Chapter 48 All-Star Weekend

After playing the 76ers, the Pelicans' games before the All-Star break were all over.

After Gasol joined, they had a four-game winning streak, and their record was finalized at 48 wins and 12 losses.

This record was second only to the Lakers and Spurs, ranking third in the league.

Losing Walker and Butler, and with Dedmon in poor form, the Pelicans' record was quite outstanding.

On February 17th, US time, the 2019 NBA All-Star Game officially kicked off in Boston.

The first day was the Celebrity Game and the Rookie Challenge.

Olsen was staying at home to take care of her pregnancy and didn't go to Boston with Tang Tian, so this day became Tang Tian's complete private time.

Besides participating in an official Nike promotional event in the morning, he was free for the rest of the time.

Walker was also preparing to fulfill what he said at the end of the brothers' training camp last summer, treating them to a big meal.

Although Thompson didn't come, Butler, Davis, and Drummond were all there, and they were going to have a good get-together in the evening.

With nothing to do in the afternoon, Tang Tian originally planned to find Walker to go shopping first.

But before he could call Walker, he received a very unexpected call first.

It was from Diaw.

After the Pelicans won the championship last season, Diaw returned to France not long after.

The two hadn't been in contact much since then, so he didn't expect him to call at this time.

"I'm also in Boston. Do you have time to come out for afternoon tea?"

The French love afternoon tea, and Diaw valued it very much when he was in the NBA.

This was a very formal invitation.

Tang Tian agreed.

Diaw had been his teammate in both the Spurs and the Pelicans, and the two had a good relationship.

When he arrived at the agreed-upon cafe, he realized that there were other people besides Diaw, who also looked French.

After Diaw introduced him, he learned that this was the president of Dior's American division.

It seemed that Diaw was looking for him for more than just catching up.

Speaking of which, this was normal. Back when he was with the Spurs, Diaw was also one of Dior's spokespersons, and he had even given Tang Tian perfume.

Now that people from Dior were contacting him through Diaw, the purpose was self-evident.

After some communication, it was indeed as Tang Tian had expected. Dior's previous global spokesperson wasn't planning to continue, and they wanted to find a new one.

Luxury brands generally wouldn't think of basketball players like Tang Tian unless they valued the Chinese market.

Like LV, a big reason for asking Tang Tian to be their spokesperson was to expand their share of the Chinese market.

And the Dior company was contacting him not only for this reason, but also because Dior's largest shareholder was LV.

This was like a marriage, a feeling of strengthening ties.

Of course, both companies were Fortune 500 companies and were independent.

Dior was hoping that Tang Tian could be the global spokesperson for their men's perfume.

The president, named David, had also made preparations and brought a quotation on the spot.

10 years, 50 million, 5 million a year.

This offer was definitely not low.

Catching up turned into business, which was beyond Tang Tian's expectations.

However, Karl had also come to Boston, and Tang Tian had Karl come over with just one phone call.

So, the four people split into two tables.

On one side, Diaw and Tang Tian were catching up, and on the other side, Karl and David were discussing business.

When the catching up was almost done, the business negotiations were also coming to an end.

Karl's negotiation skills had improved a lot after a summer.

He had raised the price from 5 million to 5.5 million.

"I have one condition. I hope to get all the endorsement fees in advance."

Tang Tian made a condition to David.

Nike's sneaker dividends were coming out soon. He didn't know if he could hit 100 million in Krypton points, but he wanted to try.

But he was still far from it, and accumulating more Krypton points before that was more hope.

"We haven't had a full advance payment before, at most 60%, but since you asked, I'll apply to headquarters and see."

David was still a very good businessman.

Tang Tian agreed. This was also his personal wish. It would be best to pay in full in advance, but 60% was also acceptable.

This endorsement was a small surprise during All-Star Weekend.

But since Diaw was in Boston, Tang Tian pulled him to the party in the evening.

Walker got drunk that night, which was considered a good indulgence.

The next day, the NBA All-Star Weekend ushered in the individual competitions.

The three-point contest, which was highly anticipated by fans, would also be held on this day.

The Skills Challenge started first.

In the end, Tatum, playing at home, beat all his opponents and successfully won the Skills Challenge championship.

After the Celtics got Walker this year, not only did the team's record go up, but their luck also improved.

After the Skills Challenge, the three-point contest was about to begin.

But before it officially started, there was a Hall of Fame three-point contest segment.

Dell Curry, Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, Mark Price, and Glen Rice, these five Hall of Famers were all invited to the scene.

Each of them was responsible for one spot and competed in five shots.

This warm-up segment was newly added this year, and the purpose was to warm up the atmosphere.

This segment also made fans and audiences look forward to it.

You must know that these people were all top three-point shooters during their playing careers.

Especially Miller and Ray Allen, who were the top two players on the three-point field goal list.

But now they had retired for so many years, and Curry and Glen Rice had been enjoying life since they retired, and they had obviously gained weight.

Whether they were still as sharp as ever or whether time had taken its toll was also a very interesting and worthy thing to pay attention to.

Rice was responsible for the first spot. As the referee's whistle sounded, he also began his shooting.

"Swish!"

He made the first shot, which instantly ignited the atmosphere.

In the end, he made 3 of 5 shots, performing quite well.

It seemed that although he had gained weight, his skills hadn't diminished at all.

Rice had raised the fans' expectations, but none of them thought that he was already the peak of this group of veterans.

Price at the second spot and Curry at the third spot only made 1 shot each.

Ray Allen at the fourth spot missed all five shots!

Miller, at the last spot, slightly salvaged some face, but only made 2 shots.

As a result, they only got 10 points in total from the 5 spots.

Sure enough, time waits for no one. No matter how strong a shooter is, no matter how good his touch is, when he reaches a certain age, he can only be more of a spectator.

This warm-up three-point contest was a flop, but it was very entertaining, and it also made fans look forward to the upcoming main event.

After seeing the bad ones, people always want to see the good ones.

Curry, Tang Tian, Lillard, Walker, Nowitzki... the players were introduced one after another.

The cheers at the scene were already unstoppable.

Although it was a little regrettable that Thompson didn't participate this year, Tang Tian's participation in the dunk contest last year made it the most classic in history, and they were also looking forward to Tang Tian's performance in the three-point contest this year.