The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 209 Classic Flavors
In April 1985, Coca-Cola launched its new product, New Coke, in response to competition from sugar-free soft drinks.

Before launching this cola, Coca-Cola conducted extensive market research and blind tests: allowing consumers to taste Coca-Cola and its competitor Pepsi without packaging. The results showed that consumers preferred the sweeter Pepsi.

Based on market research and blind tests, Coca-Cola decided to revamp the Coca-Cola formula and launched a brand new Coca-Cola in April with new flavors, new packaging, and a new logo.

The Coca-Cola Company, which had placed its faith in statistical science and was full of confidence, was dealt a heavy blow. American society reacted extremely negatively to the new Coke, especially in the traditional Southern region. A professor at the University of Mississippi said, "Changing the Coke formula is an invasion of tradition."

Because Coca-Cola's CEO, Goizueta, is of Cuban descent, Alabama newspapers have suggested that Coca-Cola's change of formula and flavor is a communist conspiracy.

A flood of calls and letters poured into Coca-Cola's consumer department expressing dissatisfaction with the new Coke's taste. The front desk hotline received up to 1500 calls a day. Even Cuban leader Fidel Castro came forward to declare that, as a long-time Coca-Cola drinker, he believed the new Coke was a symbol of the decadence of American capitalism.

Ultimately, Coca-Cola could not withstand the pressure from all sides, and the emergence of New Coke did not change the downward trend in market share, and even showed a further shrinking trend. The company restored the original Coke formula, and New Coke was sold as a kind of derivative product.

In 1985, a year of rapid change, Coca-Cola's major reform unexpectedly suffered a major setback. People's nostalgia and insistence on the old ways exceeded the expectations of many business leaders. For a long time to come, Coca-Cola tried to understand why this reform had failed.

Coca-Cola's failure serves as a wake-up call for many ambitious business owners: newer isn't always better, faster change isn't always better, and taking too big a step can easily lead to disaster.

But David Stern ignored this risk and, as the 1985 regular season was about to end, he announced a very important new rule: the draft order of the 1985 NBA draft would no longer be determined by a coin toss, but by a random draw, which would be broadcast live on television in May, showing the entire process of the first overall pick being drawn to a national audience.

This change immediately sparked opposition from teams that did not make the playoffs, especially the Indiana Pacers, who were at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and the Golden State Warriors, who were at the bottom of the Western Conference. For them, the lottery system meant that their chances of getting the number one draft pick had dropped from 50% to 14.3% or even lower.

For the Pacers, this is their best chance after not having the number one draft pick for many years. If they get the number one pick, they will be able to acquire Ewing.

Some NBA commentators believe that this lottery-like draft system has turned the NBA draft into a lottery game, and the NBA is becoming more and more like an entertainment event than a serious basketball competition.

However, most media outlets and some teams are looking forward to this new draft lottery model, especially the New York Knicks. They were originally second to last in the Eastern Conference and were not eligible to win the number one pick. Under the new model, they still have a chance to get the first pick, which also means they have a chance to get Ewing.

With Bernard King sidelined by a serious injury and destined to miss the 1985-1986 season, Ewing meant the Knicks would rise again.

Meanwhile, playoff teams had no time to focus on the draft. The 1984-1985 regular season officially ended in mid-April, determining the teams' standings and the playoff matchups.

西部，洛杉矶湖人在3、4月份取得了22胜2负的惊人收尾，以61胜21负的战绩拿到西部第一。

The Trail Blazers followed closely behind with a record of 58 wins and 24 losses, tying their best record in history from the 1978 season, but ranked third in the Western Conference due to the divisional rules.

The Denver Nuggets benefited from the divisional rules, finishing second in the Western Conference with a record of 50 wins and 32 losses. These three teams are the only 50-win teams in the West.

From fourth to eighth are the Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, and Phoenix Suns.

The Jazz and Mavericks have the same record, but the Jazz have a slight advantage in head-to-head records, ranking fifth. They will face the Rockets in the first round.

