Chapter 1 A Four-Game Winning Streak

After a four-game winning streak, the Pelicans' reputation was completely different than before.

If they were this awesome with Tang but without Davis, then with both Tang and Davis, they'd be off the charts!

It was at this point that many people belatedly realized just how strong the Pelicans were last season.

An 80-win season didn't feel that intense when you were in the middle of it, but looking back, it was ridiculously amazing.

And looking back at last year's playoffs, the Pelicans' undefeated championship was never really in doubt.

The strongest team in history, bar none.

Davis's injury had almost recovered, but out of an abundance of caution, Stevens had him rest for a couple more days to ensure he was 100% healthy.

The Pelicans were riding high right now, and there was no need to take that risk.

But the Pelicans' challenge came quickly.

Their last opponent in the demonic October schedule, the Spurs.

The Pelicans had a sluggish performance in their opening game, but found their rhythm in the second game against the Warriors, and then put on a strong performance, winning game after game.

But the Lakers and Spurs had been steamrolling their way through the season since their big wins in the opening game.

Underestimating the Pelicans was a sign of many fans' lack of vision, but the Lakers and Spurs were genuinely strong this season.

Now, it was a clash of the titans.

This game also attracted countless eyes, and according to ESPN and TNT statistics, the game's ratings hit a season high.

The game was as intense as fans had predicted, and the outcome wasn't decided until the last five minutes.

In the end, the Spurs defeated the Pelicans 106-96 to take the final victory.

Tang Tian had a near triple-double with 40 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, but ultimately failed to help the team win.

The Pelicans shot 9 for 21 from beyond the arc, which wasn't a bad performance, but the loss was simply due to a gap in strength.

Davis's absence was apparent in this level of competition.

Aside from Tang Tian, even Siakam didn't have absolute confidence in this type of game.

And Tang Tian also encountered the strongest defense of his career.

Leonard's one-on-one defense plus George's help defense, the pressure these two wings put on him was ridiculously high.

It was no exaggeration to say that this might be the strongest defensive wing combination in NBA history.

If Tang Tian was being restricted, one could imagine how much more difficult it would be for other players.

The Spurs didn't have as much star power as the Lakers this season, but their strength was genuine.

In the last game of October, the Pelicans welcomed Davis back, and the team easily defeated the Suns, finishing the month with a 5-1 record.

Their record ranked third in the West, behind the undefeated Lakers and Spurs.

ESPN's predictions for this season were quite reliable.

After finishing the October schedule, the Pelicans had a rare four-day break.

Stevens gave the players two days off, and Tang Tian finally had time to spend with Olsen at home.

Olsen had just gotten pregnant with their second child not long ago, and he hadn't had much time since the season started.

After settling Olsen in, Tang Tian was walking the lion and American shorthair cat on the lawn.

The two little guys from back then were now big and small, but their bond was even deeper.

The two played around for a while, and the American shorthair curled up next to the lion, the scene looking very warm.

His phone suddenly vibrated a few times, and he picked it up to take a look. It was Carl sending him the finalized contracts.

Carl had only taken on his agent job this summer, but he was doing a great job.

Although he lacked Fagan's experience, his abilities weren't that far off.

And with Tang Tian's popularity, endorsement deals were squeezing in, and Carl only needed to do a good job of screening them.

But he did have a knack for this.

Most of the endorsement contracts that Carl had screened for Tang Tian were for one to two years.

Short-term endorsements could gauge the effectiveness of the endorsement, and good ones could be followed up with long-term contracts, while bad ones could be directly replaced with competitors.

And this time, Carl helped Tang Tian enter the luxury goods industry for the first time.

Luxury goods were one of the most profitable industries, and correspondingly, their endorsement fees were very high.

Carl found him one of the best, Louis Vuitton, or Lv.

Carl considered many factors when choosing the brand.

One consideration was the possibility of future new co-branded sneakers.

Tang Tian's previous Coca-Cola co-branded sneakers had sold very well, and the potential of this market was unlimited.

Lv had previously collaborated with Nike on sneakers, and sales had been very good. If they collaborated with the Godfather series, the effect would definitely be doubled.

Another consideration was their attitude towards China.

Carl had done a lot of preparation to do a good job as an agent, including in-depth understanding of the luxury goods industry.

Almost all luxury goods came from Europe, and they had many limitations in culture.

Brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, and Givenchy didn't value the Chinese market internally and were very sensitive in their attitudes, so they were all excluded by him.

Conversely, Lv had always had a good attitude towards China, and in previous exhibitions, there were Chinese elements such as tea sets and stationery.

In theory, Tang Tian's endorsement effect would be the best.

Tang Tian was also very satisfied after reading it.

He remembered that those brands that were excluded by Carl had all had a series of insulting China incidents later on.

Carl didn't have clairvoyance, but he was able to avoid them through in-depth understanding.

It had to be said that his team core was really talented.

Olsen also came out at this time, and seeing Tang Tian's endorsement contracts, she sat down next to him with great interest.

After reading for a while, she couldn't help but kiss Tang Tian.

Luxury goods were a woman's favorite.

If Tang Tian endorsed Lv, she could get many new bags at the first time.

But pulling down further, Tang Tian couldn't help but laugh, while Olsen was stunned.

Because Carl had chosen a Weilong spicy strip endorsement contract for Tang Tian.

From Lv to spicy strips, the jump was a bit big.

Like Lv, Carl also did a market analysis.

The two most popular magical brands overseas right now were spicy strips and Lao Gan Ma (a brand of chili sauce).

Lao Gan Ma had always used its own founder as its spokesperson, but spicy strips didn't.

From the information he collected from various social media, the potential of spicy strips in the overseas market was enormous.

"This is too low."

Olsen said after reading it.

She now knew a lot about Chinese, and even Chinese culture, and the adjectives she used were quite Chinese.

Tang Tian was now the number one basketball player, endorsing sneakers, endorsing Coca-Cola, endorsing luxury goods, but endorsing spicy strips?

The span was too big at once!

And like she said, it seemed a little too low.

"I think it's good, I like this."

Tang Tian seemed very interested. Back when Olsen was preparing for pregnancy, he endorsed Durex, and the effect was quite good.

Now there was a meme among fans that "if you want to get pregnant, use Durex."

Spicy strips, as Carl analyzed, had a lot of market potential at first glance.

"But that's junk food, you're an athlete."

Olsen continued.

"Isn't the biggest junk food KFC and McDonald's? This Weilong is very standardized."

Tang Tian explained with a smile.

Olsen saw Tang Tian's persistence, shrugged her shoulders, and was helpless.

She estimated that in the future, in addition to being able to buy new Lv bags, she would also receive a lot of freshly mailed spicy strips.