The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 221 The Turbulence of 60 Points
At the end of the 1985 season, the team underwent many changes. One of my teammates had essentially ended his career due to drug problems. I watched helplessly as my teammates and friends became victims of some kind of vicious curse. He was powerless to resist the demons within him and gave up what was most valuable to him.

We also experienced a coaching change, as assistant coach Phil Johnson went to Kansas City to become head coach, and Jerry Sloan came from his home in Southern Illinois to fill the vacancy. I was nervous at first; Jerry is known for his toughness. I knew he lived up to that reputation the first time I shook his hand.

The team made the playoffs, and in Houston we had a stunning five-game run in the first round before heading to Los Angeles without Mark Eaton. Although Billy Boults drove Hakeem Olajuwon crazy in the first round, everyone knew we couldn't beat Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers, and we were swept 0-4, ending the season.

The playoffs are a reward for the hard work of the regular season, and everything is amplified: energy, excitement, intensity. It was my first time experiencing this atmosphere, and I was captivated by it. However, a loss in the playoffs is devastating; all the players except the champions leave disheartened, so the pain of defeat is magnified. But we don't have much time to waste; we need to be actively engaged in preparations for the summer.

Generally, we meet the morning after the last game of the season to clean the lockers and handle any remaining chores. The coach gives his final speech to the players, followed by the owner and general manager's summary and reflections on the season. At the end of the meeting, the rookies usually complete their final task of the season: buying hamburgers for the entire team and staff.

Before leaving, Coach Leiden would meet with each player in order of seniority, offering frank advice, pointing out areas for improvement, and, if appropriate, commenting on a player's future.

I remember I was the last one in line for the whole team. I gave the hamburgers to everyone, then took two hamburgers into the office and gave both to Coach Leiden; I felt he needed them. After discussing some topics and opinions related to me, he asked me: "Did you watch the Western Conference Semifinals last night, the Nuggets vs. the Trail Blazers?"

I said no, their game was later than ours. I knew Forrest Gump had a game, but I didn't watch it. I really wasn't in the mood after being swept.

Leiden started eating his hamburger. After a couple of bites, he said slowly, "Forrest Gump got 60 points."

I thought I misheard. What did I mean by 60 points? Did he just barely pass?
Layden shook his head, saying that he scored 60 points, 60 points in total, and single-handedly defeated the Nuggets.

I don't remember exactly what we talked about after that, but Leiden's mention of Forrest Gump was clearly a hint.

I was just shocked, utterly shocked. 60 points. I mentally calculated whether I had scored 60 points in the entire playoffs.

Then I thought Coach Leiden's suggestion was for me to figure out a way to get Forrest Gump to Salt Lake City.

Later it dawned on me that Leiden was telling me to work hard, and that Forrest Gump was my role model and example.

That summer I trained incredibly hard, even relentlessly, but I couldn't keep up with Forrest Gump. He ran so fast and so far that I could no longer see his back.

—Excerpt from John Stockton's 2012 autobiography, *Assisted*.

Gan Guoyang's 60-point performance in the playoffs caused quite a stir in the American basketball world, and even had an impact on the entire American sports world.

The following morning, ESPN, Forrest Gump's die-hard TV network, released a special report, presenting fans with a scoring spectacle through game footage and a retrospective of high-scoring games from past NBA playoffs.

The previous battle between Joe and Gan gave ESPN a taste of success; their special coverage of the match contributed to a 3.5% increase in viewership for the channel, marking a significant step in ESPN's growth.

The hype surrounding the big match drew criticism from many established newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, who argued that it wasn't real basketball and had turned this team sport into a two-person contest.

Six months later, such voices almost disappeared, and all newspapers, radio stations, and magazines followed suit, writing commentaries, news articles, and special reports to praise this miracle on the basketball court.

Although there are still some sporadic criticisms, such as the Nuggets' lack of defense and Dr. Jack's apparent decline, these are merely noises compared to the overwhelming positive publicity.

This is a major change since Stern took office. Media involvement is increasing. The NBA no longer wants to be a silent league. They must let more people see and hear, especially let fans know about the performance of young stars on the court.

The widespread adoption of color television played a significant role in this trend. Television networks across the United States enabled events happening in one location to be quickly disseminated throughout the country, and in the future, to the entire world.

Aiva has made great progress compared to the past. After Forrest Gump scored 60 points, they quickly launched the "Skyscraper 60-Point Rainbow Commemorative Edition".

This is a colorful sneaker inspired by the rainbow jerseys worn by the Denver Nuggets since 1981, and it also features a label with the number "60".

However, the colorful design of this sneaker was not very popular in the mid-80s, and it received a lukewarm reception at the time. After a small number of batches were produced, production was discontinued.

Many years later, this relatively obscure sneaker in the Skyscraper series suddenly became incredibly popular, with some rare models fetching exorbitant prices and becoming a favorite among certain groups.

Gan Guoyang's 60-point performance was a significant shock to the team and players. It's said that Pat Riley, upon learning of Gan's 60-point game, wanted to encourage the players by saying, "It's impossible for a player to score 60 points twice in the playoffs," but he stopped himself halfway through, fearing it might come true like Doug Mo's statement, and changed his words to, "It's impossible for a player... to score this many points in the playoffs during his rookie season..."

