UA and Nike’s war had started before Hansen left the Knights.
Or rather, as Nike dominated the sports shoe industry, the competition with other brands had never ceased.
Previously, Adi led these brands, but in recent years, with Hansen’s rise in the NBA and a rapid increase in market share, UA gradually replaced Adi and constantly clashed with Nike.
Signing Curry was just the beginning for UA; they were now actively contacting Harden and Irving.
Apart from competing for new talent, there was also the "Decapitation Strategy" Hansen had heard about.
Kobe was aging, and the only significant figures Nike had left were James and Durant.
Unfortunately, both had been consistently outperformed by Hansen in the recent years.
Durant, still with the Thunders back then, was repeatedly defeated by Hansen and even after joining the historical Heat team, he still lost to Hansen.
The "Shower Incident" had drastically damaged his image.
James needed no mention; being traded twice within three years under Hansen’s pressure, he was literally sent into a nomadic mode.
This was also the foundation of UA’s "Decapitation Strategy."
The ultimate goal of this plan was to force Nike to give up renewing the contract with James in the summer of 2014.
Nike’s investment in James was unprecedented.
To draw an analogy, the $140 million contract Nike offered in 2011 was like spending money on buying a cat, whereas the real expense came later with the cat food and medical bills.
The amount Nike spent on media PR for James and managing PR crises was immeasurable.
That’s why, even after James performed poorly after joining the Thunders, Nike still relentlessly supported him.
The money invested had not yet been recovered.
Thus, forcing Nike not to renew the contract with James in 2014 would result in a massive loss for them. Updates are released by 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥
Some might suggest, why not just continue the contract?
The answer is not so simple, because James was a made brand, needing continuous maintenance costs. If his performance remained lackluster on the field, renewing his contract would only lead to greater losses for Nike.
Having Durant become the face of Nike was also something UA would love to see.
Because Durant was not as enthusiastic about business nor as compliant as James.
Moreover, Durant’s demeanor was so distinctive that Nike’s brand might decline if he became the lead face.
Of course, the most critical point was that both James and Durant were championship-less players, which would only continue to diminish Nike’s brand influence.
Thus, the summer of 2014 was an extremely crucial period for UA.
Returning to the present, what Hansen needed to do was not only to overpower James on the court but also take action off the court.
This involved the New York Knicks’ performance this season.
Contrary to many people’s prior expectations, the New York Knicks were only behind the Heat and the Pacers in the East, overpowering the Brooklyn Nets and ranking third.
This proved that the Knicks’ lineup had been underestimated.
Or rather, given a suitable lineup, James could still produce impressive results.
Additionally, as the sole core of the Knicks, benefiting from the "Vertical Ascent Rule" this season, James averaged 30 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists.
In the latest MVP rankings, he followed closely behind Durant and Hansen, placing third.
With Nike’s promotion, LeBron fans had already started a new round of celebrations.
Their current view was: James was not performing up to standard in the Thunders due to incompatibility with Westbrook; he was still the number one player in the league. If Anthony had stayed with the Knicks, they would be the top team in the league.
Upon arriving in New York, Hansen and his teammates took a bus to the hotel.
On their way there, Hansen saw multiple billboards of James by the roadside.
Even when they reached the hotel, Hansen spotted murals of James nearby.
Undoubtedly, Nike was very mature in building a star’s influence.
However, this made Hansen even more eager, as shattering fans’ illusions was the most intriguing thing after all.
That afternoon, the Grizzlies went to Madison Square Garden for an open training session.
As a two-time champion team, and being in a place like New York, their presence attracted a large number of reporters.
Hansen was also the focus of the reporters.
This season, he had averaged 28.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game.
The overall deterioration of the Grizzlies forced Hansen to do more on both offense and defense, which strangely led him to produce superstar-level stats for the first time.
After the training, Hansen was surrounded by reporters.
Besides asking routine questions, like about Little Gasol’s injury recovery and the Grizzlies’ game strategies, the reporters naturally brought up the topic of him and James.
Because of their initial experiences in the Knights, any encounter between them, no matter the team, was always highly anticipated.
"You are currently second and third in the MVP rankings, are you looking forward to the clash with LeBron?" asked a reporter from The New York Times.
"I’m not looking forward to it, but I’ll lock him down in the game," Hansen’s reply caught the surrounding reporters off guard.
"Do you mean you will be directly defending against James in the game?" It was no longer news that Hansen was taking on the opponent’s offensive core.
"No, just lock him down," Hansen corrected the reporter’s wording.
The reporters’ eyes gleamed; this was explosive news.