The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 481 Fortune
After the meeting, Quinn and Cohen immediately set about collecting the players' votes.

Cohen drafted a very simple ballot that read: I hereby vote to dissolve the National Basketball Players Association. I no longer wish for collective bargaining to represent me.

Quinn and Cohen then distributed copies to player representatives. After the All-Star Game, the representatives took the forms back to their teams to vote and sign for each active player, eventually bringing them to Larry Fleischer's hands.

It can be said that this All-Star Game has once again become a major turning point affecting labor relations, but unlike in the past, the off-court turmoil did not affect the performance of the stars on the court.

Fleischer and the union representatives considered that the NBA is indeed developing very well at present, and no matter how the players fight, the ultimate goal is still for the owners and the players to share the fruits of victory together.

The impact of strikes and lockouts is too great; they will significantly reduce league revenue and harm the interests of lower-level players.

This isn't the 60s anymore; competition revenue comes entirely from ticket sales.

Television broadcasts and advertising account for an increasingly large proportion of revenue, and there are countless commercial sponsorships. In the collective bargaining agreement, these revenues are to be allocated to the players proportionally.

Moreover, the NBA's influence in public opinion is growing, and a strike or lockout would undoubtedly be another blow to the NBA's image.

The previous drug and violence incidents had already made things worse; if this internal power struggle were to occur, the general public would only have a worse impression of the league and its players.

Therefore, faced with the firm stance of the owners, Fleischer chose to self-destruct by threatening to dissolve the union rather than opt for an All-Star strike or a league shutdown.

He and the union president resigned together afterward, essentially sacrificing themselves for the benefit of other players and the NBA.

After the meeting, Fleischer told the stars to perform well in the All-Star Game.

No matter what happens off the field, their performance on the field and the shows they give to the fans are the foundation of their careers, and they can never slack off.

The day after the meeting, February 6th, was the first day of All-Star Weekend.

The competition includes a legends contest, a three-point contest, and a dunk contest.

To attract fans, the NBA has come up with all sorts of creative ideas and tactics for the All-Star Game over the past decade.

In the 50s and 60s, the NBA held a veterans' tournament to enhance the sense of historical legacy. In the 70s, it was changed to a one-on-one tournament. However, the one-on-one tournament only lasted for a year and was not continued. It seems that the audience was not interested in the one-on-one tournament.

The Legends Tournament was revived in the 80s, giving veterans who hadn't earned much money in their early years a chance to make money.

This year, celebrities such as Bobby Jones, Dave Cowens, Rick Barry, Connie Hawkins, Gail Goodrich, and Earl Monroe participated in the competition.

Before the game began, a memorial service was held for Pete Maravich, who had just passed away from a heart attack during a practice session on January 5.

This legends tournament was full of twists and turns, with the East and West teams playing extremely fiercely and the score remaining very close throughout.

During the game, Rick Barry of the West and Bobby Jones of the East clashed repeatedly.

Because Jones was younger than Barry, he always kept a close eye on Barry, defending him relentlessly and preventing him from scoring.

Barry, with his fiery temper, was furious. He cursed and demanded of Jones: "What the hell are you doing? Are you serious?"
Others tried to persuade Barry not to get so angry, saying that everyone was just having fun and socializing.

Barry retorted directly, "What the hell am I doing here? I'm here to play and win. You guys don't know anything. If I wanted to socialize, I'd join a social club. Why would I bother playing a game?"

Everyone knows Barry's temperament; he's said everything he needs to say, that's just how he is.

With the game nearing its end, Doug Collins, representing the Western Conference (although he has always played for Philadelphia, the Western Conference was short-handed), hit a game-tying three-pointer!

This was the first three-pointer of his career, and it forced the game into overtime.

But the veterans of the Western team were clearly not excited. They were exhausted, and now they had to play overtime.

Fortunately, the extra time game uses the sudden death rule, meaning whoever scores first wins.

Dave Cowens scored first, ending the torment on the veterans.

After the game, the veterans were groaning in the locker room. Gail Goodrich lay in the bathtub for a long time after returning to the hotel, unable to move. Their old arms and legs just couldn't withstand such a high-intensity game.

But in order to make money and to satisfy the fans' tastes, since this is your job, you have to do it this way, and the legends tournament will continue.

Following the Legends Challenge, Bird and Gan Guoyang both participated in the highly anticipated Three-Point Contest and Slam Dunk Contest again, while Jordan absolutely refused to participate.

