On January 4th, the last game of the Lakers' four-game home stand arrived, with the opponent being the Philadelphia 76ers, and Fox Sports would broadcast the game live.
Originally, the Lakers vs. 76ers game was only broadcast when the Lakers were the away team.
However, ever since Iverson got the nickname "58," his fame skyrocketed. His high level of attention was initially limited to fans focusing on a top rookie candidate, but now there's more mockery and even malicious comments.
Iverson's personality, playing style, and controversial history from high school indeed generated lots of negative buzz; he's in a state of controversial fame.
But controversial fame is still fame, and for the 76ers, a team fiercely competing with the Spurs for third last place in the league, the number of live broadcasts from January to April 1997 has increased to as many as 14 games.
