The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 391 Rain Man
(The images from the previous chapter were inexplicably approved; the approval system must be malfunctioning, even the stadium is being approved. This chapter is also stuck... even dunking pictures are being approved. The images should be showing up tomorrow or the day after.)
The player with the best three-point shooting performance tonight wasn't Gan Guoyang, nor Bird, but Schramf.

He scored 19 points in the first round. You can tell from his shooting form that he is very suitable for long-range shots. The ball has a high arc and the shooting posture is also very energy-saving.

Gan Guoyang's opponent in the semi-finals was Schremuff. Before the match officially started, Gan Guoyang said to Schremuff, "I will score one more point than you."

Schramf pretended not to care, but once the words were heard, they would keep popping into one's mind and disrupting one's state of mind.

Schramf knew Gan Guoyang during his college years. Gan Guoyang was at Gonzaga, while he was at the University of Washington. Both were in the Northwest region, and they played quite a few games together.

He knew that Gan Guoyang was a confident man who kept his word. The reason why this guy's trash talk was so effective was not because it was so clever, but because it always came true.

As the whistle blew and the game began, both players took their shots from the baseline. Schremf didn't have a good touch at first, missing several shots on the first and second spots.

However, he regained his composure from the edge of the box, scoring four goals from there and five more from the left 45-degree angle! His form is getting better and better.

He continued to shoot well in the last corner, making four in a row. Just as he was about to shoot the last one, he caught a glimpse of Gan Guoyang on the other side, who had already finished his shot.

For a mere 0.1 seconds, Schramf realized that if he could sink that ball, he would definitely eliminate Gan Guoyang!

But he hesitated for 0.1 seconds, which caused his shot to be a little soft, and the ball hit the edge of the rim and missed.

Schramf was annoyed. He looked up at the scoreboard and, sure enough, he had 15 points, while Gan Guoyang had 16.

If we can make that last shot, we'll beat Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang's performance was actually just average, but at that time, NBA players' three-point shooting skills were not very good, and Gan Guoyang was already an outstanding player.

Sometimes on the basketball court, you have to believe that the strong get lucky.

Bird then faced Hodges, and as expected, Bird played exceptionally well, scoring 18 points to defeat Hodges and advance to the final.

In the final, the two players will flip a coin to determine who goes first. Gan Guoyang chose heads and Bird chose tails. The referee flips the coin, and the result is heads. Bird flips first, and Gan Guoyang flips next.

This sequence of events made Bird feel uneasy.

If the opponent were someone else, Bird would want to shoot first.

He will throw a good shot and put pressure on the second person.

But the situation is different when the opponent is Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang patted Bird on the shoulder and said, "You're finished. Unless you score another 22 points, I'll beat you by one point and win the game on the last shot."

Bird was in excellent form during last year's Three-Point Contest, scoring a career-high 22 points, which is truly impressive. Gan Guoyang is not confident of winning.

But if Bird continues to score ten or more points like in the first two rounds, Gan Guoyang is confident that he can come from behind and defeat Bird in the final moments.

Bird knew he was not in good form. He played very hard during the regular season this year and had a serious back injury that affected his shooting.

He didn't waste any time talking to Gan Guoyang and went straight to the shoot. The first shot he got was good, scoring 4 points. His performance fluctuated a bit later, but he ended up with 16 points.

The score wasn't too low, but it wasn't high either. After the shot, Bird looked serious and returned to the bench. He knew he was in trouble.

Forrest Gump will definitely not let this opportunity to win the three-point championship slip by.

Bird was once an incredibly confident man, but he was actually a bit insecure when facing Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang is also under a lot of pressure; once you make a boast, you have to deliver.

It's always fun to brag, but it's never easy to actually do it.

He had already decided that if he couldn't get 16 points later, he would run straight back to the locker room!

When he actually started throwing, Gan Guoyang became calm.

He made three shots from the first corner, including one money ball, for a total of 4 points.

