The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 351 The visitor is evil

Basketball is all about who can intimidate whom. — Xavier McDaniel, "X-Man"

On October 31, 1986, Portland welcomed their new season opener at their home stadium, Memorial Arena, against their old rivals, the Seattle SuperSonics.

Because Portland and Seattle are close to each other, the Trail Blazers and the SuperSonics are bound to play each other within the first five games of the season, and the two teams have a long-standing rivalry.

The SuperSonics underwent major changes that summer: Jack Hickma was traded to the Bucks, Lenny Wilkens stepped down as general manager and left for the Cleveland Cavaliers, marking the end of the 79 championship generation and ushering in a new era for the SuperSonics.

However, after trading away Hickma, Seattle did not intend to completely tank. On the contrary, their series of signings, trades, and management changes all indicate that they are very ambitious for the new season.

They first drafted Nate McMillan to bolster the team's backcourt.

Then they acquired Bucks center Lister (the one who got dunked on by Forrest Gump) in a trade involving Hickma.

In July, they traded Al Wood to the Mavericks for Dale Ellis to further bolster their backcourt.

After the Lakers bought out Maurice Lucas, the SuperSonics opted to claim him and then traded for veteran John Long from the Detroit Pistons.

In October, the SuperSonics traded John Long, a second-round pick, to the Pacers for center Ruth Schoney.

In this way, the SuperSonics built a strong frontcourt with Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers, Lister, and Maurice Lucas.

In the backcourt, Dale Ellis will be entering the most glorious phase of his career with the SuperSonics, and Nate McMillan will also be a key player for the team to develop.

Bernie Bickerstaff, the new head coach who replaced Lenny Wilkens, is a rising star in the league and is very motivated. Under his leadership, the revitalized SuperSonics are eager to make a name for themselves in the new season.

And their first match, an away game against the defending champions, is undoubtedly their best chance to cause a ruckus and showcase themselves.

Before the game officially started, the Portland Trail Blazers held a championship ring presentation ceremony on site, where last season's players received their gleaming championship rings from owner Larry Weinberger.

Championship rings in the 70s and 80s were quite simple, usually just a gold ring with an inscription and a diamond in the center, such as the 1977 Portland Trail Blazers championship ring.

This ring is similar in design to those of other teams, with the main difference being the Trail Blazers' spiral logo on the side.

Because the 1986 championship was the Trail Blazers' second title in history, the diamonds were changed from one to two, but the rest of the design didn't change much—that was all the NBA's aesthetics and investment could offer at that time.

However, everyone was still very happy. After all, the symbolic meaning of the ring outweighs its actual value. Many professional players spend their entire careers just for such a small thing, even going so far as to run around and endure criticism.

Some players achieve what others have dreamed of for over a decade much earlier than others, which shows how different players' fates can be.

Then, amidst the cheers and attention of tens of thousands of spectators, Gan Guoyang raised the team's second championship banner to the ceiling of the stadium.

The SuperSonics players sat on the sidelines, watching the Trail Blazers celebrate their championship with indifferent expressions, their eyes filled with the desire to defeat their opponents.

That's how the NBA is. Becoming a champion doesn't bring respect and submission, but rather a constant stream of challenges. Champions are always the target of everyone's ire.

Xavier McDaniel's eyes were fixed on Gan Guoyang, the center of attention tonight, the focus of the spotlight, and the league's hottest superstar.

Just before going on the court, McDaniel told teammate Tom Chambers, "Tonight I'm going to try to dump one on Forrest Gump's head."

Chambers looked at McDaniel as if she were crazy. "Are you insane? Don't mess with Forrest Gump."

McDaniel said, "Are you scared? Have you forgotten how Forrest Gump dunked on you back then?"

In his rookie season in 1984, Gan Guoyang faced the Seattle SuperSonics for the first time and completed an extremely difficult spinning dunk over Chambers' head.

That became a classic dunk that Gan Guoyang himself could never replicate in his career, and it also meant that Chambers would be relegated to the background again and again for decades to come, being repeatedly shown on television and in videos.

When confronted with McDaniel's questioning, Chambers was honest: "I'm scared."

It's like, "If you're going to court death, fine, but don't splatter me with blood."

McDaniel snorted, showing disdain for Chambers and the rest of the league's cowardice.

As the saying goes, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger. As a rookie in 1985, McDaniel was one of the few people in the league who was not convinced by Gan Guoyang.

Like Hakeem Olajuwon, this fourth overall pick has a strong mentality of proving himself. From his rookie season onward, he has never backed down or been afraid of any challenge, whether from within his own team or from opponents.

For a long time to come, he will be one of the most fearsome boxers in the league, a fiery force in the ring.

