Reborn Industrial Tycoon

In the Lakers' first game, Kobe did not get a chance to play, but sat on the bench for the entire game.

Obviously, even though Kobe had outstanding performances in the summer league and preseason games, Phil Jackson still did not intend to give Kobe a chance to play and practice.

For the Lakers, Kobe belongs to the future. The Lakers do not expect Kobe to bring anything to the team now. Selecting Kobe is completely an investment in the future, or a gamble.

On the same day, Iverson, who entered the NBA as the No. 1 overall pick, played 37 minutes in his debut, made 12 of 19 shots, and scored 30 points and 6 assists.

In this day's scoring list, there was another person who also scored 30 points, and that was Jordan. However, it took Jordan 43 minutes to score 30 points. In terms of scoring efficiency alone, it was still Jordan.

Ferson is even better.

Although the 76ers lost in the end, it allowed people to see the future hope of this team and made fans realize that a superstar is rising.

Overnight, all Americans began to talk about Iverson, and Philadelphians were even more rejoicing, celebrating the arrival of the new king in their city!

Kobe Bryant, a native of Philadelphia, has been completely forgotten by people. After all, how can a player who can't even play on the court compare with Philadelphia's new king?

In the game on the same day, the rookies who were ranked higher also got the chance to play.

Camby, the second overall pick, had 5 points and 4 rebounds, Raheem, the third overall pick, had 16 points and 5 rebounds, Marbury, the fourth overall pick, had 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Ray Allen, the fifth overall pick, had 13 points, and Anthony Walker, the sixth overall pick, had 12

point.

Of course, there are some media who have not forgotten Kobe. The nickname "Million Boy" was mentioned again, but this time, it was completely ridiculing!

As a high school player, the media will use color-changing glasses to scrutinize Kobe's every move. Coupled with the tens of millions of advertising endorsement contracts and exclusive signature sneakers, it is completely superstar-level treatment, and it will make Kobe Bryant a star.

Pushed to the forefront.

Many people were waiting to see the performance of this "million dollar kid", but in the end, Kobe didn't even get a chance to play. It was inevitable that he would be ridiculed by the media.

…

Two days later, the Lakers faced the Timberwolves at home. O'Neal killed everyone, scoring 35 points and 19 rebounds, helping the Lakers win the game.

Kobe also made his debut in this game. Kobe played 6 minutes in the game, made zero shots, had 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 turnover, and 1 foul.

This is obviously a very bad statistic, completely sorry for his status as a lottery pick. Compared with the debuts of the previous picks, it is much worse, and it is incomparable with Iverson.

Although Kobe set a new record for being the youngest person to appear in the NBA, the "Millions of Boys" only had such statistics. The media in Los Angeles once again mocked Kobe.

Two days later, the Lakers visited the Knicks. This was a focus battle, O'Neal vs. Ewing, a duel between the four major centers!

It was an era when centers were king, and personal confrontations between big centers were something the audience loved to watch. Every matchup between O'Neal and Ewing drew cheers from the audience.

In this game, Kobe got three minutes of playing time and scored his first point in his NBA career with a free throw.

However, this is not something worth celebrating, because Fisher, who is also a rookie, has been put into the rotation by Phil Jackson. He got 16 minutes of playing time, 8 points and 5 assists, and he did not disappoint the coach.

trust.

In the competition with his rookie teammates, Kobe fell behind again.

Kobe's performance in the first two games was not outstanding, which was completely inconsistent with his status as the 13th overall pick. It also disappointed many people who had high hopes for him.

The identity of high school players was once again amplified by the media. The local media in Los Angeles bluntly said that high school players like Kobe simply cannot adapt to the intense pace of NBA games.

As for the title of "Million Boy", it has become a joke among people after dinner.

…

James Bond dialed Li Weidong's phone number.

"Boss, I have already designed Kobe's signature sneakers," Bond said.

"Find an opportunity to show it to Kobe. After all, this is his first signature sneaker!" Li Weidong said.

Bond hesitated for a moment, then said: "Boss, I suggest that it is best to delay the launch of Kobe's signature sneakers for a while!"

"Why?" Li Weidong asked.

"Kobe has played two games, but his performance is not satisfactory. In these two games, he relied on free throws to score 1 point. With this kind of performance, he has basically entered the rotation!"

James Bond continued: "The local media in Los Angeles also believe that Kobe can't adapt to the rhythm of NBA games at all. This season, he may only be able to appear in garbage time.

A player who can only appear in garbage time has no commercial value at all. If we launch his signature basketball shoes, no one will buy them, and we will face huge losses by then!"

Li Weidong smiled slightly and said: "Kobe has just entered the NBA, so he naturally needs an adaptation process. Believe me, everything will be fine.

Give Kobe some time, he will grow up quickly, enter the rotation, then become a starter, grow into an All-Star player, a superstar, and one day, he will even become the number one player in the league!"

"Okay, even if he will become a star player, a superstar, and the number one player in the league in the future, his current performance is simply not worthy of a signature sneaker." Bond complained.

"James, don't forget, we signed a contract with Kobe. We promised him that we would release him a signature sneaker every year, so he was willing to sign a contract with us. We can't break the contract!" Li Weidong said.

When Li Weidong mentioned the contract, James Bond could only sigh helplessly and said, "Okay! The Lakers are playing away now. When they come back, I will go to Kobe and show him my design."

…

At this time, the Lakers are playing away against the Charlotte Hornets.

For Kobe, the Hornets are a very special opponent. During the draft, he was originally selected by Charlotte and then traded to the Lakers.

Now is Kobe's first time at the Hornets' home court, and he can only sit on the bench and watch others play.

On the opposite bench of the Hornets, a seven or eight-year-old child was sitting in one of the seats, clapping at the players who were singing.

