The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 315 Most Valuable Player

Gan Guoyang received a call from Larry Fleischer at 5 a.m. on the 28th, informing him that he had won the 1986 regular season MVP award.

Fleischer was very excited on the phone. He said that Forrest Gump had made history and his name would be engraved on the monument of North American professional sports history, becoming an important page.

Fleischer called so early because he knew Gan Guoyang had to get up early to run, and he wouldn't be home if he was late.

"It's kind of you to get up so early and call me. You can go back to sleep a little longer." Gan Guoyang's voice was very calm.

"Take a nap... I'll sleep my ass! Can't you be happy for once?! You're the MVP! The first in the NBA, the first in all four major leagues, and the first Asian MVP. Do you know how amazing that is?"

"It's alright, he's not the first Asian president. Are you coming to the game tonight? If you're not coming, I won't save you a ticket, they're extremely hard to come by."

"Oh no, I'm not going. I'll consider going to Portland after you guys reach the finals. I'm very busy lately, extremely busy."

"How is my brother doing in New York? Thank you for your help."

"He's much better than at the beginning; you can tell from his mental state. He's quick-witted, works very hard, and plays squash quite well."

Larry Fleischer loves playing squash, and one of Gan Guohui's important jobs in New York is to play squash with Fleischer, and it seems he's doing a good job.

"That's good, thank you so much."

The two chatted on the phone for a while longer, and Fleischer began to understand why Gan Guoyang wasn't as excited.

Since the result of Game 7 is not yet in, if they lose Game 7, then this MVP award will not be an honor, but more like an irony.

So after hanging up the phone, Gan Guoyang was somewhat excited, but this was quickly replaced by a slight pre-match tension and anxiety.

A little while later, Quentin Stephenson came over to go for a run with Gan Guoyang. He said, "Gan, there are so many gifts at the door that they've filled a whole car. What are we going to do?"

Gan Guoyang said, "Let's contact the local welfare home and donate to them. There are many things that I don't need, and it's a waste for them to be here."

"Perhaps we should remind the kind citizens to stop delivering these things, as it is not very safe."

Every day, Quentin would arrive at Gan Guoyang's doorstep early in the morning like a wholesaler, only to find a huge pile of gifts from the neighbors.

There was an abundance of food, drinks, and supplies during the playoffs. Quentin was mainly worried that continuing to provide so much would attract the attention of thieves.

"The security at Hushan Park is very good, but your concerns are valid. I'll put up a sign at the entrance to remind everyone. Okay, let's go."

At noon, after training, Gan Guoyang specifically sought out John White, the team's public relations manager and ticketing agent, to discuss two matters. One was that he hoped White would explain to the media that fans should stop leaving gifts at his doorstep, as it was too wasteful.

Secondly, I wanted to find out about the Finals tickets from White.

Although Game 7 hasn't been played yet and the Trail Blazers aren't guaranteed to win, tickets should definitely be booked in advance.

Since Gan Guoyang is on the field, if he's about to win, he can't just leave the field to ask John White to book tickets.

White and Gan Guoyang had a good relationship because no matter what happened, Gan Guoyang would always communicate with White immediately and they always kept in touch.

This made White feel comfortable. Gan Guoyang had gotten into a lot of trouble in the past two seasons, getting into several fights, and each one was a big one.

However, the Trail Blazers have handled public opinion very well, which is largely due to Gan Guoyang's ability to communicate and cooperate with public relations personnel.

He's much better than Walton in this respect. Walton caused far more trouble with the Trail Blazers than Gan Guoyang did, yet White didn't even know Walton's home phone number.

So every time something goes wrong, like when Wharton publicly criticizes the federal government in the media, attacks the US president, or says something outrageous, White's head feels like it's going to explode.

He couldn't find Walton, couldn't contact Walton, and couldn't communicate with Walton to do public relations together. Walton was always with his unlucky friend Jack Scott, holding press conferences privately, which put the Trail Blazers in a very passive position.

John White was actually unhappy with Walton's return this season; his experience from ten years ago was still a nightmare.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang did a great job. He made White's job easier, and since Wharton had returned, he no longer had the resources to cause trouble, so White didn't have to worry too much.

"No problem, Forrest Gump. I've reserved 20 tickets for you, all in the front row, great seats. But you absolutely have to win tonight's game."

