The longest river

Chapter 119 "handsome young1"

The news that Reebok had terminated its contract with O'Neal caused a major upheaval in the basketball world.

Although Reebok's official reason was that O'Neal made inappropriate remarks, everyone knows that discrimination against Asians is a trivial matter in the United States.

Take Fox Sports for example. They even had a special event where they invited viewers to make all sorts of jokes about Asians, like offering free bike spots.

Especially in the NBA, it's a typical example of "Black Lives Matter".

As a result, Shaquille O'Neal, a black man and the shoe manufacturer's top star, was released from his contract because of one sentence, which has aroused a lot of dissatisfaction.

The loudest voices came from the Black community, who believed that O'Neal had clarified that it was just a misunderstanding, and that Reebok's actions were the real form of racial discrimination.

Some journalists also believe that Reebok's actions were impulsive and illogical.

"Perhaps they will regret their decision in two months."

However, Reebok's next move was completely unexpected.

They have formally lodged a protest with the league, demanding that the league punish O'Neal for his inappropriate remarks!
This immediately shifted the topic from group conflict to the issue of league punishment.

It's worth noting that Reebok has already made its choice, but the league has yet to comment on this matter.

Ultimately, the alliance is the one that should be responsible for defining the nature of this incident.

This was naturally Vaccaro's doing, and an extremely clever one at that.

Stern probably cursed the entire Vaccaro family at that moment.

He originally didn't punish him, thinking that Yang Shuai would accept the apology, and the matter would be resolved peacefully.

However, he clearly underestimated Vaccaro's energy and Yang Shuai's tough stance.

Ultimately, the league suspended O'Neal for three games and fined him $50,000.

Although this is clearly lenient compared to the penalties for discriminating against Black people, the significance of this punishment lies more in its implications.

This is the first penalty in NBA history issued for discriminating against an Asian player.

With this precedent, it means that this is the official characterization, and this will become a new minefield in the future.

This was actually a major reason why Stern was unwilling to impose punishment before.

It's important to understand that Black people faced a lot of discrimination when they first entered the NBA. It took them decades to transform the NBA into a predominantly Black league through population export, which led to the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

As a result, Yang Shuai alone has elevated the status of Asian players in the NBA for decades, which is "unfair".

But things have already developed to this point, so we can only address the issue at hand.

This punishment naturally sparked another huge public outcry.

However, the nature of the incident has already been determined, and public opinion can no longer change anything.

Therefore, this matter ultimately ended in a resounding victory for Yang Shuai.

He not only responded to O'Neal in the same way right under the referee's nose, but also humiliated O'Neal on the court by giving him a military-style taunt and stepping over him.

Even off the court, he became Reebok's new top star.

Even after the league issued the fine, the outside world realized that he was not only a formidable opponent on the court, but also off the court.

The matter eventually came to an end, but as time went on, people discovered something very strange.

That is, Shaquille O'Neal, who was released by Reebok, has yet to sign a new contract with a shoe brand.

Theoretically, at this point, Nike, Adidas, and even Converse should all be on the court, engaging in a fierce battle to win over O'Neal.

But now, there's been absolutely no movement.

Then, at the end of November, O'Neal suddenly announced that he would no longer work with any brands and would instead launch his own.

He bought the previously registered trademark "Dunkman" from Reebok and launched the "SHAQ" brand, with the first signature shoe, Chromz, expected to be released next summer.

He even quoted a story when announcing the news.

That was when he was a Reebok spokesperson, a mother complained to him that the shoes were too expensive. That was the reason he decided to create his own brand, and his signature shoes are expected to be priced around $20 to $40, targeting the affordable market.

O'Neal's move stunned everyone.

It's understandable that major shoe manufacturers haven't made any moves yet; they definitely need to let things cool down before taking action.

In history, Kobe went through the Eagle County incident, was dropped by various parties, but in the end he still signed a contract with Nike.
O'Neal's little incident is nothing compared to that.

Even Yang Shuai found this matter quite abstract.

Because O'Neal essentially went from being a spokesperson to becoming a brand owner.

In other words, he became a competitor with all the shoe factories.

Although he tactfully positioned the shoes as an affordable brand, which brand doesn't have affordable products?
More importantly, the shoe factory has its own production lines, quality control, and R&D departments.

What does Shaquille O'Neal have?
He only has one trademark.

To put it bluntly, what O'Neal is doing is the same approach he's seen with influencer marketing in his past life. The only difference between his brand and Putian shoes is that it's authentic.

Besides that, there's another fatal problem: affordable sneakers lack technology, meaning they won't appear on the professional court.

Obviously, O'Neal himself wouldn't wear those kinds of shoes to play.

