When Zack, like Oscar Robertson back in the day, rallied all the players together and led the charge to pressure the league, NBA Commissioner David Stern and the team owners suddenly found themselves with a massive headache.
"They're threatening us!" Clippers owner Donald Sterling barked. "I don't believe they'd actually dare to boycott the All-Star Game!"
Warriors owner Joe Lacob, who knew Zack better than most, chimed in, "Messiah always backs up his words with action. Right now, the players just want us to come back to the negotiating table with some sense."
Michael Jordan, still stinging from Zack's verbal jabs in the past, snapped, "You need to control your player instead of letting him use social media to put us in this mess!"
Lacob just shrugged at Jordan, as if to say, Good luck with that.
The owners couldn't agree on what to do.
Finally, Lakers owner Jerry Buss cut through the noise. "Mike's got a point. The players just want us to stop using a lockout as a threat. There's no need to be so hardline that we ruin this year's All-Star Weekend."
Buss's take resonated with most of the owners—especially Mark Cuban.
After all, Cuban had rented out the NFL's Dallas Cowboys stadium for the All-Star Weekend, expecting to rake in a fortune.
"But if we give in, they'll just keep pushing for more!" Sterling shot back, refusing to buy Buss's reasoning. "They're a bunch of bloodsuckers who'll never be satisfied!"
Buss, despite his frail health, stood up and fired back, "I spend tens of millions on Kobe every year, and I never complain. You know why? Because I know Kobe brings in even more! The players have already agreed to compromises. We all like Bobby Marks' super-luxury tax idea. Do we really need to go to war with them?"
He paused, then added, "Trust me, if the NBA locks out, the only ones losing will be you guys. Owners like me, who know how to run a team, will just keep making more money."
Buss wasn't exaggerating.
Historically, after this labor dispute, the hardline owners like Sterling who pushed for maximum pressure on the players ended up selling their teams due to mismanagement or other issues.
Ironically, once those stingy owners were out of the picture, team valuations skyrocketed. Even small-market teams like the Bucks were worth over $2 billion a few years later.
While later market factors played a role, the owners who constantly threatened lockouts since 1998 had undeniably held back the NBA's growth during this era.
Buss had always been ashamed to be associated with owners like Sterling.
In his eyes, small-market owners could at least blame their cities' lack of appeal. But Sterling, who bought the Clippers around the same time Buss acquired the Lakers, had no excuse for his abysmal management. Why blame the players for "bleeding him dry"?
Los Angeles was big enough for two NBA teams. In the future, even though Steve Ballmer's Clippers never won a championship before Zack's穿越, their valuation consistently ranked among the league's top five under Ballmer's leadership.
In the meeting room, after Buss laid out the primary and secondary issues with crystal clarity, Stern stepped in to play peacemaker. "Alright, let's negotiate with the players' union the morning of the All-Star Game. I hope everyone can keep a cool head and stop using lockouts to provoke the players."
If he had his way, Stern didn't want another lockout either.
He knew all too well the cost of repairing the damage from the 1998 lockout. The NBA was finally on an upward trajectory again. A lockout now, even if it forced the players to cave, would do more harm than good in the long run.
---
February 15, Morning
Led by Zack, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Kevin Garnett, and Derek Fisher, the players' union met with the owners' representatives—Jerry Buss, Michael Jordan, Donald Sterling, and Joe Lacob—at a league-arranged location.
To ease the tense atmosphere, Stern opened by praising the new generation of players, led by Zack, for their contributions to the league's growth. He specifically highlighted the BIG3 league Zack founded, which had brought extra revenue to NBA teams.
Since its inception, Zack never intended to hog the BIG3's profits. The league rented NBA arenas for its games and shared ticket revenue with the teams, prompting some franchises to privately hope for more BIG3 events each summer.
Compared to the same period in history, Zack's positive impact on the NBA was undeniable.
In the past, Jordan's retirement and the 1998 lockout cost the league countless fans. Add to that the endless negative headlines from star players and the Tim Donaghy referee scandal, and the NBA's brand value stagnated in the early 2000s.
But Zack changed all that.
On the court, his Warriors played electrifying, high-octane basketball that left fans buzzing. As Stephen A. Smith once said, in this era of balanced offense and defense, the NBA's increasingly exciting product was boosting ratings every year.
Overseas, Zack's expansion of the market benefited the Warriors and Sonics the most, but every team got a piece of the pie.
Sure, Zack's occasional scandals kept him from being a squeaky-clean idol. But in the U.S., those same controversies kept the NBA in the headlines.
His online show, Messiah's Sports Talk, racked up over ten million views per episode. Even Stern was floored by Zack's innovative fan engagement.
The most tangible proof of Zack's impact? The NBA's latest TV deal—a six-year, $9 billion contract that dwarfed the historical equivalent in Zack's memory.
So, after meeting with Oscar Robertson, Zack was more convinced than ever that this labor dispute, which could've led to a lockout, was far from unsolvable.
The owners' claims of financial losses had already been debunked by Bobby Marks. Zack knew that if the players stayed united and got the owners to negotiate rationally, this could all be resolved through dialogue.
After Stern's opening remarks, Zack spoke for the players: "You know we just want to play the game we've been playing for years. If anyone tries to threaten our ability to play basketball, we won't back down—ever."
Jordan scoffed. "But it's exactly because you guys want to play that we're losing money! You take 57% of basketball-related income, with all sorts of guarantees. Yet you never consider the struggles of the people who provide your stage. Is that fair?"
Zack smiled. "Michael, guess who I was quoting in my opening statement?"
Jordan frowned.
