The Show of Support

Of course, if you ignored too many off-court factors, what he'd said did actually make a certain amount of sense.

More importantly, he'd also successfully steered public opinion.

As the video spread, Thunder fans, Chen Xi fans, and people just watching for the drama all began turning their attention to Donovan and Davis almost involuntarily.

As Head Coach, Donovan had it a little easier, but AD was in a much tougher spot.

Some of Chen's more extreme fans had even started attacking AD on social media.

They criticized the mismatch between AD's salary and his availability, called him injury-prone, and accused him of deliberately avoiding the games.

They thought, "The last update said there was a good chance he'd be back in the second round. The first round went to a Game 7, and the second round's already two games in. Where the hell are you?!!"

And once someone got the ball rolling, "interested parties" immediately started piling on, fanning the flames and making the storm of public opinion even more powerful.

For a while, countless fans began denouncing AD, leaving him in a situation eerily similar to Durant's in another timeline.

Fortunately, Chen soon gave AD tangible proof that joining the Thunder had been the right decision.

As the story gained more and more traction and the public backlash grew increasingly intense, Chen Xi posted a short update on social media the afternoon after returning to Oklahoma City, the day after Game 2.

There was no text, just a freshly taken photo with AD. Smiling, Chen Xi held up his phone for a selfie, capturing himself and Davis, who was busy gnawing on a piece of beef.

Chen Xi made his support unmistakably clear, trying to calm the uproar right away.

Soon after, the Thunder's official account liked and