Why would fans buy shoes that the brand ambassador doesn't even wear?
Therefore, Yang Shuai could only express that he couldn't understand, but respected O'Neal's decision.

It was at this time that Reebok accelerated its plan for Yang Shuai's signature shoe. The day after O'Neal announced the establishment of his own brand, Reebok released an advertisement for Yang Shuai's signature shoe, "handsome young1".

It's hard to say that this wasn't intentional.

The advertisement is simple and straightforward: Yang Shuai, wearing his signature shoes, breaks through the opponent's defense from the backcourt to the three-point line in the frontcourt, hits a three-pointer, and then turns around to strike a pose.

In this advertisement, close-up shots first focus on Yang Shuai's face, then on his signature sneakers, and finally back on Yang Shuai's face.

Its final advertising slogan was: Be the first version of yourself.

Ever since Sean Powell's article was published, Yang Shuai's quote at the Nike training camp has become his personal trademark.

Now, when placed in this advertisement, viewers won't find it inappropriate at all; on the contrary, they'll feel that this is exactly what should be included.

Even though it's clearly aiming to be the next Jordan.

Moreover, this advertising slogan is extremely fitting for Yang Shuai's signature sneakers, which are full of subversive elements.

To be the first version of yourself, you naturally have to be different from others.

Then, the day after the advertisement was released, HY1's signature sneakers were officially released.

On that day, Reebok even delivered a truckload of shoes in different sizes to Yang Shuai, and then had him take photos together to commemorate the occasion and promote the official release of the autographed sneakers.

Just one week later, the HY1's weekly sales surpassed Reebok's best-selling sneaker: Yang Shuai's Pacers colorway sneakers.

This result was something Reebok had never expected.

In their minds, it would be a success if the annual sales of these sneakers reached the level of either the "Shaq Attaq" or the "Shaqnosis" series.

After all, the design of this shoe is a bit too avant-garde, and it would be difficult for people other than young people to accept it all at once.

But just like the AJ1 back then, this result is a combination of favorable timing, location, and people.

The opportune moment was undoubtedly the timing of Reebok's contract termination with Shaquille O'Neal and the subsequent series of events, which brought the brand the most attention.

The advantage lies in the current sneaker market. After the AJ1 led the era of high-top shoes, the market is now dominated by high-top basketball shoes, making a low-top shoe very eye-catching.

Human resources refer to Reebok's own investment.

Besides its unique design, Reebok used almost every technology available to them for the HY1, and even made a special anti-rollover design for it.

They also put a lot of effort into publicity and promotion this time.

Pump technology, honeycomb cushioning technology, and anti-rollover design provide ankle protection comparable to high-top shoes;
High-top shoes can cause ankle discomfort during breakthroughs, while low-top shoes can greatly improve flexibility.

While it may not have reached the same level of popularity as the release of Jordan's AJ1, the HY1 is still a phenomenal sneaker.

Some media outlets initially predicted that Reebok would regret terminating Shaquille O'Neal's contract within two months, and it turns out that Reebok did indeed regret it; they regretted not releasing the HY1 sooner.

With the signature sneakers proving a huge success, Yang Shuai was naturally in high spirits.

Of course, his feelings didn't just come from off-field experiences.

He has also had a great harvest in points over the past month or so.

Besides accumulating over 11 points in the game against the Lakers, he also had a successful game against the Kings in mid-November.

Last season, Yang Shuai dominated both the regular season and the All-Star game, turning Richmond, a "rock," into a "stepping stone." Naturally, Richmond is eager to prove himself in the new season.

As a result, he encountered Yang Shuai, whose one-on-one defense had reached 93 and who had mastered the dog's footwork. The outcome was predictable.

Even after the match, Richmond looked completely bewildered, as if he was starting to question his existence.

In fact, the person who put the most pressure on Yang Shuai this season was actually the 34-year-old Drexler.

The league's second-best shooting guard, whom Jordan described as "if I don't beat him, he'll think he's on the same level as me," was far superior to Richmond in every other aspect of skill and experience, except for being a little slower than in his prime.

Thanks to these two crucial games, along with other games and the 2 points Kobe contributed during the offseason, Yang Shuai accumulated another 10 points, which he then redeemed for an A-level lateral speed boost pack.

After the exchange, his single defense cap reached 99.

Although he wasn't sure if this would be enough to stop Jordan, he was certain it wouldn't make things as easy for Jordan as it did last season.

Of course, it will take a considerable amount of time to train to the maximum level.

In order to improve his speed as soon as possible, Yang Shuai, just like he did during last season, pulled Miller into various one-on-one training sessions.

Before Christmas, Yang Shuai successfully raised his single defensive rating to 96.

At this time, the Pacers are about to face the Bulls in their Christmas Day game.

(End of this chapter)