Kobe's Idea to Retire

After the postgame interviews, the Boston Celtics did not linger in Toronto. They had to rush to their next road game—Los Angeles, where they would face the Los Angeles Lakers on the second night of a back-to-back.

During this season's offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers had been given high expectations by countless experts and fans and were regarded as one of the biggest favorites to win the championship.

Yet with more than half the schedule already gone, they had managed only 23 wins and 26 losses, ranking just tenth in the Western Conference.

Such dreadful performances left the Los Angeles Lakers' loyal supporters heartbroken and deeply anxious.

Goodwin, however, was not surprised in the slightest.

He knew perfectly well that simply cobbling together a group of so-called All-Stars did not guarantee an NBA championship trophy.

The Miami Heat's Big Three and the Los Angeles Lakers' F4 were both living proof!

As a result, other teams around the league began following the Boston Celtics' team-building model: using carefully planned drafts to uncover young players with enormous potential.

Then, they invested heavily in nurturing those rookies, allowing them to gradually grow into All-Stars, stars, or even superstars.

In the end, those core players would lead the entire team in a push for the championship.

President David sincerely approved of and supported this trend.

At the same time, he was filled with gratitude toward Goodwin. Goodwin had not only brought unprecedented attention and massive traffic to the entire league—meaning a flood of revenue.

More importantly, he had guided the league onto the right path of healthy, sustainable development.

If the Miami Heat's so-called Big Three and the Los Angeles Lakers' F4 had truly succeeded as intended, the entire league would likely have fallen into chaos, with an uncertain future and perhaps even the