Champion Rules

Chapter 29 028: More like a professional player (please read!)

Sonny Vaccaro was sitting in a VIP box at the Blaugrana Arena alongside Reebok president Paul Firman.

Since Sonny returned to Reebok with the request that "we must sign that kid for $100 million," he and Reebok president Paul Firman watched almost all of Lynch's games in La Liga.

Today was the first time they went to watch Lynch's game together, but they saw the worst game Lynch had ever played in La Liga.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling window, when Dejan Bodiroga declared his European sovereignty on the court, an interesting scene occurred on the sidelines.

Lynch walked away with his head down. Antonios Fuzis grumbled to the side, and Louis Bullock joined in the argument. Lynch shook off the Greek's hand, yelled, and angrily walked into the tunnel.

Compared with Barcelona, ​​which is united and has good teamwork, Real Madrid is a mess.

Lynch's previous aura of consecutive victories was broken, and Paul Firman suddenly realized that victory is deceptive and failure is the beginning of judging a player's true value.

"Last year, our sales barely touched our 1997 baseline," Paul Firman observed the events unfolding on the court. "This contract is tied to Reebok's future and, by extension, our survival. Signing the wrong player means being eliminated, but sitting back and waiting for death is equally a slow death."

The air in the box seemed to freeze until Firman pulled a cigar from his suit pocket. "Maybe we should spread our chips out—using the same $100 million budget, signing four or five potential players to hedge the risk."

He cut a cigar and handed it to Sonny.

"I've never doubted your ability to identify raw talent. No one in America understands young players better than you, and that's why we need you.

But look at the way this kid reacted to a big loss, and the way he treated his teammates.

Who can guarantee that he won't end up like Tracy McGrady, who has talent but no fervent desire for victory and doesn't know how to be a leader, leading to him never achieving any meaningful victory in the playoffs and causing Adidas to always fall short of surpassing Nike?

Paul.Firman thought of MJ again. Those desperate defeats against the Pistons almost destroyed him, but it was those devastating defeats that gave birth to the "Flying Man Dynasty".

For Lynch, this was a despairing loss tonight.

He discovered that his talent was not enough to handle everything, he discovered that there was a team in Europe that had both team and individual abilities, he discovered that other teams were united while his team was falling apart.

How will he face all this?
"Think about it, Sonny, if Michael Jordan had chosen to surrender cowardly after a series of losses, or simply gave up leading the Bulls and joined the Pistons, AJ wouldn't be worth that much.

What I mean is that whether a player is worth it is not just about his potential. His true value is also reflected in how he faces the shadow of failure, how much he desires to win, and whether he is a leader.

Sometimes ability alone is not enough to achieve greatness."

Sonny Vaccaro understood what Paul Firman meant. In the past, they only looked at a child's basketball potential, but facts one after another proved that that was not enough to judge whether a child's basketball career could achieve greatness.

Sonny believes that this defeat is an opportunity to see Lynch clearly.

"Lynch lost this crucial game, lost to the Triple Crown champion, was pulled down from the altar by a more experienced guy, found out that he was not omnipotent, and found out that his teammates did not like him that much. This is really depressing.

But if he can turn the tide later, can lead this team to complete the revenge against Barcelona, ​​can lead the now loose Real Madrid to win the final championship
It's going to be a perfect American story, so Americans are going to love him. People are going to put Lynch on a pedestal, by God, they are going to, we can make him into something that doesn't exist, and he's going to change the world!
Lynch lost, but got a perfect script, didn't he?

"I'd rather spend $100 million on four or five players or $100 million on one player. I'd say if Lynch can do everything I say, I'd spend $100 million on one player."

"Yeah," Paul Firman nodded in agreement. "Let's wait and see. We need more time to determine if he's worth $100 million. Come on, Sonny, let's go back to the hotel."

Before leaving the box, Sonny Vaccaro suddenly thought of something: "But what if Nike offers Lynch a $100 million contract before us?"

"They won't," Paul Firman laughed. "They're too obsessed with LeBron James."
-
Although Marca and AS are the two most widely circulated sports newspapers in Spain, their sales in Catalonia are almost zero.

Because these are two media outlets that are regarded as the mouthpieces of Real Madrid.

They even did some outrageous things, using some absurd news methods to attack Barcelona, ​​such as directly photoshopping out a defender of Barcelona's opponent to prove that Barcelona's goal was offside.

So the newsstands here don’t even sell Marca and AS, only Sports, which clearly supports Barcelona.

And the above news will not be kind to Real Madrid.

"Like Lynch said, of course he will win the MVP of this year's La Liga. That violent guy doesn't need to win the game. He beats up everyone ahead of him and he's the MVP. This is Lynch, a jerk with no skills who desecrates the art of basketball with an animal brain.

Last night, Barcelona's true artists showed him how basketball is played.

