In 2004, he finally appeared.

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

But in 2004, he came back.

"I belong to this city, but I have been away from it for too long. This city has given me too much tolerance, and I will give the last and best efforts." This was what Grant Hill told reporters and fans at a press conference before his comeback.

Then people discovered that 33-year-old Grant Hill seemed to be able to reproduce the glory of the No. 33 that year.

He is still able to contribute 20 points per game steadily. His shooting is much more accurate than before, and his free throw percentage has even hit a career high. Although he has won less than half of his free throws at the peak, and although his breakthrough is no longer so fatal, his defense is getting older, his position is more neat, and his ball distribution is becoming smarter.

That year, Hill played 67 games for the Magic, which was more than the previous three years combined. Fans couldn't wait to shoot him into the Eastern Conference All-Stars, and his average of 19.7 points + 4.7 assists + 3.3 rebounds per game is worthy of his popularity.

But the guy who often dunked on the opponent's center forward at the beginning has become a veteran who plays with his brain.

At that time, everyone said that Grant Hill was alive, but the successor of Jordan was dead.

Link was impressed by Hill that season. After all, that was considered a season where he would rise again.

Hill's athletic ability at that time was not as good as his peak period, but he was definitely not a shooter who could only rely on shooting. Hill's all-round skills are still there, and at the age of 33, his athletic ability has not yet deteriorated like the Suns.

After Link upgraded, he couldn't wait to call Jimmy Butler to fight him for several rounds. Because he only practiced alone, Link didn't know where he became stronger.

But after fighting Jimmy Butler, Link found that what he became stronger this time was not just one aspect, but in all aspects!

With breakthroughs, Link's change direction faster and his ability to accelerate is stronger.

When shooting, Link was more skilled and his shooting percentage was even more terrifying than before.

If Link wants to dunk, he can even make some more complicated dunk moves, such as back buckles, windmills, etc.

In terms of horizontal movement, since Hill's knee has not completely aged during this period, the horizontal movement speed is also very fast, further enhancing Link's defensive ability!

Indeed, this time, Link did not suddenly become very outstanding in a certain ability like before. However, all-round abilities have been improved to a certain extent.

Link's ability is originally superposition, which is equivalent to the gathering of Hill's advantages in each period. Coupled with the improvement in his own athletic ability and confrontation ability, Link's current strength is actually far higher than Hill in 2004!

After 10 goals, Link beat Butler 10-2!

Butler panted and supported his knees, and was beaten to doubt his life. This summer he worked so hard but still couldn't see Link's taillights.

It was obvious that the last time he fought with Link, he was not that strong. And throughout the summer, Butler was training with Link.

"Can you still practice on our back?" Butler sat on the sidelines, looking at Link helplessly.

What happened to the big windmill dunk just now? When will Link get this again?

"No, it's just that the season is about to begin. I just want to be serious." Link patted Butler on the shoulder. Every year during the offseason, what he most looks forward to is upgrading his ability.

This summer, after mastering the ability to shoot three-pointers in dribble, Link has now improved his abilities in all aspects to a certain extent, which undoubtedly made Link very excited.

From the team's strength to personal strength, the Grizzlies should go further next season.

The division champion, the Western Conference champion, maybe even further?

As he told Iguodala, it's time to hang some honor pennants to decorate.

※※※

While Link's strength continued to improve, the commercial value of Link's here in Jeff Austin was also soaring.

The rumors that Link defeated Dream Team during the offseason made him famous. Especially after the Dream Team won the Olympics, the title of "Link is the only man who defeated Dream Team 10" was extremely popular.

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

Now Link is very popular all over the world, not to mention that he is in China.

Therefore, Nike wanted to sign a signed shoe contract with Link to allow him to have his own series of basketball shoes in Nike.

But since the first contract between the two parties has not yet ended, Link wants to come up with his signature shoes and has to wait another year.

Before this, Nike decided to launch some "Link Special Edition" of sneakers to test how much purchasing power Link's popularity can be exchanged for.

Most players in the league can get cash payments from sneaker brands every quarter. In addition, about 50 players can also get their customized sneaker models. Some sneakers' "personal special editions" will be added with player-specific marks or logos.

Now, Link is one of these 50 players. Although they do not have their own exclusive sneaker series, they have left their own personality and imprints in this sports brand.

Austin knows that in addition to allowing Link to get more reward terms, the most important function of the launch of this sneaker is to pave the way for the future launch of signature shoes.

And once Link can get the signature shoe contract, that's amazing.

Such as Nike's Kobe series, James series and Durant series, as well as Adidas' Howard series, Rose series, and even the Parker series and Bathier series of China Peak, all of which are special signature shoes.

The latest market for signature shoe contracts is the sky-high price of 185 million yuan signed by Ross in 2011 with Adidas!

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

This shows how much Jeff Austin attaches importance to this. It has made Link's business value soar, and this is Jeff Austin's job.

So Austin is very concerned about the opportunity to test the "special edition sneakers" this time.

As soon as he received the invitation from Nike, Austin called Link and asked him what suggestions he had for sneaker design and what ideas he had about color matching.

But Link didn't understand these things. He was not an artist at all, and his artistic bacteria were not very developed since childhood.

Moreover, Link, who has been addicted to eating, sleeping and playing Jimmy these two days, has not focused much on sneaker designs.

So, after thinking about it, he finally gave Austin only one suggestion.

"All my special edition sneakers must have a small line of rest on the side of the sole, Zeke. You can do the rest for yourself."

Link smiled secretly. From now on, he would never have to write this sentence by himself with a marker pen every time he got a new pair of sneakers.

All Link's special edition sneakers will have these simple words engraved on the soles.

Walking on the road to becoming Mr. Billionaire, you must not forget the people who accompanied you all the way.
Chapter completed!