3 p.m.
San Diego, California.
Blue skies and azure seas.
A few seabirds glided leisurely through the breeze around the USS Ronald Reagan.
On the carrier's deck was a regulation NBA basketball court.
At center court was the Kings' crown logo.
And this Kings crown logo was no longer the Western-style crown they'd used before. It was more like the kind of imperial crown worn by Chinese emperors.
The Kings had changed to a crown with hanging beads before, but back then, in an effort to appeal to Western audiences, that design still included some Western elements.
This time, they had switched directly to a golden Chinese imperial crown.
Purely Chinese elements.
Seen from above.
The golden crown looked imposing yet regal.
It symbolized royal authority and supremacy.
This was the Kings' new crown logo, introduced at the start of the Playoffs.
In their efforts to win Wang Yi over and convince him to re-sign with the Kings when his contract ended, everyone from the top down had gone to great lengths.
Back in China, many people stirring up controversy and those who fell for it had already begun reading all sorts of things into the Kings' new crown logo.
In the comments on the Tencent NBA Live Broadcast Room:
"Holy crap, how did Qin Shi Huang's crown end up on the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier? What's that supposed to mean? Wang Yi is bringing Qin Shi Huang's head to surrender to America."
"Figures. You could tell from the logo that he's America's lapdog!"
"I didn't believe people when they said Brother Yi was a traitor, but now that I've seen this logo... Sigh, Brother Yi, you've really disappointed me."
Meanwhile, the Rainforest Army, like many other fans, fired back at those comments.
"As far as I know,