The Lakers players were thinking, "What nonsense is the coach spouting?"
Michael Jordan watched the game live on TV, then unplugged the phone and went to the gym to practice that night.

Larry Bird told the coach during the team's practice the next day that perhaps we should prepare in advance for the Finals against the Trail Blazers.

KC Jones told Bird, "Then you'd better think about how to deal with Forrest Gump's defense."

Charles Barkley called Gan Guoyang and asked him to get two tickets so he could go to Portland to watch Forrest Gump's game live.

Gan Guoyang regretfully told Barkley that it was impossible to get tickets. All the tickets for Game 5, whether through normal channels or the special tickets reserved by the team, had been completely sold out. There wasn't a single one left. Moreover, the arena had added all the seats it could, practically selling hanging tickets on the glass walls.

"We do have a seat on our bench. You can sit there and watch the game if you want, but there's a condition: you have to wear a Trail Blazers jersey."

"That won't do. I consider you a brother, but that doesn't mean I want to be your teammate and play with you. It's more fun to be your opponent."

"Well, you really aren't very good at planning your career... You should eat fewer donuts; I read in the newspaper that you seem to have gained weight again."

"I use the newspaper to wipe my butt, why are you still reading it? But I really miss your hamburgers."

The Washington Bullets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, and Barkley is already playing trucks in his hometown of Alabama.

The biggest shock of Gan Guoyang's 60 points came from within the Trail Blazers themselves. As a center, he has already broken multiple scoring records in the team's history this season.

Highest single-game score in the regular season, highest single-game score in the playoffs, highest average score per game in the regular season, highest total score in a single season, highest average score per game in the playoffs, etc.

Gan Guoyang is not just a high-scoring maniac; many times he simply proves he can do it, and whether he does it or not depends entirely on whether it is beneficial to victory.

Gan Guoyang broke through Jack Ramsey's basketball system, and his status as a superstar who can transcend the system was completely established.

Twenty years ago, when Ramsey was the general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, Coach Hannum asked Wilt Chamberlain to give up his high-volume shooting and pass the ball more to his teammates. The 76ers were able to rise to become the greatest team in NBA history and overthrow the Boston Celtics' reign of terror.

Chamberlain's various scoring records were a cautionary tale of winning basketball at the time, and his transformation in 1966 was a wonderful epiphany story.

In just 20 years, the world of basketball seems to be changing. Not only are the old tactical systems, the old player evaluation systems, and the old basketball aesthetic systems collapsing and being reshaped, but also the old systems are being broken down and reshaped.

When Ramsey was interviewed by The Oregonian and asked about his thoughts on Gan Guoyang's high single-game score and whether he was the next Wilt Chamberlain, he calmly replied:
"He's not the second Wilt. Wilt's high scoring was a way of squeezing the team out of opportunities; he took away other players' shot attempts. Forrest Gump is different; he only steps up when others are out of options. Besides, Wilt never scored 60 points in the playoffs. If he could, I think he would have beaten the Celtics and Russell much earlier."

Ramsey and Chamberlain had always been at odds, so his words were anything but polite.

Ramsey's statement is partly true, citing Chamberlain's terrifying 50.4 points per game regular season in 1961-1962 as an example.

在季后赛中他的场均得分降到了35分，投篮命中率降到了46%，12场季后赛8场命中率不足50%。

The team suffered a heartbreaking seven-game defeat to the Celtics. The outcome of that series was decided by the narrowest of margins. If Chamberlain had played with the efficiency he had in the regular season, or played like he did in 67, the team would have won much earlier.

Of course, it's not fair to say that to Chamberlain, because his shooting percentage was the highest on the team in that series, and they only lost by two points in Game 7.

Moreover, the playoff environment in the 60s was much more intense than in the 80s, with interior players facing a lot of fierce fouls and physical contact.

So when Chamberlain saw Ramsey's remarks in the newspaper, he was furious and said that Ramsey was talking nonsense. In retaliation, Ramsey talked about the decline of the 76ers after he was traded in 1968 and that Ramsey was largely responsible for the Trail Blazers losing Walton.

He even called Gan Guoyang and criticized Ramsey on the phone, saying that the guy was a ruthless carrion vulture, stubborn and cold-blooded, which left Gan Guoyang at a loss.

Gan Guoyang knew that Ramsey and Chamberlain had never gotten along well, but he didn't expect that his 60 points would make their relationship even worse.

Finally, Gan Guoyang reassured Chamberlain over the phone, saying that he was still a long way from Chamberlain's level, and that his high score proved that Chamberlain's playing style was not flawed.

"People used to say I was like Russell, but in terms of scoring, I'm nothing like him, am I? I'm more like you."

Chamberlain was very happy with what Gan Guoyang said, and finally felt relieved. He said that he had forgiven Ramsey and hoped that the Trail Blazers could go further in the playoffs.

At this point, the Trail Blazers had already eliminated the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals, winning the series 4-2.

Gan Guoyang returned to normal in the last two games, and the whole team was inspired by him, with their shooting percentage and scoring improving by a level.

The Trail Blazers were clearly on fire, scoring over 130 points in each of the last two games, and using their offense to wipe out the Nuggets, advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since the 1977 season.

The Los Angeles Lakers awaited them at the Great Western Forum.

(End of this chapter)