This Forward is Not Serious

Chapter 55 What brand of sneakers do you want to endorse?

Maybe, more accurately, it should be called "Big Maddie".

After all, Durant's physical condition, if he plays outside after entering the NBA, his static talent is even more exaggerated than McGrady.

On the court, the University of Kansas could not limit the scoring of the University of Texas, and chasing points became unrealistic.

Feng Shui turns, this time it's the Kansas fans' turn to feel what despair is!

It feels like summer in Kuwait, the high temperature of 73° makes you feel like walking in hell on earth.

With 20 seconds left in the game, the University of Texas led the University of Kansas by 12 points 64-52.

Barnes, started to replace all the main players with five ups and downs!

Buddha said: Everything is cause and effect!

What the University of Texas suffered in the first fight, it is now returned intact!

When the main players were replaced, the Texas fans at the scene had already entered the crazy mode in advance!

Even like someone waving the flag of the Soviet Union in a Russian football match, some fans picked up the flag of the Lone Star Republic and waved it!

Of course, it is impossible for the photographers at the scene to take shots of this fan, but this is destined to become a heat map after the game!

The University of Texas players couldn't sit still, they stood on the sidelines and waited for the whistle to end the game!

Abrams couldn't help hopping on the spot.

Randy Williams and Chris Wendell on the side screamed even more.

If you haven't experienced what happened to them in the past two years, you can't understand their emotions at this moment.

For the past two full years, they have never won at the University of Kansas.

But this season, not only did they win once in the regular season, but now they even personally sent their opponents out on the stage of "Crazy Three"!

This is the anger I received in the past two years, and I paid it back all at once, and it was super doubled!

At this time, there is a person who appears to be "out of the group".

Not Lin Ying, Lin Ying was also standing on the sidelines with his teammates at this time.

After so much, he has already integrated into this team.

But Durant.

He... sat there panting!

He was worn out in the second half.

Except for a goat like Jordan, no matter how strong other players are, they will have weaknesses.

O'Neal's lack of effort, Kobe's pass key, James' footsteps and so on.

There are two weaknesses of Durant, one is hot hands and hard passes, which was reflected in the regular season of the big12 league before.

The other one is his physical fitness.

The lack of physical fitness makes it difficult for him to continue to kill like Kobe for a whole game, and it is also difficult for him to score high.

Can you imagine such a super scorer in history, the most shots in a single game are only 34, and the highest score is only 54 points?

This is still the case in the NBA. During the NCAA period, the core strength has not been strengthened, and the physical fitness is even less.

Not to mention this is still in Denver, Highlands...

In order to help Lin Ying share the pressure tonight, he had already consumed a lot of physical energy in the first half.

In the second half, he took a lot of shots, and his physical fitness bar was reddened early.

In the last few minutes, he just gritted his teeth and persisted.

Of course, there are rewards for giving.

After the whole game, he made 14 of 27 shots, 3 of 6 three-pointers, 10 of 11 free throws, and scored a career-high 41 points in the NCAA!

During the regular season, Durant was stuck at 37 points because of hot hands and hard flyers. No matter how much Barnes and Springman tried to persuade him, it was useless.

Unexpectedly, in the end, it was broken in Crazy Three!

Sure enough, life is like a play.

If you want to score high, you have to work hard enough for your opponent!

"beep!"

After the last 20 seconds, the score remained unchanged.

The University of Texas finally defeated the University of Kansas by 12 points and advanced to the Elite Eight!

They completed the goal set by Barnes at the beginning of the season in the most gorgeous and joyful way! !

The moment the whistle blew, players from the University of Texas rushed onto the court to celebrate.

Only then did Lin Ying realize that Durant was not by her side, and turned around to find that Durant was still sitting.

He turned and pulled Durant up, and then joined the rest of the team to greet the cheers of the Texas fans.

In addition to Durant's 40+ in this game, Lin Ying's data is also quite dazzling.

