The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 197 A Woman's Sense of Smell

By January of my rookie season, I was already tired of playing basketball every day, and even tired of watching it. Three months of the season had passed, but there were still three months left. If my last season at Auburn was a chore, then in Washington it had become my daily routine, my job.

Thanks to Gene Schoo and Wes Unseld, I learned the rules of survival in the NBA from them: physical and mental training.

It's no secret that maintaining physical health is the primary task of professional athletes. But even the healthiest body can only last for 40 games. In the remaining 20 games, NBA players rely on willpower.

Every game after February felt like it was played in the Twilight Zone. It had been so long since the beginning of the season that the defensive plans designed for the opponents at the beginning were no longer effective. No one remembered the tasks arranged and assigned during training camp. Everyone was playing based on feeling and form, fighting for every game to qualify for the playoffs.

However, there were two players whose condition remained basically unchanged from the beginning to the end of the season. They were always full of energy and had a strong fighting spirit, like two tireless sled dogs that could keep running and running on the vast, desolate snowfield.

Those are Forrest Gump and Michael; they don't even need to eat a donut.

—Excerpt from Charles Buckley's 1992 autobiography, *Outrageous!*

There are many conflicting accounts regarding whether there was any discriminatory incident between Michael Jordan and Thomas at the 1985 All-Star Game.

Some believe that Thomas did indeed suppress Jordan because the person who came forward to reveal the information was Dr. Tucker, an advisor to Thomas, Magic Johnson, and others, not Jordan himself.

Furthermore, judging from the later rivalry between the Pistons and the Bulls, Thomas was indeed unfriendly to Jordan, and their conflict directly affected the selection of the US team for the 1992 Olympics.

Some believe this is entirely a strategy by Jordan's side, simply to create an enemy for him, prompting him to play better, while also covering up his poor performance in the All-Star Game and stealing the spotlight from Gan Guoyang.

Thomas's status meant that he couldn't effectively coach Larry Bird and Dr. J Irving in the All-Star Game.

Moreover, given the relationship between Bird and Thomas, Bird would most likely do the opposite of whatever Thomas wanted to do.

So if Thomas encouraged the Eastern Conference stars not to pass the ball to Jordan, then Bird would definitely try his best to feed the ball to Jordan.

The truth remained unknown for many years, and the media frequently brought up the matter repeatedly, until eventually no one knew what the original incident actually was.

Gan Guoyang did not get a definite answer from Jordan, and after returning, he discussed the matter with Wang Fuxi.

Although Wang Fuxi was still a student, she had a unique female sense for gossip.

After listening to Gan Guoyang's account, she analyzed that this incident was probably not premeditated. It just so happened that someone (Dr. Tucker) talked to a reporter about the topic of "Isiah Thomas and Jordan having a conflict," and someone took advantage of the situation to exaggerate it into "Isiah Thomas teaming up with others to freeze Jordan at the All-Star Game."

It's perfectly normal for players to have conflicts. Not to mention that Jordan and Thomas were rivals, there are plenty of instances of teammates having conflicts.

The reason why the story between Thomas and Jordan became such a hot topic and caused such a big stir is definitely not because one or two people let it slip.

Dr. Tucker, who probably let it slip, didn't expect that his casual chat with reporters about locker room gossip would cause such a huge uproar and have affected both of their careers.

Without a powerful force of public opinion driving this, it would have been impossible for it to have such a wide reach and such a profound impact.

As for whether this force originated from Nike or some other news media, Wang Fuxi analyzed it for a long time but couldn't find a definite answer.

After listening to Wang Fuxi's analysis, Gan Guoyang thought to himself that women's minds were indeed suited to dealing with such unsubstantiated problems; they could fill in the blanks with their own imaginations.

Wang Fuxi said, "You basketball players are really strange. You have to be friends on one hand and rivals on the other. If you were an ordinary person, how could you be friends if you were constantly competing against each other? But you guys are something else. You fight like idiots on the court and then try to be brothers off the court. Aren't you afraid of having a mental breakdown one day?"

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "Then you don't understand. Although playing games is a competition, it is actually a cooperation. The more exciting the game, the more fans will watch it, the more attention the league will receive, and everyone's income will rise accordingly. So, on the surface, we fight to the death, but in essence, we are all colleagues in a broad sense. There's nothing wrong with being friends."

"Hmm~ What you said makes a lot of sense. So, do you think that the Jordan and Thomas incident might have been orchestrated by Commissioner Stern behind the scenes? There have been many conflicts between players in the past, right? They were always ignored in the media. Why is there no public relations effort this time? Instead, they've just let things run their course, or even fanned the flames."