Oh, and don't worry about the Real Madrid team being torn apart by the brawl that broke out last night, our boxing champions will find a way to unite their minds through physical means."

Lynch stared at the rolling clouds outside the plane window. The "Daily Sports" was spread crookedly on the small table. The sarcastic headlines of the Catalan media were particularly glaring in the morning light.

He glanced at the system and looked at the new tasks that appeared last night.

[New goal: revenge against Barcelona and surpass them in the final results of the ACB League and the European League.]

[Reward: 200 talent points.]

This task came at a very timely moment, but Lynch didn't care.

Because the temptation of 200 talent points cannot withstand the tremendous pressure of real difficulties.

Lynch was thinking about many other things.

His team failed to defeat its arch-rivals, and his resume is less than perfect.

Those guys are such a great team. What if we meet them again in the league final or the Champions League final? Can we win?
What if we don’t win the championship?

Why is this team's locker room such a mess? Why isn't it as united as the FMP youth team?
Can a disunited team win the championship?
If I can't win the championship, if I can't defeat Barcelona, ​​will Reebok still give me a billion-dollar contract?

Despite his confidence and current fame, Lynch has always understood one thing: "Signing a shoe contract that surpasses LeBron James' is not easy."

You have to be perfect enough, you have to provide a great enough narrative angle for the media, and you have to make everyone believe that you are the one who can change the NBA landscape in a short period of time, only then can you get that much money.

The boy rested his forehead against the cold glass of the porthole, his mind in a mess. Contract, victory, future, honor. These were obviously not things that a person who was 17 years old physically and 19 years old mentally could think through.

Theo came over and took the Daily Sports from Lynch's small table.

"It's all bullshit. Our outside shooting was terrible yesterday. It's not your fault."

In the back row, Antonios Fuzis, who shot 0 for 5 from beyond the arc last night, instinctively thought Theo was talking about him. He stood up and yelled at Theo.

"Shut up, kid! You haven't even grown all your hair yet and you're judging me? I'm standing outside the three-point line waiting for 15 minutes to catch a ball. You can't expect me to keep my touch under these circumstances! I have to contest and rebound, and most of the time I can't even touch the ball. How do you expect me to shoot three-pointers?"

"Shut up, Antonio! Try yelling at him again! Theo and I never fucking mentioned your name, you bastard! You've been complaining since the first training match. You complained last night, and now you're complaining again? You think the world has to revolve around you, huh?" Lynch was not willing to be outdone. He really couldn't stand this nagging woman.

"Oh, of course you won't complain, because the whole team is playing your draft game with you, making you the center of attention and letting you rack up impressive stats. But honestly, your draft is none of my business. Why should I sacrifice myself?!"

Louis Brock joined the team fight wearing a thick gold chain. "What are you barking about? Who was it that held the score last night when we were not shooting well, holding on to the score? Who cleaned up your defense? If it wasn't Lynch, we would have lost by double digits in Barcelona!"

Louis Brock will unconditionally protect Lynch, because Lynch's presence has prevented him from being beaten by any defender so far this season. This American defender can tell who is his friend.

But to those who are not his friends, he is what the media calls "the difficult American."

Everything that happened on the sidelines last night happened again on the plane, and Julio Lamas kicked the blanket off his legs in anger.

"Alright! You really should let the Daily Sports reporter see what you're like now! Didn't you have enough of the quarrel on the sidelines last night? Do you want to humiliate yourself even more?"

Apart from venting emotions, the head coach's response actually did not play any role.

Julio Lamas is a bold coach and a coach with extremely high tactical skills.

But he is not the kind of coach who can control the locker room.

At this time, it was Real Madrid captain Herreros who controlled the situation.

"We're almost in Madrid, guys. When we get off the plane, countless fans, media and children will see us. Do you want to tell all the fans that we are a bunch of incompetent clowns, or go home quietly?" Almost everyone stopped arguing because no one wanted to be a clown in their own territory.

But this only extended the fuse of the powder keg, and the crisis was not resolved.

In the following days, the atmosphere during the team's training was not good.

Lynch's performance in the training match was not ideal either, as all the messy things distracted him.

Everyone knows that in this state, Real Madrid will lose the next game.

When Fuzis complained sarcastically and when the question of "whether he could get a 100 million yuan contract" flashed through his mind, Lynch wished the system would pop up and give him a reward or something.

[Leader Potion: Makes teammates listen to you like NPCs in the game. (Additional effect: Makes cheerleaders listen to you too)]

[Focus Potion: Allows you to forget about all the messy things and focus only on the task at hand.]

Sadly, none of these things exist.

Not all problems in this world can be solved by systems.

The day before the next round of the league, the training still ended in an unpleasant atmosphere in the locker room.

After resting for a while, Lynch went back to the training ground with Theo to practice shooting. Not long after they started practicing, a bald man walked in.

It's captain Alberto Herreros.

