organize the offense, he saw Fei gesturing for the ball.

Roy passed the ball.

The atmosphere inside surged immediately.

Celebrities in the front row stood up and shouted.

Die-hard Lakers fans like Jack Nicholson were driven into a frenzy, roaring as if they had a huge grudge against Fei, “Now’s your time to prove yourself! We all know you’re better than Frye! Don’t let that damn prick swagger anymore!”

This hostility might seem crazy, but looking back on Fei’s path to dominance, it’s not hard to see how often the Lakers fell before him.

The Lakers’ F4, the first super team of the new century, was swept in the finals by Fei’s Bucks.

In the past two years, with Kobe leading, the Lakers again became a top team in the Western conference, but they fell against the Supersonics.

Especially last season, from the regular season to the playoffs, the Lakers were completely baldheaded, without any resistance.

Without James’ joining, defeating the Supersonics would have become a “once in a lifetime” series for the Lakers.

Now, the opportunity had arrived.

The rivalry between Fei and James was well known to everyone. This was a chance to settle both grudges at once!

As soon as Fei got the ball, the Staples Center was like a reawakened beast.

Their hostility toward Fei exceeded the support for Kobe.

This was the result of Fei’s long-term dominance.

Meanwhile, executives from Reebok and Nike in the stands clenched their fists tightly.

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Take him down!

Their wishes were exactly the same.

Then, Fei took one giant step, incredibly fast, but James’ reaction was not slow at all.

This was no longer 2007.

Now, James had officially entered his prime, with both offense and defense at the league’s top level.