The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 195 Frozen-out
In the short term, having Riley focus on targeting them will make it more difficult for the Trail Blazers to face the Lakers.

However, in the long run, Riley's excessive attention to Gan Guoyang and his excessive allocation of resources will eventually lead to chaos and backlash.

Because the Portland Trail Blazers will become more and more united as a whole, Gan Guoyang and his teammates will have better and better chemistry.

If Riley focuses solely on defending Gan Guoyang on that day, the Lakers will pay a heavy price.

Of course, when that day will come, whether sooner or later, depends on whether Gan Guoyang can continue to improve, whether the Trail Blazers can maintain stability, and whether luck will be on their side.

In the evening, the All-Star game took place at the familiar Indianapolis Hall West Dome, where the summer Olympic team vs. the All-Star team would play.

Gan Guoyang became the first Asian face to appear in the All-Star Game in the history of American professional sports. Although MLB has had Asian players for a long time, they were all minor figures, and none of them had such a huge influence as Gan Guoyang.

When he appeared in the Dome Arena, which was filled with more than 30,000 fans, wearing a red number 11 jersey, the applause and cheers lasted for a long time, which surprised people with his immense popularity.

In a corner of the Dome Arena, David Stern and his old rival Larry Fleischer sat together, witnessing this new era of All-Star Game.

Stern took this game very seriously, personally overseeing everything from major events like broadcasting and advertising investment to minor details like the angle at which the towels on the table should be folded, to ensure everything went perfectly.

Seeing the cheers from the fans when Forrest Gump entered the game, Larry Fleischer said to Stern with a smug look, "How about that, David? Forrest Gump's popularity is undeniable, isn't it? When he first graduated from college, I approached him and made him my player. I knew he would achieve great things."

Although Stern was often annoyed by Fleischer, he still smiled at his most formidable enemy. The strongest enemy is often the friend who knows you best; he is a mirror.

Stern said, "We can't do without the NBA as a great platform. Without a stage, even the best actors have no room to perform."

Fleischer said, “Without good actors, no matter how luxurious the theater is, there will be no audience. Forrest Gump is the most special actor on this stage. He is neither black nor white, which saves a lot of trouble, doesn’t it?”

Stern glanced around the stadium and noticed that most of the fans were white. This is a major problem that the NBA has long faced in terms of market development: there are more and more black players in the league, but most of the fans with spending power are middle-class whites.

Many teams have to specifically select some white players to make the team look less dark, otherwise the team's attendance will be affected.

Some white players were well aware of this, and the black players also understood it implicitly. Everyone did their job: the black players were responsible for winning, and the white players were responsible for balancing the colors and maintaining equilibrium.

Whether the alliance will become increasingly corrupt or maintain a balance between good and evil has always been a headache for Stern.

He believes that the problem is not the number of Black players, but rather changing the public's perception of Black players, shaping a new image for them, and shaking them off past stereotypes and whitewashing them.

However, Gan Guoyang is indeed a special case. It would be best if he were white, but he is Asian, which is not bad at the moment.

Stern said, "Forrest Gump is Asian, and to be honest, Asians don't have a very good image in people's minds."

Stern held back, not daring to say anything like "worse than blacks" or anything even more offensive, lest he give others a handle to use against him.

Fleischer chuckled and said, "Have you seen Avia's ads? Everyone says centers can't sell shoes, but Avia says, 'A center is a center, and Forrest Gump is Forrest Gump.' It's the same with Asians; Asians are Asians, and Forrest Gump is Forrest Gump. Extending this further, one day Black basketball stars will be the same. Magic is Magic, Jordan is Jordan, and Black people are Black. Black or white will gradually become less important. What matters is your identity, what you've done, and where you stand. And honestly, Forrest Gump was quite popular among players, even though he was always fighting, but in the sports world, that's sometimes an advantage."

Stern knew Fleischer had a point, but he still said, "Larry, do you know what you hate most about yourself? You always like to look down on people and act like you know everything, telling them, 'I know everything you're saying, and I know everything you haven't said.' I've wanted to punch you so many times."

Only in front of his old rival Fleischer would Stern show his emotional side, after all, the two had shouted at each other quite a bit at the negotiating table.

Fleischer pushed up his glasses and said, "You think you're not like this, David? Seeing your fake smile makes me want to rip your beard off."

"I've shaved my beard!" Stern recently shaved his beard to show his determination to improve the league's new image.

“But you look even uglier without a beard,” Fleischer said.

The All-Star game that evening was a great success. Gan Guoyang, representing the Western Conference team, partnered with Magic Johnson and put on a very impressive offensive performance.

Gan Guoyang's speed, power, and impact on the court greatly shocked the audience. His all-out dunks made the rim rattle.

The All-Star game rims were specially reinforced to withstand Gan Guoyang's powerful impacts. While breaking the rim is eye-catching, it shows that the league's equipment is inadequate.