This boosted his confidence, and he subsequently performed well at the 45-degree angle and the top of the arc, scoring 13 points after shooting from those three spots.

Bird realized he was doomed; Gan Guoyang had already scored 13 points.

At the fourth point, Gan Guoyang made two shots, but one of them was a miss, bringing his total to 16 points!
Bird pursed his lips, knowing that this championship would most likely be handed over to someone else again.

The last point: the first shot missed, the second shot missed, and the third shot also missed!
Gan Guoyang seems to be deliberately leaving people in suspense.

On the fourth shot, he took the ball, adjusted his steps and rhythm, relaxed his shoulders, and released the ball.

Once the ball was thrown, Gan Guoyang knew he had it in the bag; the arc was perfect!
Before the ball even hit the net, Gan Guoyang raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and turned to leave.

He didn't throw the last ball.

The ball swished through the net, and Gan Guoyang scored 17 points, defeating Bird to win the 1987 All-Star Three-Point Contest!
Gan Guoyang shook hands and hugged Bird, saying, "Larry, how does it feel to be second place?"

"It's better than getting 5 points."

Unable to defeat Gan Guoyang, Bird had no choice but to hurt Jordan.

Gan Guoyang accepted the Three-Point Contest championship trophy from David Stern.

As they shook hands, Gan Guoyang said, "How was it, David? Doesn't it look great? You've made a killing, haven't you?"

Stern, with his signature smile on his face, said, "Thank you for your wonderful performance."

"My championship will be forgotten, but Michael's 5 points will be remembered forever."

Stern was also getting impatient, but he managed to hold back and said, "There's a dunk contest later, so you and Michael should do your best." Fifteen minutes later, the dunk contest officially began, and Gan Guoyang reappeared on the sidelines. He became the first player in NBA history to participate in both the three-point contest and the dunk contest.

Including Gan Guoyang, there are a total of 9 participants in the Slam Dunk Contest: Tom Chambers, Johnny Dawkins, Drexler, Ron Harper, Jordan, Jerome Cahill, Gerald Wilkins, and Terrence Stansbury.

Popular players Spud Webber and Dominique Wilkins were both absent due to injuries.

Without Gan Guoyang's intervention, the Slam Dunk Contest would undoubtedly have been much less exciting with Jordan alone.

Upon entering his area of ​​expertise, Jordan became fierce and determined to reclaim his territory.

Like the three-point contest, the dunk contest also starts with a first round of eliminations, followed by a semi-final where players compete in one-on-one matches.

The last two players will compete in the final to determine the champion of the dunk contest.

In the first round, each person has two dunking opportunities. Based on the scores, the top four will advance to the semifinals.

Tonight's panel of judges consists of five people: former SuperSonics star Fred Brown, four-time All-Star Johnny Green, host and television personality Joe Piscopo, Celtics legend Sam Jones, and University of Washington coach Mav Hashman.

Jordan was the first to step onto the court. He started like a cheetah and executed a two-handed spinning dunk in mid-air. The movement was smooth, beautiful, and highly executed. Now, the fans were all holding up signs that read "10 points."

The judges didn't give a score immediately. The next one was Drexler. This guy seemed a bit nervous. He failed his first dunk. His move was a self-alley-oop dunk, throwing the ball onto the backboard to bounce, and then jumping up to catch it with one hand and slam it down.

That was a decent dunk, but overall it was just average, nothing special.

That's what dunking was like in the 80s: the movements were fluid, but the creativity was lacking.

Creativity is Gan Guoyang's strength, but he doesn't need it in the first round.

Gan Guoyang was the last to appear. He chose a one-handed Statue of Liberty stunt with an aerial spin and a self-throw and dunk similar to Drexler's, but he finished with a powerful two-handed move.

When Gan Guoyang came on the court, he was very different from the guards and forwards in front of him. He was tall and powerful, and his dunks were very impressive to the fans and judges.

