In mid-May, Lujiazui in Pudong, Shanghai, which should have been Malone, appeared unusually deserted. There were few pedestrians on the streets, and the whole city seemed to have been put on pause.
In a high-rise conference room in the Jin Mao Tower, Lin Qi casually signed his name on an angel investment agreement and pushed a check for a relatively small amount to several young internet entrepreneurs across from him.
Lin Qi invested this money casually, treating it as an opportunity for these enthusiastic young people to try and fail. He didn't expect this startup internet company to make much money in the future; his real purpose was simply to build a digital media and grassroots public opinion platform for the Celtics and the future EBA League that was not subject to external control.
In 2003, the China internet was still a wasteland in the field of video streaming. Microsoft had just released a report last month stating that users needed broadband speeds of over 4MB per second to watch high-definition television programs, while the vast majority of users in China were still enduring the snail-paced speeds of ADSL or even dial-up internet. But Lin Qi had seen the latest industry data: the total number of views of global internet video streaming reached 7.8 billion last year, more than double that of the previous year. This was a momentum that was about to explode.
Limited by current network bandwidth, poor video quality and low smoothness were not a problem. Lin Qi's requirements were simple: to build the largest comprehensive basketball BBS in China, plus early video slicing functionality.
This platform serves far more than just a place for fans to post and chat; it's a crucial part of Lin Qi's overall Greater China strategy. In the past few years, Wang Zhizhi won three championships in Boston, making the Celtics their undisputed "home team" for tens of millions of China fans. Now, with Yao Ming and Wang Zhizhi both in New Jersey, the Nets have naturally become the "second home team." After the suspensions end, Lin Qi will have staff from both teams regularly provide exclusive locker room footage, training videos, and simple tactical highlights.
More importantly, the daily training logs of young China players who are sent to Europe EBA and United States high schools through youth training programs, low-resolution GIFs of their scores in overseas leagues, and even the occasional highlight dunk are all prominently featured on this forum.
Once these young people have built up their initial fan base, Lin Qi can naturally launch affordable sponsored models on the newly upgraded sneaker production line in Fujian, directly monetizing the huge market through banner ads and review sections on the forum.
Creating idols, controlling distribution channels, and dumping goods—this business loop, proven countless times in later generations, was still an untapped blue ocean in 2003. Terrestrial signals were difficult to penetrate at the moment, and Lin Qi's goal was to firmly control the throat of domestic basketball online public opinion at the lowest possible cost before broadband became widespread.
After seeing off this group of young entrepreneurs, the overseas fax machine in the conference room rang.
Lin Qi walked over and picked up the few pages of the final playoff report that had just arrived from Boston. The long and grueling Western Conference semifinals had finally come to an end today.
The score on the fax confirmed Lin Qi's earlier assessment in the teahouse in Hangzhou.
In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics gave Allen Iverson no chance to breathe. Rick Carlisle's team used tight defensive rotations and high-pressure tactics to easily eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1. In another matchup, the New Jersey Nets, with their twin Twin Towers of Yao Ming and Brand in the paint and Kirilenko's impenetrable defensive net, fought a grueling six-game series to keep the Orlando Magic out of the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2.
Watching New Jersey advance, Lin Qi's eyes held a complex expression. Yao Ming, Wang Zhizhi, Kirilenko... the core of this Eastern Conference powerhouse was almost entirely acquired through trades he orchestrated. Now, this team, the only one in the league capable of truly countering Boston in terms of spacing and sheer height, stood as promised on the Eastern Conference Finals floor. If Rick Carlisle couldn't overcome this hurdle, then Lin Qi would be as if he'd been hit right in the face by the Bullets he himself had fired years ago.
That's what makes it interesting, isn't it?
The situation in the Western Conference was much more brutal.
After being scarened by the Los Angeles Lakers Seattle SuperSonics ' outside shooting in the first two games, Phil Jackson decisively shortened the rotation. Shaquille O'Neal O'Neal and Charles Barkley began to frequently dominate in the low post. The combination of Gary Payton and Stoudamire was ultimately hampered by their huge weakness in interior defense, lacking a reliable defensive anchor, which led to Little Stoudemire being one-sidedly overwhelmed in the paint. In the end, the Lakers won three straight games, advancing with a 4-2 series victory.
The " Texas Wars" between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks went to a hard-fought Game 7. Facing Don Nelson's offensive strategy that stretched the floor to the extreme, Popovich delivered a perfect response, using Kwame Brown to relentlessly guard Dirk Nowitzki and resolutely preventing Tim Duncan from leaving the paint to cover the perimeter. The Spurs ultimately won 4-3, demonstrating to the entire league their terrifying execution under extreme tactical pressure.
Lin Qi placed the fax paper on the table.
With this, the map of the 2002-2003 season's regional finals was fully formed.
Western Conference Finals: Los Angeles Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs.
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Celtics vs. New Jersey Nets.
These four teams encompass almost all the most extreme team-building philosophies of this era. The Lakers are the ultimate fusion of veteran experience and top talent. The Spurs are the pinnacle of defensive discipline and academic tactics. New Jersey boasts the most cutting-edge modern spacing system and all-around forwards. And Boston is a physically robust and relentlessly aggressive team, hand-built by Lin Qi, known for its switch-everything defense.
Lin Qi stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the Jin Mao Tower, looking down at the scattered boats coming and going on the Huangpu River.
David Stern's suspension kept Lin Qi out of North America arenas, but objectively, it also gave him an extended, undisturbed vacation, allowing him to stay in Asia for the next few months and finalize these matters one by one.
From EBA affairs in Europe and joint youth training programs in China, to sneaker manufacturing in Fujian, and the BBS forum that recently received angel investment, these three seemingly unrelated businesses—talent delivery channels, cost reduction in sneaker production, and early digital media platforms—will generate synergistic effects many years from now.
Lin Qi tidied up the fax papers, casually placed them on the table, and took a sip of his now-cold Americano.
The matter is almost completely resolved.
For the next few weeks, he could only obediently remain a spectator.
Let's see what new things happen.