The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 34 Gary
My first conflict with Gary was in October 1981, the second Monday, the 12th, at Tiger Arena. It was a game between the Waterbell and the Tigers, later known as the Columbus Day Miracle. Screw the miracle, the Waterbell were already pretty good back then. I was in ninth grade, and a lot of my friends were in Fremont. I started yelling at Gary from the first half because he'd beaten my friend Herbert so badly. In the second half, he probably couldn't take it anymore, ran to the sidelines and asked my name. I told him, and he greeted me with, "Fuck you, Gary!" Of course, I wasn't going to let him off the hook. I stood up and kept yelling at him, and he fucking dunked on Herbert again—I'm sorry Herbert, then he ran to the sidelines and said to me, "This is my fucking greeting gift to you, we're not done yet!" I still remember that line to this day, and then it started, pew, pew, pew~

—Excerpt from an interview with NBA legend Gary Payton in his 2023 book, *Trash Talk*.

Gan Guoyang was always calm, and he quickly calmed down when such a major event as time travel happened to him.

But in the noisy and chaotic environment of Tiger Arena, he, who was originally focused on the game, was finally annoyed by the constant trash talk.

That guy is such a good talker. If he were from Tianjin, he would be perfect for crosstalk. He's got that natural talent.

Of course, Gan Guoyang wasn't going to get into too much of a verbal entanglement with this kid; his performance on the field was what mattered most.

In the second half, he decided to increase his shot attempts to solidify the team's winning position.

Tigers coach Orwell paced back and forth on the sidelines, wearing a yellow plaid suit, a style that was popular back then.

Through the first half of the game, Orwell had gained a preliminary understanding of the Water Clock's offensive and defensive strategies.

The Water Bell team is clearly much stronger than expected, especially their center (number 11) and small forward (number 14), both of whom are quite excellent players.

With these two as the core, the rest of the Water Bell team focused on defense, spot shooting, and rebounding. It can be said that the division of labor was clear, the team was orderly, and they played with a good rhythm.

Orwell was under a lot of pressure. What was supposed to be a regular warm-up match had turned into a qualifying round, and even a city battle.

Nobody knows what will happen in the arena if Fremont loses.

Orwell was worried that he might lose all his authority within the team, as losing to a Chinese team would be a huge loss of face.

During halftime, he rearranged the strategy: increase the pressure on Franklin on the defensive end, double-team him more, and make more physical contact.

On offense, we need to pass the ball more, attack the paint more, and repeatedly pound and wear down number 11 in order to gradually break through the opponent's zone defense.

In zone defense, the battle of offense and defense is often a contest of mentality. The defending side needs to weave a net, while the attacking side needs to constantly pass the ball and shoot from a distance.

Whoever is more patient and can maintain a stable mindset will gain the upper hand in this game of offense and defense.

Currently, the well-prepared Waterbell team seems much more patient than the Tigers team, while the trailing Tigers team is clearly getting impatient.

Facing a zone defense, Henry Turner received the ball and attempted a long-range shot from the front, but missed.

Gan Guoyang grabbed the rebound in the backcourt, and the Shuizhong team made a mistake during their fast break, intercepting the pass to Franklin.

However, the Tigers' counterattack was even more erratic. The point guard's layup was interfered with by Gan Guoyang, and the layup missed, with the ball once again falling into Gan Guoyang's control.

The Tigers tightened their defense on Franklin. Gan Guoyang escorted Chen Xing across half-court and cut to the basket, squeezing out Herbert to get the ball.

Gary on the sidelines was yelling, "Stop him, hit his ass, choke him, kick him, stab him, shove a shit pot over this Chinaman's head! Kill him, Herbert!"

But such shouting seemed to have the opposite effect. Gan Guoyang pushed back, using his simple strength and footwork to push aside Herbert, and made a light layup with his right hand, scoring two points.

In the center matchup against the Cavaliers, the Tigers never considered double-teaming Gan Guoyang in the low post, believing that Herbert could handle it alone.

But Herbert couldn't handle it, and he seemed very frustrated. His teammates wouldn't help, and he didn't want them to help either, too embarrassed to ask.

Gan Guoyang didn't make things difficult for Herbert anymore. Instead, as he passed Gary, he shouted, "Give it your all! You're about to make me cry! Almost there!"

Gary cursed under his breath, but his voice continued, though his momentum had weakened considerably.

There's nothing you can do; no matter how much you mutter on the sidelines, you can't actually play.

He is in eighth grade this year and will go to high school next year. His dream school is Fremont High School, where he can play basketball with his best friends.

However, his father didn't want him to study in Fremont, thinking it was too chaotic and full of black people—even though his own family was black.

