Boston Garden, the home arena of the Boston Celtics.
Today's match is a fateful battle between the two teams with the most NBA championships in history.
The away team is naturally the Los Angeles Lakers.
The fact that the founder of North America gaming giant Gamenova was coming to watch the game was naturally noticed by reporters.
When Lin Lixin and Sam appeared on the away team's bench, countless cameras and microphones were already aimed at them.
Could this be a harbinger of the direction Gamenova's next game will take?
Or is Lin Lixin planning to invest in the sports industry?
The answer cannot be known for certain.
The two men adopted an aloof attitude, making it clear that they were just there on vacation to watch the game.
Anyone who dares to point a camera at that moment is just asking for trouble.
"I really didn't know you were a Lakers fan. I've never seen you watch more than a few games before, although I don't watch them much either."
Sam looked around curiously, completely oblivious to the stares from the others.
In Sam's memory, the few basketball games the two had watched were mostly between their University of Southern California and their arch-rivals, U16.
CLA's varsity football game.
They haven't really watched many basketball games.
Let alone watching live events, they rarely even watch television programs.
"I guess so, but I came here to see him."
Lin Lixin's gaze swept across the court and landed on the black man who was sitting and taller than everyone else standing.
Karim Abdul Jabbar.
Nickname: Skyhook.
This player, who stands a full 2.18 meters tall, is the prototype for Rocky, the United States Sports Team in their recently released " The King of Fighters " game.
He is now 38 years old.
For a basketball player, this is already considered quite old.
However, Lin Lixin's impression of him came more from outside of basketball.
Interestingly, besides being a basketball star, Jabbar also had another identity – an actor.
In 1971, he received an invitation from his friend and mentor to star in a movie called " Game of Death ".
In the film, he plays the protagonist's final adversary.
The protagonist's name is Bruce Lee.
Jabbar was a student at the Jun Fan Gung Fu Institute.
Unlike Lakers ' Nova Magic Johnson, Jabbar appeared very quiet and introverted. He sat alone on the bench, staring blankly at the basket, seemingly lost in thought.
Lin Lixin patted Sam on the shoulder, signaling him to follow.
There is one hour left before the match officially begins.
He approached Jabbar and politely bowed.
"Mr. Skyhook Jabbar, nice to meet you."
The Skyhook, a nickname given to Jabbar by fans, is also considered one of the most unstoppable moves on the basketball court.
Undefendable, yet consistently efficient.
Every shot he takes scores.
With just a gentle flick of the wrist, raised above the head, two points are secured.
It can be said that he has a single trick that allows him to make a living anywhere.
However, this move, like Guile's Sonic Boom, can become aesthetically tiring after a while.
This means he doesn't have the massive fan base that other star players do.
Kareem Abdul- Jabbar glanced at Lin Lixin and returned the same polite smile.
Then, he tilted his head slightly in confusion, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he quickly stood up.
"Mr. Lin?!"
"Swish"
With shoes on, his height of 2.2 meters suddenly became apparent, allowing this black giant to display his astonishing size.
As if realizing that standing was even more inappropriate, he awkwardly sat back down on the bench.
"Mr. Jabbar, I haven't had a chance to meet you until now. I heard you had a game today, so I brought a friend to cheer you on."
Lin Lixin chuckled, trying to sound as familiar as possible, "I wonder if you've followed our GAMENOVA EVO Evolution Championship or the King of Fighters?"
Perhaps it was Lin Lixin's attitude that made Jabbar feel at ease, because he quickly adjusted his mood and laughed along.
"I don't have any special tricks to make basketballs shoot lasers."
Jabbar knew what Lin Lixin was talking about.
Rocky Grooba, the leader of the United States Sports Team in GAMENOVA's new game " The King of Fighters ".
His look was clearly a tribute to the black karate master he played in the movie " Game of Death ".
However, Kareem Jabbar had no objection to this; in fact, he was quite excited about it.
"I'm not as skilled as I used to be."
He looked at the Magic, Johnson, who was warming up.
His scoring average this season has dropped to the lowest point of his career, and his rebounding performance is also less than ideal.
Age is the thing an athlete fears most.
"What kind of talk is that? I think you're at the age where you should be winning MVP."
Lin Lixin waved his hand.
In his memory, although Jabbar's performance was mediocre in the following games, he still treated each game with great care.
He played a supporting role, leaving all the spotlight to Lakers rookie Magic Johnson.
"Then I'll accept Mr. Lin's kind words."
Jabbar took his words as mere polite flattery.
But Lin Lixin clearly wasn't going to let it go so easily.
" Sam, use your personal account to place a bet on Mr. Jabbar to be the MVP of this game. Bet $50,000—bet $100,000."
As the saying goes, "A thousand pieces of gold can buy a horse's bones."
If they want to build their sports gaming brand, they must have this attitude.
Lin Lixin reached out and grabbed Sam's collar, leaning close and speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear, "Make it a big show, let all the reporters see it."
Even in garbage time when the Lakers were down by a full 20 points, Sam was still hoping that Kareem Jabbar could pull off a spectacular comeback like in the King of Fighters.
End of third quarter.
Jabbar's stats were hardly impressive.
Lin Lixin didn't seem to care much about this, he just kept shouting Jabbar's name whenever he scored.
Keep in mind that this important final was broadcast live in its entirety.
The entire nation witnessed this gaming Tycoon supporting the player on the field, who was clearly struggling, like a fervent fan.
During the brief break at the end of the third quarter, a reporter finally couldn't resist and approached Lin Lixin.
"Mr. Lin, I heard you bet $100,000 that Jabbar would win MVP today. What are your thoughts on his performance today?"
Facing the camera, Lin Lixin struck his signature pose: a puzzled, harmless expression.
"Huh? Sorry, I don't really understand the rules of basketball. Wasn't Mr. Jabbar's performance quite good?"
He turned his gaze to Jabbar, waved, and called out, "Mr. Jabbar, I have a gift for you!"
He was holding a pair of basketball wristbands with an exaggerated Japan gradient GAMENOVA logo printed on them.