NBA M3 - Chapter 503: Blake Su Generation: Five Million Pairs Sold Out Instantly (Patreon)

"Mom?"

Seeing the missed call from his mother, Blake immediately brightened and called her back.

A familiar voice answered.

"Blake!"

"Mom, I didn't have my phone with me just now, so I missed your call."

"Oh, I see."

On the other end, Blake's mother, Dolores Su, laughed.

"Congratulations to my son for winning Game 7, leading the Ph... Phoenix Suns to the championship, and winning the F... Finals MVP!

"My son is the best."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing his mother stumble over all the basketball terminology after clearly doing some last-minute homework made Blake burst out laughing.

At the same time, he couldn't help feeling touched.

"Thanks, Mom. Mia must've told you I was playing Game 7 of the Finals tonight."

"Nonsense."

Dolores Su sounded serious.

"Your mother has been keeping up with you this whole time. I've been waiting to watch this Game 7 and cheer you on.

"If I didn't have so much to take care of at school right after the exams ended, I would've gone there in person."

"Really?"

Blake became even happier.

"No wonder I played so well tonight. Turns out I had Mom supporting me from behind the scenes."

"Hehe!"

Dolores laughed.

"And it wasn't just me. Charlotte even put her work aside so she could come watch the game with me and cheer you on."

Then Aunt Charlotte Quinn, Mia Quinn's mother, spoke up.

"Blake, I don't really understand basketball, but when I saw that huge arena with so many people cheering for you, I knew you must be doing something amazing.

"Now you've won the championship and were the best player out there tonight.

"You did great, Blake.

"Your mother and I are both very proud of you."

"Thanks, Aunt Charlotte."

Blake smiled.

"I'll keep working hard."

"By the way, Blake, Mia is with you, right?"

"Yeah, Aunt Charlotte. Mia's here with me. I'll take good care of her, so don't worry."

"All right!"

Charlotte Quinn had only one daughter and doted on Mia endlessly, but with Blake looking after her, she felt completely at ease.

The three chatted for quite a while before finally hanging up.

Blake then returned to the locker room and continued celebrating with his teammates, enjoying the reward for everything they had worked for all season.

...

Meanwhile, the internet was still exploding with discussion about Game 7.

[64 Points]

[13 Three-Pointers]

[16 Points in 35 Seconds]

[Game-Winning Hand-Switch Three]

[Superhero vs. Villains]

Blake alone had generated enough storylines to set Twitter on fire.

And while fans argued excitedly online and major news outlets rushed to prepare their reports overnight, another group of people was focused on something else entirely.

At Adidas headquarters, inside the sales department, employees crowded around a computer.

Manager Wagner was there, along with Production Manager Leviton.

Sales Manager Spane rubbed his palms together nervously.

"It's 11:55 p.m.

"Five minutes until the Blake Su Generation officially goes on sale.

"We've prepared five million pairs. That's not a small number.

"I just hope the demand is as strong as we expect."

Spane had reason to be nervous.

Releasing five million pairs for a player's very first signature shoe was unprecedented.

Of course, a large part of that came from Wagner's decision to keep delaying the launch until after Game 7.

"It's going to explode."

Wagner sounded completely certain.

"Blake just carried his team to the championship as the 'superhero,' scored 64 points, and defeated the Heat Big Three.

"And he did it after getting hurt.

"He came back, scored 16 points in 35 seconds, created the 'Blake Moment,' and surpassed the famous 'McGrady Moment.'

"Then he switched hands in midair to avoid 'King James' LeBron's block and hit the game-winning three to complete an unbelievable comeback.

"And most importantly..."

Wagner's excitement grew.

"He did all of it wearing the Blake Su Generation.

"He threw down a free-throw-line dunk with his head at rim level.

"And during the game, he even stepped on LeBron's LeBron 8 Nike sneaker and split it apart.

"Everything that happened tonight pushed Blake's popularity through the roof.

"And at the same time, it gave the Blake Su Generation incredible exposure for its performance and durability.

"Add in all the promotion we've done leading up to this...

"And now we're launching them on the very night he won the championship.

"I'm telling you, sales are going to be insane."

"That's true."

After hearing Wagner lay it all out, Spane nodded.

Leviton then asked, "What's the quickest benchmark we can use to tell whether sales are good or bad?"

"Well..."

Spane thought for a moment.

"For Blake's first signature shoe, considering his current popularity and influence...

"If we sell two million pairs within the first hour and three million within two hours, that would already be phenomenal.

"At that pace, all five million could sell out within a day."

"I see."

Leviton nodded thoughtfully.

"Then we'll find out soon enough."

"Yeah."

Wagner nodded as well.

He was confident the launch would be huge.

The only question was whether it could reach the level Spane had just described.

Everyone in the sales department waited anxiously for midnight.

And they weren't the only ones.

Countless fans who wanted a pair were sitting at home with their phones in hand, eBay already open to the purchase page, waiting for the clock to strike twelve.

...

In one house, a fifteen-year-old boy lay under the covers with his phone in his hands.

He had eBay open to the Blake Su Generation purchase page.

Everyone else in the house was asleep.

Which meant the internet connection was as good as it was going to get.

As far as he was concerned, he was in the perfect position.

There was no way he was missing out on the pair of Blake Su Generation sneakers he wanted.

He glanced at the clock and began counting down silently.

"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1!"

"12:00!"

The instant the clock struck midnight, the boy slammed the purchase button.

The entire process took less than a second.

But immediately afterward, a loading icon appeared.

The page had frozen.

It was refreshing.

That lasted only about a second.

When the page finally loaded again, the boy realized he was still on the product page instead of checkout.

He immediately tapped the purchase button again.

A message appeared.

[Sold Out]

"What?!

"Gone already?!

"Sold out instantly?!"

The boy screamed so loudly he nearly woke his parents in the next room.

He was completely stunned.

He simply couldn't believe it.

Five million pairs of the Blake Su Generation...

had sold out in less than a second.