In 2004, he finally appeared.

Since Grant. Since Hill joined the Orlando Magic, he has barely played well. It was also during this time that another all-round striker, LeBron. James enters the league. Hill's repeated injuries have made him no longer have the highest popularity in the league.

But in 2004, he returned.

"I belong to the city, but I've been away from it for too long. The city has given me too much tolerance, and I will give my last and best effort. "This was before the comeback, Grant. Hill told reporters and fans at a press conference.

Then it was discovered that 33-year-old Grant. Hill, it seems, can still reproduce the glory of the 33rd back then.

He's still averaging a steady 20 points per game, his shooting is much more accurate than before, and he's even shooting a career-high free-throw percentage. While he's made less than half as many free throws as he did at his peak, and while his breakaways aren't as lethal, he's more experienced defensively, sharper in positioning, and smarter in his distribution of the ball.

That year, Hill played 67 games for the Magic, more than in the last three years combined. Fans can't wait to shoot him into the Eastern Conference All-Star starter, and his average of 19.7 points + 4.7 assists + 3.3 rebounds per game is also worthy of this popularity.

It's just that the guy who dunked on the opponent's center at every turn has become a veteran who plays with his head.

At that time, everyone said, Grant. Hill is alive, but Jordan's heirs are dead.

For Hill that season, Link was impressed. After all, that was supposed to be the season in which he would rise again.

Hill wasn't as athletic as he was at his peak, but he was definitely not a shooter who could only shoot and survive. Hill's all-around skills are still there, and at 33 years old, his athleticism hasn't degraded as much as it did when he was in the Suns.

After Link's upgrade, he couldn't wait to put Jimmy. Butler called in and fought himself for a few rounds. Because he practiced alone, Link didn't know exactly where he had become stronger.

But and Jimmy. After Butler played, Link found that this time he was not stronger in a single aspect, but in all directions!

Breaking through, Link changes direction faster and has a stronger ability to accelerate.

Shooting, Link is more handy, and the shooting percentage is more terrible than before.

Dunk, if Link wants to, he can even make some more complicated dunk moves. For example, back buckles, such as big windmills or something.

In terms of traverse, since Hill's knees have not fully aged during this period, the traverse speed is also very fast, which further strengthens Link's defensive ability!

It's true that this time the upgrade Link didn't have the same as before, and a certain ability suddenly became very prominent. But the all-round ability has been improved to a certain extent.

Link's ability is originally superimposed, which is equivalent to the convergence of Hill's advantages in various periods, coupled with the improvement of his own athleticism and confrontation ability, Link's current strength is actually far superior to Hill in 04!

With 10 balls down, Link hit Butler 10-2!

Butler was panting and bracing his knees, beaten to the point of doubt. He's tried so hard this summer, but he still can't see Link's taillights.

Obviously, the last time he fought Link, he wasn't that strong. And all summer, Butler has been training with Link......

"Could it be that you are still practicing on our own behind our backs?" Butler sat on the sidelines, looking at Link helplessly.

What was that windmill dunk just now? When will Link be like this?

"No, it's just that the season is about to start, and I just want to be serious." Link patted Butler on the shoulder, and every offseason, the thing he looks forward to most is the ability to upgrade.

This summer, after practicing the ability to shoot three-point shots in the dribble, now all aspects of the ability have been improved to a certain extent, which undoubtedly makes Link very excited.

There has been a significant improvement in terms of team strength and individual strength, and next season, the Grizzlies should go further.

The champion of the division, the champion of the West, maybe ...... What about further afield?

As he told Iguodala, it's time to decorate the Federal Express Arena with some pennants of honor.

※※※

While Link's strength continued to improve, Jeff. Here in Austin, Link's business value is skyrocketing.

Link's offseason rumored, rumored, made him famous. Especially after the Dream Team won the Olympic Games, the title of "Link is the only man who has defeated the Dream Team 10" is even more popular.

As his fame grew, Link's commercial value also made Austin smile crookedly.

Now Link is not in China, but all over the world.

As a result, Nike wanted to sign Link to a signed shoe contract that would allow him to have his own line of basketball shoes at Nike.

But since the first contract between the two parties has not yet ended, Link will have to wait another year to come up with signed shoes.

Prior to this, Nike decided to launch a "Link Special Edition" of some sneakers to test how much purchasing power Link's popularity could be converted into.

Most players in the league receive quarterly cash payments from shoe brands, but about 50 players also receive their own custom shoe models, some with a player-specific logo or logo on their "personal editions".

Now, Link is one of those 50 players. Although they don't have their own sneaker collection, they can be regarded as leaving their own personality and mark on this sports brand.

Austin knew that in addition to getting Link more bonus terms, the most important role of the sneaker would be to pave the way for the launch of a signature shoe in the future.

And once Link can get a signed shoe contract, it won't be a big deal.

Like Nike's Kobe series, James series and Durant series, as well as Adidas's Howard series, Rose series, and even China's Peak Parker series and Battier series, etc., all belong to special signature shoes.

The latest quote for the signed shoe contract is the 13-year 185 million sky-high contract signed by Ross with Adidas in 11 years!

It can be said that as long as you can sign a signed shoe contract with a sneaker manufacturer, you will be an athlete worth hundreds of millions!

It can be seen that Jeff. How seriously Austin takes this. Let Link's business value soar all the way, this is Jeff. Work in Austin.

So this time to get the opportunity to test the waters of "special edition sneakers", Austin is very interested.

As soon as he was invited by Nike, Austin called Link and asked him if he had any suggestions for sneaker design and any ideas for color schemes.

But where does Link understand this, he is not an artist in the first place, and the art bacteria have not been developed since he was a child.

And Link, who has been obsessed with eating, sleeping, and playing Jimmy for the past two days, has not paid much attention to sneaker design at all.

So, he thought about it and finally gave Austin only one piece of advice.

"All of my special edition sneakers have to have a small line on the side of the sole – Rest in peace, Zike. Let's take care of the rest. ”

Link smiled to himself, and in the future, he would no longer have to write this sentence with a marker every time he got a new pair of sneakers.

Every special edition of Link's sneakers is engraved with these simple words on the sole.

Walking on the road to becoming Mr. 100 million yuan, you can't forget the people who accompanied you all the way.

Sneakers, strength, popularity and partner ...... Now everything is ready, just wait for the new season to begin!