Besides Barkley, many other former stars had shared their thoughts on the rule change.
This time, even Pippen, who had always been critical of Wang Yi, thought it was absurd for the league to suddenly change the rules when the season was already a third of the way through.
But all the other 29 teams applauded the change.
Wang Yi was simply too effective at helping defend in the paint. Changing the defensive three-second rule to two seconds would greatly limit his impact there.
That was especially exciting for the Lakers, the Kings' next opponent.
Why had they lost to the Kings in their last game?
Wasn't it because Wang Yi's defense in the paint was too formidable?
Now that the defensive three-second rule had become a two-second rule, Wang Yi's time in the paint would be reduced by a third.
That was naturally a big help to their rookie, Arthur.
After all, Arthur's main offensive weapon was driving into the paint to score.
At last, December 25 arrived.
Christmas.
The NBA's Christmas Day games were a major event every year.
There were four games scheduled for Christmas this year.
Celtics vs. Heat;
Bucks vs. Grizzlies;
76ers vs. Hawks;
And the marquee matchup: Kings vs. Lakers.
The Kings currently had the best record in the league and boasted James and Wang Yi, both of whom had hundreds of millions of fans around the world.
The Lakers, meanwhile, were a traditional powerhouse with countless accolades and fans.
And this year, they had added a superstar rookie, Michael Arthur.
That made this matchup especially compelling.
Before then, Michael Arthur's performances had been growing more and more impressive.
In one game, he had even scored 60 points.
That shattered Zhang Wan's rookie single-game scoring record of 58 points.
As a result, Arthur had