Chapter 798 - 250: The Ordinary Rookie’s Comeback

On January 4th, the last game of the Lakers’ four-game home stand arrived, with the opponent being the Philadelphia 76ers, and Fox Sports would broadcast the game live.

Originally, the Lakers vs. 76ers game was only broadcast when the Lakers were the away team.

However, ever since Iverson got the nickname "58," his fame skyrocketed. His high level of attention was initially limited to fans focusing on a top rookie candidate, but now there’s more mockery and even malicious comments.

Iverson’s personality, playing style, and controversial history from high school indeed generated lots of negative buzz; he’s in a state of controversial fame.

But controversial fame is still fame, and for the 76ers, a team fiercely competing with the Spurs for third last place in the league, the number of live broadcasts from January to April 1997 has increased to as many as 14 games.

The game against the Lakers was an added broadcast, and there will be more against the Grizzlies, Bulls, Pistons, and other teams with connections to Iverson.

These opponents either have Rookie of the Year candidates like Sheriff Raheem or players who have crossed paths with Jordan, or they are young top stars like Grant Hill and Anfernee Hardaway.

The Lakers are a bit special... because the last time the 76ers faced the Lakers, they were beaten by 58 points, and Iverson also "confirmed" his "ordinary rookie" moniker during that game.

Due to various factors, the Lakers vs. 76ers game attracted a lot of attention.

And this high level of attention is pure torture for Iverson!

After arriving in Los Angeles yesterday, Iverson just wandered around the streets and could see billboards of "58 Technology" on the roadside... with posters of himself on them!

Occasionally, basketball fans passed by, showing a five with their right hand and an eight with their left hand...

Lakers fans were very welcoming to him, but it’s the kind of welcome he absolutely didn’t want!

...

At 6:40 p.m., the game between the 76ers and the Lakers was about to begin, and both teams’ players entered the court.

The visiting team’s starters came out first, and the DJ at the Great Western Forum announced with a passionate voice, "Welcome from the 76ers, Allen Iverson," to deafening cheers from the audience.

If you didn’t know better, you’d think Iverson was the star of this arena.

Iverson’s face turned livid as he ran out.

He really doesn’t want that nearly 7 million US Dollar endorsement fee each year, but still! Whether he wants it or not, he’s advertising for them regardless.

So, Iverson can only reluctantly shoot an ad for 58 Technology every month, and sign off on receiving that 580,000 US Dollar... within it, 208,800 US Dollar.

The remaining 371,200 US Dollar has already been used by 58 Technology to buy a backstop fund, from which he can still draw money annually after turning 40, and he can’t get the entire principal until he’s 55.

Aside from Iverson, the other players from the 76ers received no cheers or boos; Los Angeles fans only cared about Iverson.

When the Lakers’ starters were introduced, O’Neal was sidelined with an injury and sat in a suit, so the first player out was Zhang Hao, receiving enthusiastic cheers from the crowd.

Next, Barkley was set to appear, and the crowd eagerly anticipated it. Since the Christmas Day game, fan enthusiasm for Barkley during home games reignited.

Initially, as December continued, Barkley’s performance remained "sluggish," and many Lakers fans believed trading Van Exel, Anthony Peeler, Donyell Marshall, and draft picks for Barkley was a big loss.

But after the Lakers played the Bulls, those voices disappeared.

Clearly, Barkley was just being lazy, and even if he’s really declining, as long as he performs well against the Bulls, it’s fine!

Just as the fans were ready to cheer for Barkley, the music suddenly changed...

It switched to Queen’s famous song "We Will Rock You"!

This change was very sudden, and Barkley didn’t come out for a while.

When the AB section was about to finish, right before the lyrics "singing" or "sing it out loud," the DJ shouted in a high-pitched voice, "Welcome Sir Barkley," and right after that, the volume increased with the lyric "sing it out loud."

This peculiar situation had everyone in the arena staring intently at the entrance of the home team’s player tunnel, eager to see what was about to happen.

With the chorus part "We will, we will rock you" blaring louder, everyone saw a man supposedly 198 cm tall emerge from the player tunnel with "grown" hair just about 6 cm wide.

The sides were still bald, and in the middle, a strip of copper-colored hair extended from just above the forehead to the back of the head.

A Mohawk! But not a pure Mohawk — the top part was spiked in clusters, styled like bullets, while the back was wavy and resembled a bullet casing...

Sir Barkley’s special look — a bullet-style Mohawk made its debut!

The crowd paused for a moment, then gasped, followed by a frenzy of cheers!

This was kind of cool! Although they knew it was a wig, the hairstyle was well-liked by the audience, who cheered excitedly.

Barkley, feeling very proud, patted the bald sides of his head and swaggered over to the bench.

Since the Christmas Day game, Barkley had been fiddling with the wig idea, but it had not yet been worn in a game, as he was never satisfied with it.