"Why is there a kid on the bench?" Kobe asked his teammates next to him.

"You're talking about Stephen! He's the mascot on the Hornets' bench. This kid is Dell Curry's son and he often comes to see his dad play!"

The teammate paused and then asked: "By the way, I heard that your father was also an NBA player. You often watched your father play when you were a child, right?"

"No." Kobe shook his head and continued: "When I was six years old, my father left the NBA and the family moved to Italy, so I basically never watched him play in the NBA."

The two were chatting first when head coach Phil Jackson came over and said, "Kobe, go warm up!"

Kobe was immediately overjoyed, knowing that he had another chance to perform.

In this game, Kobe played 7 minutes and scored 5 points, which was considered his best performance since entering the NBA.

Next, the Lakers flew to Canada to challenge the Toronto Raptors away from home.

Perhaps it was his performance in the last game that impressed Phil Jackson. This time Kobe was put into the rotation and got a full 17 minutes. Kobe lived up to expectations and scored 10 points. This was also the first time Kobe had scored in the NBA.

Double-digit score.

However, the fans focused on Camby of the Raptors.

As a rookie in 1996, Iverson was an instant success, posting All-Star numbers right out of his debut.

Camby's performance, although not as good as Iverson's, was remarkable. Camby played 28 minutes in this game and scored 15 points and 5 rebounds. His efficiency was very good.

Considering that Camby is facing off against O'Neal, Camby's performance can be called a surprise. As a rookie, Camby was able to score 15 points and 5 rebounds on O'Neal, and Camby is worthy of being ranked second.

.

Ever since, after the game, the media focused on Camby and began to praise Camby's performance. Kobe's first double-digit score was ignored again.

This is really a frustrating thing. For a rookie, he finally made it into the rotation and scored in double figures, but no one paid attention to him and his light was completely taken away by others!

In the next few games, Kobe could get 5 to 8 minutes in each game, and he could score in every game, but he never scored in double figures again.

Now Kobe has not really entered the rotation lineup. He can only play briefly at some sporadic times, or brush up data in garbage time.

Occasionally when he is in good condition on a certain day, Phil Jackson may give him more time and let him play for more than ten minutes, but most of the time, Kobe can only be regarded as the substitute at the end.

…

Kobe Bryant’s first basketball shoe is finally finalized.

Although Kobe's statistics are a bit out of line, James Bond's design is really trendy!

However, James Bond doesn’t have the slightest confidence in this shoe. After all, Kobe can’t even make it into the normal rotation. How many people are willing to pay for his signature sneakers!

Bond placed an order for 10,000 pairs with a shoe factory in Jinjiang. He felt that these shoes could not have the added bonus of Kobe's star power, so they could only be sold as ordinary sneakers. With the rapid brand awareness, one

Wan Shuang is already the sales limit.

Li Weidong did not agree with Bond's idea, so he directly placed an order for 300,000 pairs with the shoe factory.

After learning the news, James Bond's first reaction was that his Chinese boss was crazy!

James Bond dialed Li Weidong's phone again.

"Boss, Kobe is just a rookie, not Jordan. It's impossible for his signature sneakers to sell 300,000 pairs!" James Bond said.

"I know that if it were Jordan, his sneakers would not only sell 300,000 pairs." Li Weidong replied.

James Bond continued: "Even for ordinary NBA stars, it is difficult for the sales volume of sneakers to reach 300,000 pairs! And Kobe is still struggling in the rotation, and no fans will pay for his sneakers. It is decided in one go

Three hundred thousand pairs is simply a waste and we will lose money."

Sales of sneakers in the 1990s were much lower than today.

At that time, the NBA's international influence had not reached the level it is today. Western Europe and South America were more interested in football, while Asia and Africa were relatively backward. Except for North America, people in other regions did not pay much attention to the NBA.

Therefore, the signature sneakers of football stars are mainly sold in the North American market and will not be sold to markets outside North America.

At that time, the only star-specific boots available in markets outside North America were Jordan's AJ series. Because Jordan itself was an independent brand, the AJ series would serve as the brand's flagship product to open up overseas markets.

Except for Jordan, the signature boots of other stars can only be purchased through purchasing agents in North America.

Neither Nike nor Adidas will easily release the signature boots of stars to overseas markets. Even if they release signature boots of stars in overseas markets, consumers will not recognize them.

Therefore, Hardaway's boots, Kidd's boots, and Hill's boots, which are extremely popular in the United States, are simply not available in markets outside North America.

After all, there are only a few sneakers that can sell out. At that time, the sales volume of signature sneakers for ordinary NBA star players was only about 100,000 pairs.

Take Carter, for example, for his first sneaker, the manufacturer had 150,000 pairs in stock at the time. Carter was already a star player at that time, which means that the manufacturer's estimated sales of Carter's sneakers were only 150,000 pairs.

Later, Carter became the All-Star vote king, and the sales of his sneakers exceeded one million.

As the All-Star vote winner, he was the most popular star of the year and sold one million pairs of sneakers.

Calculating it this way, it is indeed an exaggeration to prepare 300,000 pairs of sneakers for a rookie who can't even make the rotation. This is a 100% loss.

Li Weidong felt that the stock of 300,000 pairs was still a little short, because those were Kobe's signature sneakers!

So Li Weidong said, "If the purchase quantity is larger, the purchase cost can be reduced. As for these 300,000 pairs of sneakers, we can sell them slowly!"

"Sell slowly? Unless Kobe really becomes a superstar, otherwise, these 300,000 pairs of sneakers will not be sold out by the time he retires!" Bond said.

"I also hope that these 300,000 pairs of shoes can be sold until he retires!" Li Weidong chuckled and then said; "When the day Kobe retires, these shoes will be sold for 1,000 US dollars! By then we can

It’s a huge profit!”