What's more, there's a personal rivalry between Jordan and James.
In fact, Roger's relationship with Jordan could only be mended thanks to James.
It was him who made Jordan realize that a rival facing you head-on is worth more respect than a rival who schemes behind your back.
Roger's retirement tour continued, and in most places, he could receive applause and blessings from fans.
In fact, Los Angeles and San Antonio were the only two places where Roger couldn't get applause.
In mid-March, when the Spurs defeated the Warriors after acquiring Gasol, Tim Duncan told Roger in his deep voice: "Now is the future, we'll never mess up again."
This was Duncan's response to Roger's past words to Duncan: "The future is yours." In this timeline, it ironically became Duncan's curse.
Duncan's confidence wasn't unfounded, he's not an arrogant person. After all, his harshest words were simply "We'll never mess up again."
