The commercial was being filmed in Memphis because the league needed footage of Memphis street scenes to showcase what Link's city looked like.
Once a star became famous, it was not just the player himself and his team that benefited.
The entire city would become the center of attention as well.
A simple example: before Link emerged, the restaurants around FedExForum could barely attract any customers on game days, no matter how good and affordable their food was.
But during the years of Link's explosive rise, those restaurants were often packed even after raising their prices tenfold.
This small phenomenon alone was enough to show the changes Link had brought to the city.
When Link was mentioned, Memphis was undoubtedly an inseparable part of the conversation.
That was why Luka Dončić arrived in Memphis a day earlier than the rest of the Mavericks.
The moment he saw Link, Dončić enthusiastically opened his arms and hugged him.
Dončić had always greatly admired Link. More precisely, how many young players in this league even dared to show Link any disrespect?
"I'm so happy to meet you, Link! Come on, let's take a selfie and post it on social media!" After the hug, Dončić immediately pulled out his phone, ready to take a picture.
"Uh..." Link really was not used to dealing with these young players. Back when he filmed commercials with James and the others, none of them would suddenly pull out a phone for a selfie at any moment.
More precisely, Link had never seen James use his phone anywhere without Wi-Fi.
"Come on, lots of fans are waiting to see it!" Dončić did not even wait for Link to agree. He wrapped an arm around Link's shoulder and raised his phone.
"You sure it's only one picture, not a hundred?"