Chambers knew he couldn't dissuade McDaniel; she was a guy with an extremely high level of hormones.

He shaved his head into a shiny, eye-catching bald head at the start of his rookie season, and from the moment he stepped into training camp, McDaniel was eager to prove himself.

He was matched up against the team's veteran forward, Reggie King, who relentlessly harassed him, using physical contact to prevent McDaniel from receiving the ball. McDaniel asked the head coach how to get past the defense, and the coach told him to do what he was supposed to do.

So McDaniel punched Reggie King, and that solved everything.

His overflowing hormones were also reflected in his extraordinary large baton.

After a match or training session, his baton would be very sturdy due to the intense exercise. He would walk around naked in the locker room with a towel hanging from the baton to demonstrate his strength.

Besides hanging towels, he would also hang a lantern, a small blackboard, and even a stocking at Christmas; in short, these were symbols of his masculine power.

His teammates sometimes find it vulgar, but they are helpless because this guy is indeed not easy to mess with. For example, Dale Ellis, who was just traded to the team, has already had a fight with McDaniel.

McDaniel is an unpredictable factor, but he is indeed feared by opponents on the court. His competitiveness and eagerness to win will leave soft players nowhere to hide.

So tonight he's going to test his mettle against the toughest opponent in the league and see just how good he really is for the new season.

The SuperSonics' starting lineup tonight is Lister, Tom Chambers, McDaniel, Gerald Henderson, and Michael Phelps.

Gerald Henderson was probably one of the trades the SuperSonics regretted the most. For him, they gave up an 86 first-round draft pick, which ended up becoming the second pick.

However, after seeing Len Bias die suddenly from cocaine poisoning, the SuperSonics' regret lessened somewhat, because if they had the second pick, they would likely have selected Bias as well.

The Trail Blazers' starting lineup is the same as in the Finals, with Terry Porter firmly established as the starting point guard. His backcourt partnership with Drexler is highly compatible.

Having gained weight, Vandeweghe has a new jersey for the new season. He has some doubts about his playing style in the new season, so he looks quite nervous.

The inside game still features Gan Guoyang and Thompson. Compared to Walton, Thompson is a more trusted partner for Gan Guoyang.

With Thompson around, Gan Guoyang felt he could do anything without worry; the value of this veteran champion was underestimated by many.

In short, Thompson was extremely important to Gan Guoyang, and their private relationship was getting better and better. Gan Guoyang would often visit Thompson's home.

The game officially began, and Gan Guoyang completed the first jump ball of the new season, giving the Trail Blazers possession of the ball.

The Trail Blazers' tactical system has not changed significantly compared to last season. As a championship team, they certainly won't make major changes, only making adjustments to the details.

For example, at the start of the game, last season when Paxson started, Ramsey liked to have Gan Guoyang come out more to set screens and use his movement to find offensive opportunities.

With Gan Guoyang's position now firmly established this season, the Trail Blazers will start by letting this low-post monster get a taste of his power, giving their opponents a taste of his strength.

The player guarding Gan Guoyang one-on-one was Lister, the guy who was traumatized by Gan Guoyang's dunks on him while playing for the Bucks.

Gan Guoyang easily got into position in the low post and received the ball. If it were last season, he would have launched an attack immediately.

But this time he paused to observe, and Porter and Drexler's movement drew away the defense, allowing Vandeweghe to seize the opportunity.

The Supersonics started with tight man-to-man defense and no double-teaming. Gan Guoyang didn't hold back and used his strength to force his way to the basket. With a sudden spin move, he shook off Lister and made the layup, drawing a foul from Lister.

The first play drew a foul from Lister, resulting in a 2+1 play. Bickerstaff on the sidelines wiped the sweat from his brow, thinking, "This MVP is tough to deal with."

Gan Guoyang made the free throw, giving the Trail Blazers the lead.

The Trail Blazers started strong and successfully defended against the Supersonics' offense.

Drexler drew a foul from Henderson on the counterattack and made both free throws.

However, Drexler should have been able to dunk the ball, but he only drew a foul against the 6-foot-2 Henderson.

It's clear that the glider's physical condition wasn't properly maintained during the summer, which could be a potential problem for the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers quickly took a 2-8 lead, prompting Bickerstaff to call a timeout to adjust the team's offense.

The SuperSonics' only basket came from McDaniel, who grabbed an offensive rebound and drove to the basket for a layup.

After scoring, he flexed his muscles at Gan Guoyang, but Gan Guoyang completely ignored him.

McDaniel saw this as a threat he was making against Gan Guoyang, an attempt to intimidate him.

As the competition progresses, such actions will become more and more frequent, and Gan Guoyang will soon realize that someone has ill intentions.

(End of this chapter)