"That was you, Michael Jordan, talking to the owners back in the day," Zack said.
Jordan froze. He clearly hadn't realized how many of his own words would come back to haunt him.
Ignoring the now-silenced Jordan, Zack continued, "And who says we don't understand the teams' struggles? I've said it on my show: every player agrees to drop our share of basketball-related income to 54%."
But Sterling, thinking the players were just haggling, snapped, "We'll only accept 47%! You're already making enough!"
Zack smirked. "Then I guess Donald Sterling can take the court tonight and perform for the fans at the All-Star Game."
"You can't threaten me," Sterling shot back, unshaken. "I've seen it all!"
Sterling's defiance stalled the talks.
But Zack and the players' resolve was stronger than Sterling expected.
"If Mr. Sterling speaks for the owners, then this negotiation is over," Zack said, standing to leave.
Stern quickly jumped in. "We can table the revenue-sharing discussion for now."
But Zack was firm. "54% is our bottom line. If you won't accept it, no player will step foot on an NBA court moving forward."
The room went silent as the owners processed Zack's words. He was pulling an Oscar Robertson, threatening a mid-season strike.
You're not threatening us with a lockout, but we're supposed to be scared of your strike?
Sterling exploded. "You're not here to negotiate—you're here to bully us!"
Zack knew that waiting until the season ended to threaten a strike wouldn't have the same impact. Per the NBA's TV deal, a lockout-induced shortened season would only cost the league the revenue from missed games. Owners would brace for that and still push for more concessions.
But a mid-season strike? That would cost the league—and the owners—an astronomical sum they couldn't stomach.
Jordan, however, still doubted the players would follow Zack's lead.
That is, until Chris Paul presented a signed petition.
It was a list of signatures Zack had collected in Dallas from NBA stars willing to join him in a strike.
As the owners scanned the names, they realized that even if many players hadn't signed, a season without these stars would gut the NBA's appeal.
After a quick huddle, Jerry Buss spoke for the owners. "I'm glad we've reached a consensus. We appreciate your compromise."
Bobby Marks' math was spot-on. With the new TV deal, a 54% player share was enough for teams to stay profitable.
To avoid Zack leading a star-studded strike, Buss and the other owners—despite Sterling and Jordan's protests—couldn't let that nightmare scenario play out.
But just as the talks resumed, Zack dropped another bombshell that sent Sterling reeling: "Since we've compromised, it's your turn. On top of the current agreement, the NBA needs to increase benefits for mid- and lower-tier players."
In Zack's view, with players' revenue share dropping, teams should increase contract guarantees and benefits for role players to offset their losses.
Big-market owners like Buss and Lacob didn't mind. They were already spending big—what's a little more?
But for Sterling, Zack's proposal was like carving meat off his already lean wallet. "No way!" he roared. "You can't bully me into this with a strike threat!"
Even Derek Fisher, who thought Zack was just using this as a bargaining chip, was stunned to realize he was dead serious.
The league's flagbearer stood up, leading the other players to walk out.
Panicked that the talks were collapsing, the other owners forced Sterling to pipe down and agreed to Zack's reasonable demand.
Stern, playing mediator throughout, realized Zack was channeling Robertson's playbook. He'd bet on the league's inability to handle a star-led strike at this moment.
Like Iceland outmaneuvering Britain in the Cod Wars, Zack—the underdog—had united the superstars, pinpointed the owners' weakness, and turned it into a winning hand.
Unlike Robertson in 1964, Zack had an edge: the owners had to admit that without him, the NBA wouldn't have landed that six-year, $9 billion TV deal.
Mid-meeting, Buss remarked, "We underestimated the resolve of the league's best player. He's not just speaking for the players to look good—he's fighting for real benefits for this generation, like Oscar Robertson did."
Zack became a warrior in the players' eyes, leading the superstars to outmaneuver the owners and force them into "unfair" concessions.
"From now on, Michael Jordan's not my idol," Chris Paul said, gazing at Zack with admiration. "The pioneer always faces the toughest resistance. You can't just claim to be the GOAT when it suits you. I won't say Messiah's the GOAT of our era, but by fighting for all players, he's doing what a GOAT does!"
Kevin Garnett nodded. "Michael Jordan? What a joke. His true colors today were an eye-opener. There's only one GOAT in basketball now, and I'm voting for Messiah!"
Kobe, wanting to defend his idol, couldn't find the words. "Messiah's work in these talks will make him immortal," he admitted.
After this meeting, Jordan's owner persona would crumble in the eyes of the new generation, especially with Zack—aka "Yellow Oscar"—as a stark contrast.
Zack, who fought tooth and nail for the players and didn't hesitate to clash with the owners, stood in sharp contrast to the "false god" who'd merely collected six rings.
For the first time since 1983, the players beat the owners in a labor negotiation, and the news spread like wildfire across the basketball world.
Though the new CBA's details still needed hammering out, the players' decisive victory earned Zack instant respect from his peers.
LeBron James, who didn't attend the talks, said in an interview, "He led us to a great victory, like Oscar Robertson. You know, I was right behind him the whole time!"
Was LeBron really standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Zack?
Zack didn't know. But he did know LeBron's name wasn't on that petition.
Still, on this glorious day when the NBA dodged a lockout, who cared about the details?
That night, the All-Star Game tipped off at the Dallas Cowboys' stadium.
In the nearly 100,000-seat arena, Zack, exhausted from the negotiations, took a backseat. Dirk Nowitzki, fueled by the roaring home crowd, dropped 36 points and 7 rebounds to win AMVP.
In his acceptance speech, Dirk said, "Every player owes Messiah a thank you. He's the real MVP in my book."
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