He scored 11 points, 15 rebounds and 14 assists in the game!

Crazy Three's second triple-double!

This was his first game as a starting center, and he turned into a wall, even though he did a lot of dirty work, he still grabbed rebounds.

In terms of assists, the University of Texas played a defensive counterattack in the first half, and Durant kept receiving passes from him in the second half.

With this style of play, it's hard to get fewer assists!

And unlike the first Georgetown University game, this triple-double is real, without any water!

Even at this time, the data of Durant and Lin Ying were displayed on the big LED screen at the scene.

Both of them have "record" next to their data.

Durant is a personal NCAA career high.

After Lin Ying completed this triple-double, he became the third player in NCAA history to get two triple-doubles in the "Crazy Triple" after "Magic" Johnson and "Big O" Oscar Robertson!

Moreover, he was still in the first competition!

The media after the game will be crazy about him!

"Ying, I think we might really create a legend!"

Looking at the data on the large LED screen and feeling the cheers of the surrounding Texas fans, Durant was full of pride.

Before, he listened to Barnes' words more as chicken soup, but if he really did it, it would be more than just chicken soup!

Lin Ying nodded.

Become a legend? What's wrong with that!

After the game, Anthony did not come down to the field to meet them.

This is not surprising, Lin Ying and Durant feel that Anthony is here to support them.

But Anthony's real thoughts are only known to him.

Maybe he just watched a ball because he was close?

On the contrary, there were many Texas fans at the entrance of the player channel calling for Durant's autograph.

During the previous regular season, Durant never refused to come if there was such a demand.

But after going to the Bulls game before, he felt a little like "once bitten by a snake and afraid of well ropes for ten years".

Unless there were really not many people, he would stop, otherwise he would just pretend he didn't see it.

"Kevin! Kevin!"

But at this moment, a kid over the fence kept calling Durant's name.

People, there is still not much resistance to children.

Durant hesitated for a while but stopped, and then pulled Lin Ying along with him.

The boy looked eight or nine years old, and there was a small pendant with Mexican characteristics hanging around his neck.

When Lin Ying saw him for the first time, she still felt a little familiar.

But because he was too young, he couldn't tell who it was.

The child held a ball in one hand and a pen in the other, watching Durant with admiration.

Durant took the ball and signed it, then turned his head and bumped Lin Ying's shoulder, signaling him to sign one too.

Good guy, did you drag me into the water after asking for your autograph?

Lin Ying took the pen and signed her own name on it.

When the ball was handed back, the joy in the little boy's eyes also doubled.

If Lin Ying can also play her own world in the NBA in the future, the value of this ball may be immeasurable.

Well, it should be worth more than Curry's rookie season signature card that sold 5.9 million.

After signing, Lin Ying turned and left with Durant.

Don't ask me what's the kid's name?

Pointless.

If Lin Ying felt a sense of déjà vu, he would most likely be in the NBA later on.

Then one day in the future when this little boy really enters the NBA, he will naturally know who he is.

Just like Tatum in history.

After he entered the NBA, he didn't even have to say it himself. The photo with Kobe when he was a child was picked up.

Entering the player tunnel, Durant did not go back to the locker room with Lin Ying, but Springman came with a few people.

They're here for Durant.

It doesn't look like a scout or something. If it was, Springman wouldn't bring it here.

Lin Ying went back to the dressing room first.

After Crazy Mitsukoshi, the higher the team's attention, the players' attention will naturally increase.

A super-hot prospect like Durant will be doing a lot more than just scouting.

For example, it was on the cover of ESPN before.

Of course, Lin Ying was not idle either.

After he sat in the locker room for a while, Yang Yi came to look for him with a smile.

"Basketball Pioneer" now has all the NCAA material, but all rely on his mouth.

Lin Ying had no objection either.

This is actually related to his previous experience.

Although he had a bad life in his previous life, it is undeniable that the environment he lived in was good.

Especially under the epidemic situation, compared with foreign countries, the domestic environment can be regarded as paradise.