The connection between Gan Guoyang and Johnson showed how terrifying it is for a center with both agility and power to play alongside a fast-break specialist like Magic Johnson.

Johnson got really into it later on, and he and Gan Guoyang started an alley-oop. Gan Guoyang jumped with all his might and completed the most classic shot of the All-Star Game with a windmill dunk. CBS commentator Dick Stockton shouted, "Gan Guoyang's dunk is the real perfect score dunk contest champion dunk!"

Countless viewers witnessed Gan Guoyang's brilliant performance on television. In close-up shots, his handsome appearance changed Westerners' stereotypical impression of Asians as sleazy and having thin eyebrows and narrow eyes.

He proved that Asians are not lacking in physical fitness; with good physical talent and hard training, they too can fly and escape into the ground.

In the future, Gan Guoyang inspired many Asian players to improve themselves, to dunk, and to fly on the court, because people of Asian descent can also fly.

However, compared to Gan Guoyang's stellar performance on the court, Jordan, who shone brightly in the dunk contest yesterday, seemed somewhat lackluster.

He failed to score on several attacks and didn't get much playing time; he was substituted after playing for a short while.

Gan Guoyang suddenly remembered that he seemed to have read in a domestic magazine about a rumor that Magic Johnson and Isaiah Thomas teamed up to freeze Jordan during the All-Star Game.

Thomas is a Chicago native and a former Chicago basketball hero. He wanted to play for the Bulls, but ended up in Detroit by chance.

It's perfectly normal for Thomas to feel unhappy seeing Jordan become the new darling of Chicago after joining the Bulls; he might actually team up with veteran players to neutralize Jordan.

During halftime, Gan Guoyang quietly asked Magic Johnson in the locker room, "Hey Magic, are you guys targeting Michael? Are you with Thomas?"

The magician gave a strange look and asked, "Forrest Gump, don't you hate Michael? Look at his gold chain and those Air Jordans, the Avia imitation. And he looks so arrogant, always surrounded by people attending business events, and he even wears the same mink coat as me. What kind of class does he have?"

Gan Guoyang said, "I also wear Avia, I also wear an armband, and I'm quite arrogant, so why aren't you targeting me? Are you looking down on me?"

Johnson rolled his eyes at Gan Guoyang, thinking to himself that this guy was a weirdo. Who in the league would dare to look down on you? If they did, they'd be taken down by you.

Magic Johnson said, "I'm not going to talk nonsense with you. Do you think I'm the kind of person who would target rookies? And Thomas can outshine Larry and Dr. J in the Eastern Conference All-Star game? You've always been very smart, and you and Michael have always had a good relationship, right? You two are such fierce competitors but you're still good friends. Why would you ask such a stupid question?"

Gan Guoyang thought about it and agreed. Magic Johnson was friendly to everyone off the court, and he wasn't faking it; he genuinely liked making friends.

The Trail Blazers and Lakers were locked in a fierce battle on the court, but that didn't stop Magic Johnson from admiring Gan Guoyang. He kept inviting Gan Guoyang to go out with him at night.

Even his arch-rival Larry Bird, the two later became very good friends, which shows that Johnson was not a petty person who was jealous of others' talents.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself that his memory might be playing tricks on him. He had been looking at that magazine for far too long, so it must just be some gossip and rumors.

The All-Star Game ended with Jordan scoring only 7 points, while Gan Guoyang scored 15 points and contributed several brilliant moments that became classics of the All-Star Game.

Laugher Sampson won the All-Star Game MVP, but he didn't seem very happy because Gan Guoyang stole the spotlight.

Just when everyone thought the All-Star Game had come to a successful close, a piece of news exploded in the media the next day, pushing the topic of the All-Star Game to a new high.

According to sources, veteran players collectively put Michael Jordan down during the All-Star Game. "His arrogance made everyone unhappy, so they decided to teach Jordan a lesson. On the defensive end, Magic Johnson and George Gervin made it very difficult for Jordan, and on the offensive end, the Eastern Conference All-Stars simply stopped passing the ball to Jordan."

This news came from a conversation between two insiders at the airport as journalists were about to leave Indiana.

Such a sensational news story immediately went viral across the American media, sparking a flurry of opinions, with some believing it and others not.

Jordan's camp confirmed the incident, and he then scored a whopping 49 points to defeat the Pistons in the game after the All-Star break.

Isaiah Thomas, the other protagonist in the incident, firmly denied the allegations, saying that nothing of the sort happened and that he did not join forces with others to suppress Jordan.

There were many different opinions, and the media reported extensively every day. The rivalry between the new and old players quickly attracted the attention of fans.

Gan Guoyang was confused. He tried to contact Jordan to find out what was going on, but Jordan's mother always answered the phone at home. Jordan was busy with the game, and Gan Guoyang was also busy with the game after the All-Star Game.

He can only wait until the Chicago Bulls visit Portland to find out the details.

(End of this chapter)