As Gan Guoyang scored consecutive goals, the Water Bell team was widening the gap. Orwell shouted from the sidelines, demanding that the defense against Gan Guoyang be strengthened. However, the Tigers' players seemed confused. At halftime, they said to strengthen the defense against Franklin, and now they wanted to strengthen the defense against Agan.

There are five people on the other side, and only five of us. If we attack Franklin from both sides, and then attack Forrest Gump from both sides, the rest of us will be left undefended.

The Tigers' offense also faltered, with hesitant passing, while the Waterbells' zone defense gained more confidence.

Xu Xun surprisingly took the initiative, intercepted the Tigers' pass, and then launched a counterattack!
The Tigers fouled, pulling Xu Xun from behind, causing him to fall to the ground.

This was an unsportsmanlike foul, which should have resulted in free throws and possession of the ball, but the referee only called a regular foul.

Berman yelled at the referee, "That's a technical foul! An unsportsmanlike foul! Free throws! Free throws!"

The referee reassured Berman, saying, "I'm doing this for your own good, and for my own good too. Just shut up."

Bellman realized that this was the other party's territory, a stadium full of black people, with hundreds more squatting outside, and police cars patrolling the streets. He thought it made sense and decided to put up with it.

The Water Clock team had a sideline inbound pass. Franklin was heavily double-teamed and couldn't receive the ball. Gan Guoyang came out to receive the ball, handed it to Chen Xing, and then made his way inside after setting a screen.

Gan Guoyang drew the defense, so Chen Xing didn't dare to dribble too much. But he calmly found Xu Xun, who had cut around him. Xu Xun received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right side and threw it!

The ball headed straight for the basket, and Gan Guoyang knew at a glance that it was unlikely to go in; he had used too much force.

He ran to the left, and sure enough, the ball hit the rim and bounced to the left. Gan Guoyang jumped up, caught the ball in mid-air, and then scored with a layup!

After scoring, Gan Guoyang didn't forget to greet Gary on the sidelines, "Louder, Gary! I'm lonely without hearing your moans! This is a reward for you too!"

Gary's face grew increasingly grim. He felt a tightness in his chest, a lump in his throat, and his eyes stinging with tears welling up.

Everyone on the streets of Auckland is talking non-stop because the environment here dictates that if you don't look tough, you'll get bullied.

Spitting trash is like a cat hissing or a dog barking; it's all about making yourself look tough, like you can't mess with me.

Gary's father, Al, was also a streetball pro and a trash talker, as well as a well-known scathing critic in Oakland—that's what he wrote on his homemade license plate.

He inherited his father's traits, but he was only 13 years old after all, and was still a somewhat fragile and sensitive teenager. The feeling of being powerless to resist was quite unpleasant.

He thought that as long as he could play, even if the opponent was a center, he wouldn't be afraid or upset; he would choose to fight the opponent.

He stood on the sidelines, trying hard to hold back his tears. He dared not turn around or wipe his eyes. If his friends found out, he would be laughed at for the rest of his life.

He continued to shout at Gan Guoyang in a slightly hoarse voice, and the Tigers finally scored a goal. Henry Turner received the ball in the low post, passed it, turned and jumped to score.

In the subsequent attack, Gan Guoyang ran to the outside to receive the ball, and not far from Gary, he and his teammates made three back-and-forth passes, toying with Herbert.

Next, Gan Guoyang took a long-range shot from 23 feet away from the basket—the NBA three-point line is 23.5 feet.

A beautiful hand shape, a beautiful arc, the ball piercing the net cleanly and crisply, instantly halving the decibel level in Tiger Arena.

After scoring, Gan Guoyang turned around and saw Gary; the two locked eyes.

Gan Guoyang looked at him, smiled, shrugged, and ran away without saying anything.

Little Gary couldn't hold back any longer, and two large tears rolled down his cheeks and fell into his mouth.

It tasted salty.

"...I fucking cried because of his rant, seriously, I've never told anyone about this. He made a shot from over 20 feet, back when there was no three-point line, you know, nobody shoots from that distance. But he, a center, just took the shot so naturally and smoothly, and after it went in, he turned to look at me, without saying a word. Before, he would yell at me every time he scored, but this time he really didn't say anything, just smiled and shrugged, but I felt like he said everything, I was incredibly insulted, I really couldn't hold back, and I shed two tears. But I swear, just two, I stood on the sidelines, not daring to turn around, not daring to wipe my tears, I just hugged my chest, desperately widening my eyes until the tears dried, it was fucking so embarrassing..."

—Excerpt from an interview with NBA legend Gary Payton in his 2023 book, *Trash Talk*.

(End of this chapter)