Why do you love your country?

This is a question that will have many answers.

But as far as Lin Ying is concerned, it is not only because of the land where she was born, but also because the country can give you the greatest and best sense of security.

So he didn't complain about his country because of his own experience, because there are too many factors that determine the fate of an individual.

On the contrary, he is very patriotic.

So he knows why Yang Yi is so active, but who can not be selfish?

On the premise of being selfish, it does not affect the development of things in a good direction, so there is no reason to refuse.

And with his character, he is also eager to be recognized by more people.

When the interview with Yang Yi ended, Durant came back after a while.

At this time, everyone else had already returned to the hotel one after another, leaving only him and Durant in the locker room.

"The people who came to me just now belonged to Nike."

Durant said with a smile after sitting down.

The NCAA season is not over yet. In principle, players are not allowed to contact sponsors.

But rules are dead, people are alive.

As long as the other party doesn't directly say who they are, who knows who they are?

If everyone really followed the rules honestly, there wouldn't be so many messy scandals.

What's more, the NCAA is essentially exploiting college students.

But that's why Durant dared to say it now, because he and Lin Ying were the only ones in the locker room.

It was obvious that he was quite happy.

This is also normal, Nike is the largest sneaker brand in the United States.

After Lin Ying finished speaking, she got up and went to the door to see if there was no one there, then closed the door again.

"Are you going to sign?"

he continued.

"No no, you know mine, New Balance is the only shoe I'll ever sign."

Durant immediately shook his head in denial.

The first pair of shoes he wore to play basketball were New Balance shoes, and the shoes he wears now are also.

New Balance is his favorite.

This is indeed Durant's style.

There is a cold knowledge involved here. There are not many New Balance sneakers, but they have been around for a long time.

James Worthy once wore New Balance sneakers in the NBA.

Of course, another important reason why Durant loves New Balance is his big feet.

The New Balance sneakers are big enough and have a round toe and they fit him perfectly.

After hearing Durant finished speaking, Lin Ying couldn't help being curious.

In history, it seems that Durant signed Nike as soon as he entered the league?

But listening to Durant's current attitude is a must for New Balance.

Is it because Nike pays more?

Or, is there something special going to happen?

Curiosity is at work, but the answer may not be known until you enter the NBA.

"Ying, what brand of shoes are you going to sign?"

Durant suddenly turned his head and asked Lin Ying.

For athletes, apart from wages, another major source of income is endorsement.

Among the endorsements, the biggest one is undoubtedly the sneaker endorsement.

Look at the dividends that Boss Joe got from Nike after he retired, it is definitely the kind that makes people jealous!

That is also the source of Barkley's phrase "You can be handsome if you have 300 to 400 million".

It is impossible for Jordan to have that much money just by playing the salary.

Of course, that also has the nature of the times in it.

At that time, Nike had just started, and it would pay dividends to Jordan shares.

but now? It is impossible for James to give it.

"Nike? Adidas? Reebok? New Balance with me?"

Seeing that Lin Ying didn't answer immediately, Durant immediately asked.

Just like signing the autograph for the little boy just now, he also wants to "go into the water" together this time.

He even thought about it. There are not many endorsers for New Balance sneakers. When the time comes, see if he can imitate a wave of Jordan and ask for share dividends or something.

Well, it's a bit beautiful to think about.

But Lin Ying's reaction was completely different from Durant's imagination.

Lin Ying shook her head directly!

Good guy, I don't want to choose any of them.

"Kevin, I haven't thought about that yet."

But Lin Ying's next answer was more truthful.

There are many situations for NBA players to sign sneakers, and there are even several types of sneaker endorsements.

There is a high probability that a rookie like Durant will sign a long-term contract before entering the league.

But it is very difficult for him to sign.

Of course, it is not ruled out that because of his Chinese identity, he will get a sneaker contract.

"It will be signed sooner or later, let's talk about it."

Durant asked.