After hearing what Wang Fuxi said, Gan Guoyang thought it might actually be true.

The first All-Star Game under Stern's tenure was rich in content, exciting in competition, and even had legendary gossip stories afterward.

The All-Star Game was over a week ago, but it's still generating buzz in society, all thanks to this freeze.

Fans enjoy seeing conflicts between star players, their sharp clashes, and ideally, their feuds.

Often, what attracts fans is not the game itself, but the story behind it.

The story can make the NBA feel like a reality show or TV series, keeping fans interested in the players' fates and wondering what will happen to them next.

Old friends reuniting, enemies meeting again, newcomers rising, and old friends falling into ruin—these are all popular storylines, and they all rely heavily on media hype and promotion. Gan Guoyang was initially drawn to these stories, and now he too will become a part of them, determined to become the most legendary figure among them.

The following evening, at the Memorial Arena, Gan Guoyang and Jordan were both fully prepared for the game between the Trail Blazers and the Bulls.

Vandeweghe continues to be sidelined due to injury. His back injury is a chronic problem he has had since college. The Trail Blazers are now very cautious about player injuries, and given the team's good form, they're letting him rest for a while longer.

Drexler replaced Vandeweghe in the starting lineup. The Glide has been performing well before and after the All-Star Game, and he is very excited to face Jordan tonight.

The game was extremely intense, with the two sides trading leads from the first quarter onwards, and the score was tied at halftime.

In the third quarter, Gan Guoyang took the lead, leading the Trail Blazers on an 11-0 run to establish a lead.

Led by Jordan, the Bulls slowly caught up, all the way into the fourth quarter, with only a few seconds left in the game.

With the Bulls down by three points, Jordan boldly took a three-pointer and hit it, tying the game and forcing overtime.

Although the Trail Blazers are stronger overall than the Bulls and have swept the Celtics twice, the Bulls' roster and playing style made the Trail Blazers very uncomfortable.

The Trail Blazers, with their strong frontcourt offense like the Celtics, are no match for the Celtics, especially with Gan Guoyang and Thompson in the paint.

The Bulls' strength lies in their perimeter game, while the Trail Blazers lack sufficient perimeter pressure. Rauch continued his risky defensive approach against the Trail Blazers, double-teaming the inside and leaving them open for outside shots.

Paxson and Drexler made a lot of shots, but their offensive efficiency was insufficient and their offensive power was not strong.

The two sides traded baskets back and forth, but in the end, Jordan led his team to catch up in the score—Clyde Drexler was completely unable to contain Jordan on defense, which frustrated Drexler.

Of course, Jordan couldn't necessarily shut down Drexler either; the Glide was the team's second-highest scorer tonight.

The score remained tied after the first overtime, leading to a second overtime, which also ended in a draw.

By the time the third overtime period began, both teams were exhausted, and almost everyone was panting heavily.

At this point, only Gan Guoyang and Jordan still had plenty of energy. In their duel against the Cavaliers, Gan Guoyang scored 10 points in the third overtime all by himself.

Jordan may have been fatigued from taking too many shots, resulting in a series of missed shots, and the Bulls suddenly collapsed in the third overtime.

开拓者主场131:139，8分的优势击败了公牛队，乔丹拿下39分11个篮板10次助攻。

Gan Guoyang scored 40 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Since Vandeweghe rested, Gan Guoyang's rebounding numbers have dropped sharply because Drexler has also been able to grab rebounds.

As soon as the game ended, Jordan saw Gan Guoyang walking towards him, turned around and ran away. Gan Guoyang chased after him in three quick steps and said, "Michael, don't go! We're friends, say hello!"

Jordan turned around helplessly, shook hands with Gan Guoyang, and said, "I will definitely beat you next season."

"Next season? My god, you don't even have the confidence to make it to the finals?"

"I'm just confident, not arrogant. Of course, I hope to see you in the finals."

"I am confident, but not arrogant... By the way, I'm going to Washington in a few days. Is there anything you'd like to say to Charles?"

"Make him eat less. Also, could you help me run him over? He always rams me so badly every time we race."

"No problem, I'll make sure he remembers it."

In college, the best players can get by with their skills, but in professional sports, one player is just as good as another, so you need a mental edge to reach your peak every night. This means a psychological battle.

The best players in the league at playing mind games are Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Dominique Wilkins, and Chuck Paison. They talk more than anyone else in the league, but they don't use vulgar language or profanity; it's just the fun between rivals.

Oh, you're probably wondering why I didn't mention Forrest Gump? Because Forrest Gump is different from them; Forrest Gump is a devil.

—Excerpt from Charles Buckley's 1992 autobiography, *Outrageous!*

(End of this chapter)