"Don't worry, I will. Twenty tickets seem a bit too many, I can't use that many, let's give some to others." "No, no, no, others have their own, these are yours, I've already allocated them. I've given them to you so you can give them away yourself, it would be difficult for me to allocate them again."

White's words made sense. Gan Guoyang thanked him and mentally calculated how many of his friends would come to watch the game if it were the finals.

"Oh, right! Sonny, when I give you the tickets, I'll talk to you privately. Don't tell anyone you have 20 tickets. Even though you're the boss, people will still have opinions. They won't cause trouble for you, but they'll come to me."

"Okay, I understand. I won't make things difficult for you. You know I never make things difficult for my own people."

In the afternoon, they warmed up at the Memorial Stadium. Gan Guoyang played a three-point shooting game with Vandeweghe, Paxson, and others. Gan Guoyang made 8 consecutive shots and won $20 from each of them.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang refused all interviews. By then, news of his winning the 1986 regular season MVP had spread throughout the United States, and reporters swarmed around him like flies attracted by the smell of manure.

Only Steve Kelly, a reporter from The Oregonian, was allowed into the locker room to chat with Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang told Eggers, "Winning this game is what makes the MVP award meaningful. Otherwise, the MVP will just be a medal for Olajuwon and Sampson, and I will be placed in Olajuwon's honor room like a deer head."

As evening approached and the seventh game was about to begin, Memorial Stadium and Paramount Theatre were packed to capacity. There was still a concert at Paramount Theatre that night, but most of the audience members had bought tickets to gather together to listen to the live broadcast of the game.

Many Portland celebrities were present tonight, including the mayor, governor, councilors, business leaders, singers, and more, but the most eye-catching was Gan Guoyang's father, Gan Youwei.

The chef, who knew very little about basketball, was specially invited by the Trail Blazers from San Francisco without being told to Gan Guoyang. So Gan Guoyang was startled to see his father watching the game from the sidelines.

"Holy crap, Dad, what are you doing here?"

"Your team practically kidnapped me."

"What? Kidnapping! Does this mean they're going to kill you if we don't win the game?"

"Perhaps. You'd better behave yourself tonight!"

The arrival of his father gave Gan Guoyang more energy, and as the competition approached, his heart became more and more calm.

When Ralph Sampson entered the arena during the entrance ceremony, he was booed by the entire crowd because he had punched Terry Porter in the previous match.

Aside from boos, the fans did not engage in any other extreme behavior, nor did they display any mocking signs. Overall, the Portland fans were quite well-behaved.

If it were Boston or Detroit fans, the situation would be hard to say, especially those arrogant white people in Boston who are unparalleled in the league when it comes to mocking and insulting players.

When Gan Guoyang entered the game, he received the loudest applause and cheers from the crowd. Tonight, he continued to start alongside Bill Walton, with Terry Porter as the starting point guard, a lineup that proved to be effective.

The Rockets players seemed to be in low spirits, as if they hadn't fully recovered from the crushing defeat in Game 6. In fact, they knew that it was the Rockets' best chance to make it to the Finals.

Some opportunities, once missed, will never come back.

Before the game started, David Stern presented Gan Guoyang with the regular season MVP award.

Gan Guoyang received the MVP trophy from the Maurice Podoloff statue from Stern and raised it high in front of tens of thousands of fans.

No matter how calm things were before the game, Gan Guoyang was still very excited. In his second season, he achieved what many NBA players could never achieve.

"Congratulations, Forrest Gump! You are the first foreign-born MVP in NBA history. I am proud of you."

"I am also proud of you. You are a great commissioner, and the NBA is getting better and better under your leadership."

Gan Guoyang's praise of Stern pleased Stern greatly, and the smile on his face seemed genuine.

"And you are very lucky to have met a player like me. The NBA market will only get bigger and bigger."

Gan Guoyang's second sentence made Stern's smile freeze for a moment: "You're quite arrogant, aren't you?"

But Stern was indeed very satisfied with the 84 draft class; it was time for the NBA to renew its generation and transition between the old and the new.

Sitting on the sidelines, Hakeem Olajuwon, the 84 number one draft pick, watched Gan Guoyang raise the MVP trophy, feeling a mix of emotions. Throughout the series, the gap between them was widening.

Tonight is his last chance for redemption. He has only two choices: win the game and send Forrest Gump to hell, or go to hell himself.

(End of this chapter)