193: Chapter 193 The War for Royal Power Officially Begins!

In the end, the Miami Heat won Game 7 without further incident, advancing to the NBA Finals for the third consecutive year.

The moment the final whistle blew at the American Airlines Arena in Miami,

basketball fans across the entire world went wild!

The final matchup for the 2013 NBA Finals!

Was officially set!

Western Conference Champions, the Los Angeles Lakers!

Against!

Eastern Conference Champions, the Miami Heat!

This matchup result was like a nuclear bomb, instantly detonating every sports forum and social media platform across the globe!

"Oh my god! It's really Lakers vs. Heat!"

"Who wrote this script?! I'm going to send them razor blades! This is too exciting!"

"On one side is the Purple and Gold Army, who performed a Black Eight Miracle and completed an epic 0:3 comeback!"

"On the other side is the defending champion with the league's number one player, currently at the peak of their dynasty!"

"This is damn well Mars colliding with Earth!"

"I can't wait! Start it already!"

Media outlets worldwide used the most exaggerated and inflammatory headlines they could think of!

ESPN: "Battle for the Throne! The present and future of the league will have a direct collision on the stage of the NBA Finals!"

TNT: "The Emperor vs. The New King! Can LeBron James defend his throne? Or will Lin Feng step over his corpse to complete the most incredible coronation in NBA history!"

Yahoo Sports: "Kobe and Wade, the final peak showdown! The inheritance and transition of two historic shooting guards!"

The buzz!

Was pushed to an unprecedented height!

On one side...

Were the Los Angeles Lakers, who had completed the Black Eight Miracle and staged a shocking 0:3 comeback in the Western Conference Finals—something never seen before in the seventy-plus years of NBA history!

They had a living legend, a paranoid black mamba burning his last light and heat, Kobe Bryant!

And even more so, they had a super new king who, like a god descending to earth, created countless miracles with one unreasonable individual performance after another!

Lin Feng!

And on the other side...

Were the defending champions at the peak of their dominance, featuring the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh!

The Miami Heat!

They were the rulers of the league!

A mountain that no team had been able to overcome for the past two years!

The league's current Emperor, LeBron James!

Against!

The mysterious and powerful new king about to be enthroned, Lin Feng!

A direct dialogue between the strongest of the old and new generations!

Kobe and Wade, the peerless duo of the '03 Golden Generation, facing their final peak showdown at the end of their careers!

Every single selling point was enough to make any fan's adrenaline explode!

Basketball fans all over the world fell into a state of frenzied, fanatical anticipation!

Major betting companies also immediately released the championship odds for the NBA Finals.

Miami Heat, 1.5.

Los Angeles Lakers, 2.5.

Judging by the data.

The Heat, with their Big Three and status as defending champions, still held an absolute advantage!

But!

This time, not a single expert or fan dared to easily pronounce a death sentence for the Lakers!

Because this Lakers team had already used their actions to shatter everyone's predictions and doubts time and time again!

They were synonymous with miracles!

With them, any impossibility seemed possible!

No one dared to look down on this Lakers team that had crawled out of hell and created countless miracles anymore!

...Miami, American Airlines Arena.

Inside the Heat's locker room.

The players who had won Game 7 were holding a simple celebration.

Wade opened a bottle of champagne and sprayed it over his teammates.

The locker room was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

However, the team leader, LeBron James, did not participate.

He just sat quietly in front of his locker.

His gaze fell on the television on the wall, which was broadcasting sports news.

On the screen.

The final moments of the Game 7 between the Lakers and the Thunder were being replayed over and over again.

That Eastern man wearing the Lakers' number 11 jersey.

Like a bolt of black lightning, he tore through the Thunder's entire defensive line.

Then, with a double-clutch layup that seemed nearly impossible for a human to perform, he completed that buzzer-beater destined for the history books!

"This guy really isn't from Earth."

Wade walked over to James's side and handed him a bottle of water.

In his eyes, there was also a hint of unconcealed amazement.

"It looks like we're about to face a real monster."

James didn't speak.

He simply unscrewed the cap and poured the entire bottle of water down his throat.

In those eyes filled with dominance, a fire was burning like never before!

A monster?

No.

That wasn't a monster.

That was a true opponent who, just like him, had the most primal and crazed desire for victory!

A challenger worthy of contesting his throne!

"Notify the team trainers."

James stood up, his massive frame like a mountain, bringing a powerful sense of pressure to the entire locker room.

"Starting tomorrow, double the training volume."

"The NBA Finals are about to begin."

...A few days later.

Los Angeles.

In the living room of a luxury apartment.

Lin Feng was half-reclined on a soft sofa, covered with a thin blanket.

After a few days of rest, his face, which had been pale from overexertion, had regained its color.

His body had also mostly recovered.

However, that deep sense of exhaustion that comes after mental energy is completely drained still lingered.

On the huge LCD TV in the living room.

The official NBA promotional video, meticulously produced for the upcoming NBA Finals, was playing.

The stirring, epic background music resonated throughout the room!

In the footage.

First was the display of the Miami Heat's suffocating dominance!

LeBron James, like a bulldozer, crushing everything with his drives!

Wade, with his lightning-fast and incredibly agile Euro-step!

Chris Bosh, with his precise and lethal mid-range jumpers!

The Big Three—each represented the top-tier talent of this league!

Then, the scene shifted.

The music became solemn yet passionate!

Kobe Bryant, the man in the number 24 jersey, dragging his battle-scarred body to hit those unreasonable fadeaway jumpers time after time!

His gaze was paranoid yet resolute!

Like a lonely, proud king guarding his last territory!

The atmosphere of the promotional video was built up to a climax!

Finally.

All the images froze on one person!

That Eastern man wearing the Lakers' number 11 jersey!

From his sudden emergence from the bench!

To the 13 three-pointers in a single game against the Spurs, taking down San Antonio!

And then to the Western Conference Finals, that shot of the century that overturned a 0:3 desperate situation!

Scene after scene of divine feats were rapidly edited together!

Ultimately.

The screen stopped at the moment Lin Feng, having exhausted all his strength after completing the game-winner, collapsed straight back!

On the TV screen, a line of huge, suspenseful golden text slowly appeared!

[Will the throne change hands?]

[Or will the dynasty continue?]

Lin Feng watched the promotional video for the NBA Finals on TV.

In his eyes burned an unprecedented will to fight.