This time, Bird proved superior. Gan Guoyang's weight gain caused a decline in his three-point shooting consistency, while Bird, still in his Celtics jacket and wearing his tracksuit, hit the game-winning shot, winning the three-point contest and avenging last year's defeat.

Gan Guoyang did not participate in this year's Slam Dunk Contest, giving the stage to Michael Jordan and Donimick Wilkins. Their duel undoubtedly made it a classic Slam Dunk Contest.

However, this historic matchup was not without controversy, as Jordan received some preferential treatment while playing on home court.

The judges at the time included Chicago-born retired NBA player Tom Hawkins and Chicago Bears Hall of Fame running forward Gayle Sayers.

Their bias was very clear: they wanted to favor Jordan.

During the game, Wilkins scored a perfect score of 50 points for his first two dunks, while Jordan scored 50 points for his first dunk and 47 points for his second.

Boos erupted throughout the Chicago Stadium, with a television commentator saying, "These referees need National Guard protection to leave the Chicago Stadium!"

The two teams went into the final dunk contest, and Wilkins delivered a spectacular two-handed windmill dunk, but the referee only awarded him 45 points.

In this way, if Jordan scores 48 points or more on his final dunk, he can win the Slam Dunk Contest.

The television cameras were focused on Dr. J, Owen, in the audience.

Jordan attempted a classic free-throw line dunk.

This was one of Jordan's most iconic dunks of his career, and he unsurprisingly scored a perfect 50 points, defeating Wilkins to win the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest and avenging his previous defeat.

Jordan was naturally very happy after winning the championship, but he was slightly disappointed that he hadn't defeated Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang absolutely refused to participate in this dunk contest.

On the way back to the hotel, Gan Guoyang bluntly said, "This is Chicago, you fucking have home-court advantage, I'm not going to make a fool of myself and become your stepping stone. You only succeeded on your last dunk after two attempts, and you still got a perfect score? And why did Dominic only get 45 points on his last dunk! It's a rigged referee!"

Jordan said, "If you don't even dare to participate, then shut up. And you lost to Larry in three-pointers. Let me tell you, Sonny, do you know what that means? It means that the league's fortunes aren't on your side this year, and it's going to be tough for you to win the championship."

Jordan's words make sense; this year has indeed been a difficult one for the Trail Blazers.

As the saying goes, fortunes change, and that's exactly how it is in the NBA. The emperors take turns ruling, and next year it might be my turn.

The road to a three-peat is destined to be extremely difficult.

On February 7th, during the All-Star Game, the players temporarily put the union issue aside and focused entirely on their performance.

The head coach for the Eastern Conference is Fratello of the Atlanta Hawks, while the head coach for the Western Conference is Don Nelson.

Before the match began, West Ham's starting player Karl Malone wore the number 7 jersey to commemorate Pete Maravich.

The game was extremely intense, as evidenced by the fact that neither team scored more than 140 points, which is a relatively low score for an NBA All-Star game.

Isaiah Thomas unusually provided Jordan with a constant stream of assists.

Magic Johnson desperately passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, as both sides were eager to win.

In the final moments, with the Western team trailing by 5 points at 131-136, Gan Guoyang suddenly stepped up his game, hitting two consecutive three-pointers to help the Western team take the lead!

With the final shot, Jordan faced Gan Guoyang's one-on-one close defense and attempted a fadeaway jumper to win the game, but it missed, and the Western team successfully turned the tide, 137-136!

Gan Guoyang scored 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, earning him the All-Star MVP title and shattering Jordan's 40-point performance, preventing him from lifting the trophy on home soil.

This is the second time Gan Guoyang has snatched this honor from an Eastern Conference star.

The fans in the stadium booed, but they couldn't do anything about it.

In the end, everyone actually wanted the East to win, but you made two three-pointers, plus you missed the game-winning shot. You were given a chance but you couldn't use it, so there was nothing you could do.

After winning the Chicago All-Star MVP award, Gan Guoyang told Jordan, "Michael, luck is still on my side. See you in the Finals."

In the 1988 All-Star Game, Jordan missed a game-winning shot at the last moment. Michael has always said that it was the most regrettable game-winning shot he missed in his career, even though it was just an All-Star Game.

"If that shot had gone in, history might have been changed. Sometimes, fate is decided by just one shot."

—Excerpt from "Michael Jordan: The Life," a biography of Michael Jordan written by Roland Lazambi, published in 2016.

(End of this chapter)