With a huge crowd of media outlets hyping him up, LeBron James—who had only three NBA Championships—was being hailed as the undisputed greatest player since Jordan, with people saying he was second only to Jordan and could soon take the top spot.
Naturally, such exaggerated praise quickly stirred up resentment among a great many fans.
"Greatest of all time? He's not even the League's best player right now, okay?"
"That's rich. You'd think he'd ever been the best before?"
"Early in his career, he was dominated by the Spurs and Celtics. In the middle, by the Warriors and Thunder. Now he's nearing the end of his career, and suddenly he's the greatest of all time?"
"Laughable. These days, LeBron can only pad his stats to make himself feel relevant. Otherwise, who even cares about him anymore?"
"Durant's Nets, Curry's Warriors, Chen Xi's Thunder, Jokic's Nuggets, Giannis's Bucks—they're all top-tier title contenders. The Lakers? Step aside."
Old Zhan had always been a deeply divisive figure. Given the current climate and circumstances, it was only natural that he drew plenty of mockery.
Fortunately, he also had a loyal fanbase whose ranks had grown over the years, and whose fighting spirit was nothing to sneeze at.
"Laughable. Some people's fans are just ridiculous. Isn't LeBron better than you clowns?"
"Chen Xi? Just an overhyped rookie. Since when did anyone hype up a fifth-year player? He got lucky and landed on a strong team early in his career. Let him try playing for the Cavaliers during LeBron's first stint—he might not even make the Playoffs!"
"Curry? A team leader who can't even win an FMVP? Never mind that he's a defensive liability teams relentlessly target in the Playoffs."
"Durant? What a clown. The Warriors were NBA Champions before you got there, and the Thunder