"Still training?" He greeted the two young men with a smile. "Ten years ago, Arvydas Sabonis also practiced like this, but that guy would drink two kilograms of vodka afterward."

"Captain." Lynch and Theo nodded in response.

"I really envy your energy. Unlike me, even my wife has started complaining that I'm short on time."

Lynch was surprised: "Huh? I thought that a professional athlete's body wouldn't be able to do that."

"Stop, she's complaining that I don't spend enough time with my family!"

The three of them practiced for a while, and during the break, Herreros looked at the jersey of Arvydas Sabonis hanging in the training hall - he was the previous captain of Real Madrid Club.

It was he who taught Herreros, who at the time had little talent and only cared about punching in and out and collecting his salary, how to be a professional player.

Herreros also learned how to be a captain from him.

Because of him, Herreros went from being an ordinary player who was about to be sold by Real Madrid to one of the most important players in the history of Real Madrid.

Now, he also plans to fulfill the obligations of a captain like Sabonis.

"Lynch, things have been bad lately, haven't they."

Lynch nodded: "Professional basketball is much more complicated than I thought. It's not just as simple as playing on the court."

“Professional basketball is certainly not just about 40 minutes of competition (European games are 40 minutes), but it’s not complicated either.

I know what you're worried about, but I want to tell you this: Don't focus on the shoe contract, and don't focus on the money, it's not important. It's not that money is unimportant, but because you are destined to make a lot of money. In just six months, you will definitely have unimaginable wealth.

Could you still go undrafted? Could your shoe contract still regress to the 80s? Don't let the things that are meant to be yours bother you.

There is one thing you don't have 100% control over, and that is achieving greatness. You have to strive for it on your own.

Listen, Lynch, everyone in this locker room will be forgotten when they die, except you. You will be remembered forever, and your story will inspire countless kids to fly. Only you have the power to do that, if you stay focused on winning.

I think we have every chance of winning the title, even the European Championship, but it requires a focused you to win.

For a professional player, the most important thing is to focus on the victory in front of him at all times without any distractions.

If you're in the Finals, you can't get lost in the 'can I get the Finals MVP?'

If you have the opportunity to create greatness, you can't worry about things that will belong to you sooner or later.

This is the foundation for achieving greatness.

I want you to look me in the eye and tell me, do you want to win? Do you want to be great?
Or do you just want a big contract and nothing else matters?"

Herreros's eyes were determined. Lynch stared into his eyes, clasping the basketball with his fingers: "Of course I want to win!"

Well, the example of "You can't get lost in things like 'Can I get the Finals MVP'" is too deep in Lynch's heart.

Herreros's serious expression disappeared and turned into a smile: "Fozis, I will take care of him."

"How do you do it?"

"I have my own way."

The next day, in the ACB League regular season, Real Madrid played against Valencia.

Lynch was not lost like he was on the training ground. When he was on the court, all he had in his mind was victory and defeating the opponent in front of him.

As for Fuchs, he got more shooting opportunities today and had more roles on the offensive end.

Because Albert Herreros sacrificed his own running opportunities for jump shots, he gave the Greeks more off-ball screens. Through these off-ball screens, Fuzis frequently got open shots and eventually scored 23 points.

More shots and better statistics made him forget about complaining for a while.

At the end of the game, Real Madrid defeated Valencia with a 14-point advantage and continued to lead the La Liga standings.

Reporters' attention was focused on Lynch, who scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks, and Fuzzis, who scored 23 points.

No one cared about Alberto Herreros who had 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. People just thought he was an old man who was about to retire.

Only Lynch stared at him and answered the reporter's question, "What do you think is the difference between this game and the last one?"

"The difference is, someone helped me become more like a professional player, and I knew what I wanted to be," Lynch replied.

Unnoticed, Herreros walked into the tunnel and saw a poster of Arvydas Sabonis.

The Lithuanian giant held the basketball with his fingertips, his eyes penetrating ten years of time and reaching people's hearts.

Sabonis did not play for Real Madrid for a long time, but he left behind two league titles and a European championship, so he was loved by Madrid fans and regarded as a legend.

But in Herreros's view, those championships are not the most important legacy left by Sabonis.

The most important thing is what he once said to the most confused Herreros.

"Why do I always control you? Do you think the captaincy is just for show? Helping you become a better player is not my goal. Making you a better version of yourself is what a captain should do. Don't let yourself down, Alberto."

Herreros breathed a sigh of relief.

"I am now a qualified captain of Real Madrid, Arvydas."

(Thanks to the tips from big guys such as Shu Fei Jie Bu De Du, Pigeon Cutter, Mei Lao Ban Bu Digs Coal, Seven Nights of Xue Lie, Tian Cang Ren, Sitting Alone on the Beach Watching the Sunrise, Soldiers Firing Cannons, Cabbage and Peanuts, etc. Thank you all so much!)

(End of this chapter)