The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 406 - 210 Shocking Kneeling_2

At that moment, James once again tried his old trick of driving towards the inside and leaning into Little Gasol.

Little Gasol, trying to avoid the collision, sidestepped and attempted a block but hit James’s wrist; the ball failed to go in.

Due to the angle, the referees did not see the hit on the hand.

Moreover, the constant booing from the fans put pressure on them, and this time they didn’t blow an unfair whistle.

Upon seeing this, James rushed up to the referees, frantically signaling that Little Gasol had hit his hand, looking extremely agitated.

The referees were also somewhat stunned; eventually, the head referee called the two assistant referees over.

At this moment, the LED screen showed a replay of the play; Little Gasol had indeed hit the hand, which was a missed call.

After a brief discussion, the head referee went to communicate with James.

They decided to maintain the original non-call.

In fact, even if it were a bad call, referees would not reverse it; at most, they would compensate in the next play.

However, what happened next was something the head referee had not anticipated.

James seemed unable to believe the decision of the referees, holding his head in his hands while stepping back, looking for the camera angle.

Once he found it and positioned himself squarely in front of the camera, he knelt down.

Perhaps to add more impact to his kneeling, he went a step further and clenched his hands on the floor, bowing his head as if pleading for something.

The scene shocked everyone.

At that moment, the head referee had an expression that read, "Is all this really necessary over a foul?"

Of course, his Thunder teammates were also shocked, with Westbrook’s eyes bulging as if his worldview had been shattered.

Considering that the Thunders had been eliminated by the Grizzlies in the playoffs for the past two seasons, their rivalry could well be deemed a nemesis.

Meanwhile, standing beside James, Ibaka was at a loss; he seemed to want to pull James up but realized he wouldn’t be able to do so.

The arena was already filled with jeering.

Wait, after you’ve enjoyed so many undeserved calls, you get this worked up over one bad call?

Of course, a large part of the reason they were heckling was due to James’s gesture.

If you were to list all the instances of biased refereeing, it could fill a thick book.

But even in the darkest officiating moments, players losing control often leads to fights and brawls. James’s kneeling was truly unprecedented.

Not to mention, James was a league superstar, the leading figure of Nike; how could he stoop to kneel like that!

Hansen was initially confused too, but then he quickly realized what was going on.

James’s kneeling was not only about that particular call but also about the Thunders’ season outcome.

Talking about the Thunders having internal conflicts this season and looking for a way out, easing tensions is one way, and securing more favorable calls is another.

With officiating like in last year’s Finals Game 3, it could push the Thunders into the playoffs.

As long as they made the playoffs, James wouldn’t fall into a pit; at worst, they would find a scapegoat at the end of the season.

Upon understanding this, Hansen shook his head speechlessly.

At this point, not just Westbrook, his own principles were being challenged.

He wasn’t even going to mention Guy being better than James now; even old Carter was leagues above James.

Veterans still have some dignity; anyone with a bit of independence could not stand this scene.

James’s kneeling did not change the final outcome of the game: the Grizzlies still defeated the Thunders 113 to 101.

However, the win or loss became irrelevant, as the "shocking kneeling" became the focus of the game.

The missed call turned into the strongest evidence for LeBron fans, and James’s kneeling was portrayed as a protest against unfair officiating.

"It was that call that changed the momentum on the court; the Grizzlies were behind, but they surged forward and took the game after that."

Those who could rewrite the Grizzlies’ championship history as one of "playing dirty" certainly knew how to minimize importance and maximize promotional impact.

Nike got involved behind the scenes as well.

Though they found James’s behavior unbelievable, those in the same boat as him obviously couldn’t side against him.

Who’d slap their own face, after all?

No matter how incredulous James’s actions were, as long as they could be justified, his allies would certainly help spin it that way.

Under these two powerful public opinions, something seemingly bizarre yet predictable happened.

Before James kneeled, the Thunders were the team with the largest disparity in foul shots in the League, averaging 2.96 more than their opponents.

The Lakers were second with 2.21 more.

This data was still within the realm of understanding since Westbrook and James are primarily players who drive to the basket.

But after James’s kneeling, over the following month, the Thunders’ average skyrocketed to 10.96.

In contrast, the second-ranked Rockets had 3.34, and the Lakers were third with 3.17. freeweɓnovel.cøm

At first, no one noticed this change, given the Thunders had already fallen out of the championship race and the public’s attention towards them had waned.

It wasn’t until Windhorst published the "He’s Back" article on ESPN, listing James’s data over the past month and how the Thunders returned to the playoffs race in The West under his leadership, that the public took notice.

It was then that people started to tally this data and made it public.

This also led to a great controversy among fans on social media.

LeBron fans continued to try to explain.

"The Thunders improved their drive-in offense in the latter half of the season," "The Thunders’ tightened defense forced opponents to shoot from mid and long-range," these classic statements resurfaced.

However, most fans still had their wits about them, and after checking and confirming the accuracy of the data, many jokes appeared online.

"The Thunders’ Stalingrad," "Daddy, love me one more time," "It’s all about who you know," and so on.

But the most classic, and widely circulated, was still that phrase: "the shocking kneeling."

The Chosen One, truly a son among the chosen, his kneeling was bound to shock the world.

This wave filled the Thunders to the brim with animosity.

Time swiftly progressed to early April, as the season approached its end.

At this point, the playoff race in The West was at its most fierce.

The outcome of a single game decided the results of a team’s entire season.

Yet at this time, the Grizzlies were the most relaxed team in The West since they had already secured the top spot.

Moreover, they couldn’t catch up with the Heat next door, so the final games didn’t mean much to them.

In fact, with three games left in the season, Joerger began resting his starters.

This move was common, a way to save the main players’ energy for the upcoming playoffs and also to give other players a chance to perform.

For example, in the last game against the Mavericks, West started and scored 20 points, which hugely boosted his confidence.

The most attention at this time still went to the neighboring game between the Thunders and the Rockets, a do-or-die match, with the winner advancing to the playoffs.

Hard to believe, but the excitement for this game even surpassed that of the Grizzlies and Thunders’ season opener.

James’s commercial value was fully evident.

In terms of fan support for this game, it was also interesting, practically split half and half.

It wasn’t that LeBron fans numbered so significantly by now.

Rather, among those supporting the Thunders, many did so with the mindset of watching a spectacle.

To most fans, they hoped to see the Thunders, even with the referees’ favor, fail to enter the playoffs.

But for those fans, they wished precisely the opposite, hoping the Thunders made the playoffs because then they could enjoy a full series against the Grizzlies.

However, fan support doesn’t actually impact the outcome of the game.

That the Rockets found themselves in this 1V1 situation with the Thunders effectively doomed them to a bad ending.

Ultimately, the Thunders won the game with a free throw disparity of 36 to 19 and successfully advanced to the playoffs as The West’s eighth seed.