After the first round of scoring, Gan Guoyang, Jordan, Drexler, and Jerome Cauchy advanced to the semifinals.

When everyone saw this, they were amazed to see that three Trail Blazers players were up against one Bulls player; Jordan was practically a lone hero.

In the semifinals draw, Gan Guoyang and Ke Xi were paired together, while Jordan and Drexler were paired together, and each player had three dunk attempts.

By the semifinals, everyone's dunking creativity was somewhat lacking. For example, Jordan used a bounce pass followed by an alley-oop turnaround dunk, a move similar to Gan Guoyang's.

In terms of execution, Jordan's was more elegant, while Gan Guoyang's was powerful and heavy, making the rim tremble – power was Gan Guoyang's biggest weapon tonight.

In the semi-final against Kexi, Gan Guoyang glared at Kexi as if to say, "Try beating me once." In the end, Kexi had an off day, failing to spike twice and sending Gan Guoyang into the final.

The exciting final has finally arrived, and the two are going to fight to the death.

Jordan remained silent, not wanting to hear Gan Guoyang say a word before the game ended.

He started by using a double hand clasp behind his back after folding his hands in mid-air, a brilliant move that earned him 48 points from the judges.

Gan Guoyang also opted for a back dunk, but he used an alley-oop style, powerfully slamming the ball into the basket for 47 points.

Jordan began his second dunk, this time opting for a one-handed gliding dunk with a graceful extension in the air.

It was still 48 points. Obviously, some judges felt that Jordan's move wasn't perfect enough and was missing something.

Gan Guoyang then unleashed his ultimate move, pulling out his trump card.

With Drexler's help, he completed a 360-degree alley-oop dunk with both hands!
That was a fantastic goal, deserving a perfect score of 50!

The pressure was on Michael Jordan, and he unleashed his signature move.

He dribbles, sprints, jumps, glides through the air, his body tucks in and then extends, slamming the ball into the basket!

This goal caused a sensation throughout the stadium, with fans cheering wildly and the judges giving it a perfect score of 50!

If Gan Guoyang scores a perfect 50 points on the next shot, he will win the dunk contest. If he scores one point less, the two will have to compete in another shot.

At this moment, Gan Guoyang walked to the sidelines and took the prop he had prepared beforehand from Wang Fuxi: a very large umbrella.

The fans at the scene were a bit confused. How could a dunk involve props, and even an umbrella?
"Shit, what's this guy up to? Is he going to do something?" Jordan felt a shrunken sensation when he saw Gan Guoyang holding an umbrella.

However, Seattle fans quickly realized that the umbrella was the same colorful one Paul Westphal used when he shot the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1980.

This is a classic photo of Westphal, because Seattle has a well-known nickname: "The Rainy City," due to its frequent rain.

When Westphal left the Suns for Seattle, Sports Illustrated took this photo and wrote a feature article titled "Swimming in the Rain".

Gan Guoyang, holding a large umbrella with yellow, green, and white stripes, stood near the center line and then began to sprint with the ball.

Just inside the free-throw line, Gan Guoyang leaped high, opened his umbrella in mid-air, and as if using the umbrella's gliding momentum to fly towards the basket, dunking the ball!
On the sidelines, reporters' cameras clicked incessantly, and two world-famous images from the NBA Slam Dunk Contest were born: one for Jordan and one for Forrest Gump.

The image of Gan Guoyang slamming the ball into the basket with one hand while holding up an umbrella with the other has become an eternal classic in the NBA.

The dunk contest champion will undoubtedly be Gan Guoyang. The audience erupted in cheers after he landed. This is Seattle, the city of rain. This creative dunk deserves a perfect score of 50!
He showed people that dunking can be done in this way, and that props can be used.

The knowledge base from the Slam Dunk Contest, which was thirty years ahead of its time, still came in handy.

Gan Guoyang also earned a new nickname, "Rain Man," for his creatively designed umbrella snap.

(End of this chapter)