The Portland Trail Blazers' first-round opponent will be the Dallas Mavericks, with the first game scheduled for April 18 at Memorial Arena.

Overall, the Trail Blazers had a pretty perfect regular season, and at the post-season meeting, Ramsey unusually praised everyone with almost no criticism.

Owner Larry Weinberg, who rarely appears in team management affairs, invited all players to the Oswick Lake Country Club to play golf, where they could rest, relax, and relieve the fatigue from the long 82-game regular season in preparation for the more brutal playoffs.

Gan Guoyang missed one game due to suspension. In 81 games, he played an average of 41 minutes, ranking first among rookies. He scored 27.5 points (sixth in the league), 17.6 rebounds (first in the league), 3.3 blocks (second in the league), and 1.8 steals (fifteenth in the league).

Such performance has reached the level of a league superstar, and in the MVP voting, his popularity has even begun to surpass that of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. In particular, his leading his team to two victories over the Celtics, his three-point shooting that crushed the Lakers, his 50-point duel with Jordan, and his 50-point performance against Bill Laimbeer have all brought a huge shock to the league.

The impact of this fresh start is immense, especially for a newcomer. Many have said that Forrest Gump's performance was even more impressive than Chamberlain's arrival.

Throughout the season, Gan Guoyang had almost no off nights. His performance was consistently stable, and his performance both on and off the field was impeccable. He also had an excellent image, which won him the hearts of many fans.

Especially those who originally didn't believe that Asians could succeed in professional sports, many were completely convinced by Gan Guoyang's performance. This kind of mental fortitude greatly boosted his MVP selection.

In the early days, the power to select the regular season MVP was given to the players; they would vote for whoever they thought was the best in the league.

Although the Lakers had a poor record in the 1970s, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was undoubtedly the best player in the league, and he won the respect of all the players. As a result, he won five regular season MVP awards.

If the selection were based on the rules of the 70s, Gan Guoyang would have had a higher probability of winning the MVP award. In just one season, he impressed almost everyone in the league, even making them tremble with fear.

If not him, who should we vote for?

Later, the selection rules were reformed, and the media voted. The media would take into account various factors, and there was no unified standard. Among them, impression score was very important.

The MVP award will be decided during the playoffs, and before the first round of the playoffs began, the calls for Gan Guoyang to win the MVP were getting louder and louder.

Gan Guoyang knew that Avia and Larry Fleischer were behind the scenes, building momentum for him, as his rookie year performance was indeed impressive.

While the Trail Blazers were vacationing at Lake Oswig Country Club, Larry Fleischer called Gan Guoyang and said, "Sonny, I'm listening to the media, and you have a very good chance of winning the regular season MVP this time! The playoffs are about to start, so you need to perform well."

"What does the regular season MVP have to do with the playoffs?"

"The regular season MVP award does only consider regular season performance, but first impressions are very important. If your playoff performance is significantly different from your regular season performance, it will leave a bad impression. The voting committee is probably still hesitating between you and Bird; first impressions are crucial. However..."

"But what?"

"But you are still a rookie. The playoffs are very different from the regular season. They are much tougher. You need to be careful."

"Larry, are you trying to provoke me?"

"Yes, I was using reverse psychology."

Larry Fleischer laughed on the other end of the phone; that's just how blunt he is.

"I will perform well, but I'm not aiming for MVP; I'm aiming for victory, you know that."

"Being an MVP is also a major victory, and it doesn't conflict with winning the game. You need to tell everyone that you deserve it. The world changes very quickly, and many good things are forgotten or abandoned in the blink of an eye. You need to strive to become a classic flavor like Coca-Cola, something that people remember and can't forget, to become the MVP of beverages, understand?"

"Yes, I understand."

On April 18, in the Trail Blazers' first playoff game, Gan Guoyang scored 41 points, 21 rebounds, and 7 blocks, leading the team to a 140-125 victory over the Dallas Mavericks at home, securing their first playoff win and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

(End of this chapter)