The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 104 Preparations for Counting Money

"Bob, I think being a coach is pretty easy."

"Stop talking nonsense, it's just one game won! What, you want to be a coach? I can introduce you to a job. Or, you don't even need me to introduce you, people will come to you."

"No, no, I don't have that kind of energy and passion anymore, and I really have no interest in managing players. I don't have that kind of loud voice or strong vocal cords."

After the game between the US national team and the NBA All-Star team, Bob Knight still went out to dinner with Havlicek as promised.

Havlicek was in a good mood; he ate a lot and, unusually, made fun of Bob Knight.

One minute he'd say being a coach was easy, the next he'd say he didn't have a loud voice or strong vocal cords, which made Knight very unhappy.

"Bob, why don't you eat more? Aren't you hungry?"

"Fuck you, just eat your food! Don't talk to me anymore, I want to be alone."

Havlicek covered his mouth and chuckled; he hadn't seen Knight look so humiliated in a long time.

Tonight's loss was indeed a big blow to Knight. He originally wanted Gan Guoyang to go to the All-Star team to help the US team fill in the gaps.

By the way, they were giving Fleischer face and giving Gan Guoyang a chance to show himself on the field.

Now look what's happened! All that checking and patching has just created a hole in your system.

There are doubts from the outside world about the strength of the US national team and whether they can win the gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics.

Knight regretted it; he had dug himself a hole. This game should have been an easy win.

But he also had to admire Gan Guoyang's sun-like charisma on the court, which could illuminate his teammates and melt away his opponents.

No wonder he was able to lead two relatively unknown teams to the top. This kid's influence on the court is probably on par with Bill Russell.

Knight finally took a bite of steak and drank some red wine before asking, "Hondo, what do you think of that kid Gan? Does he look like Russell?"

Havelicek thought for a moment and said, "I think he's more like me."

"Shit, what you're saying tonight is especially irritating! What's wrong with you? Did you catch that madman's disease from Gan? I don't want to hear a single word you're saying, it's disgusting!"

"What's wrong with that? Doesn't the way he runs all over the court without getting tired look just like me? I thought no one could play like me until I saw Gan play tonight."

"You can run like that because you fucking have lungs the size of a horse."

“Oh, then Gan must have lungs as big as a camel.” Hong Duo, who is usually introverted, spoke particularly fluently tonight.

Havlicek did indeed have unusually large lungs and heart. When the hospital performed X-rays on him, one plate was not enough to cover his lungs, so an additional plate had to be added.

The two chatted for a while longer, and Havlicek even mentioned Jordan, saying that Jordan's performance was astonishing.

"I never expected any player to play like that. Honestly, if I had faced him back then, I don't know how I would have dealt with him."

Havlicek lived in an era when NBA talent was relatively mediocre, and white forwards could still survive.

"Michael is indeed amazing, and I think he has the potential to become the greatest player of all time, but he has to surpass Gonzalo."

"Then why can't we just let Gan be the best in history?"

"Huh? Let a Chinese person be the greatest of all time in NBA history?" Havlicek finished his steak and said to Knight, "Bob, do you know what makes Russell different from many other NBA players?"

He has four eggs.

"Don't be silly, Bob. Bill wasn't great because of basketball; on the contrary, basketball was great because of him. I have a feeling that this might be the difference between Michael and Gan. Of course, it's just a feeling; I haven't touched a basketball in a long time."

Havlicek's words made Bob Knight think for a while. After returning home from dinner, he made a decision: to call Kevin Raohri, the coach of the NBA All-Star team for the next game, and ask him not to let Gan Guoyang play for too long in the next game in Minnesota.

"Let him play for a while in the first half, let him play for a while at the beginning of the second half, and don't let him play in the final stages!"

Knight contacted Raohri, who is currently the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and will coach Jordan next season.

Rauchri thought to himself, "You guys got overturned in the last game, and now you're banning our most targeted player in order to win the next game? Knight, is that appropriate?"

But we still have to give Knight face, and besides, this round of the US Olympic team vs. All-Star game is essentially an exhibition.

If the Olympic team continues to lose, it will not only damage the players' confidence but also hurt the confidence of American fans.

So Rauchri agreed to limit Gan Guoyang's playing time so as not to let him steal the spotlight from the American players.

However, Gan Guoyang had already stolen the show in the first game in Providence. His consecutive points in the crucial moments and his replication of head coach Havlicek's steal in the final stages quickly made him a headline in American sports news.

Along with him, the new shoes he was wearing – the Avia 830 skyscraper – also became a hot topic in the news.

These shoes, with their eye-catching design and color scheme, immediately caught the public's attention, as people had long been aesthetically fatigued by the old-fashioned design of Converse canvas shoes.

Avia's previous shoe designs were very trendy, but their company was just starting out, a small brand, and only had a certain influence in a few major cities on the western coast.

Gan Guoyang's "competition-based sales" quickly boosted Avia's fame, and the power of live television broadcasts began to show in 1984.

In the past, people mostly learned about products through advertisements in magazines and brochures. This method of communication was inefficient, slow, and required a long time to accumulate knowledge.

Live television broadcasts force countless people to sit in front of their televisions at the same fixed time, bombarded with advertisements and brainwashed with the same information.

Furthermore, Gan Guoyang's appearance wasn't a direct advertisement; rather, he was constantly shown in close-up shots throughout the entire match, allowing people to see these special sneakers.

The dramatic ending of the match generated an explosive impact, and Avia sneakers quickly came into the public eye.

In stores in Portland, Los Angeles, Seattle, and other cities, the shoes were quickly sold out.

Avia's production lines are operating at full capacity, distributing goods throughout the West Coast and beginning to ship across the United States.

Just like Michael Jackson's "Thriller," the new media era brings new communication effects, and superstars are destined to be conceived and born in this era.

Before leaving Providence, Tim Haney told Gan Guoyang that Avia's sales had increased by 500 percent in just two days, with an estimated gross profit of over one million US dollars.

"So you mean you earned back the endorsement fee I paid for five years in just two days?"

"That's right, yes! You... I, I don't know how to express it in words, but... there are incentive clauses in the contract, you can get a percentage of the sales revenue!"

Upon receiving the message from headquarters, Tim Haney was so excited he was almost incoherent, feeling he had made the best decision of his life.

Gan Guoyang remained calm about the sales commission. He patted Hani and said, "Don't get too excited. This is just the beginning. There's a long road ahead. Be prepared to count your money."

(End of this chapter)