The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 534 Watch with your elbow

The quality of "loyalty" does not apply to every player.

Most players and teams have an employment relationship. They sign contracts, play here today, play there tomorrow, just like changing jobs. There is no question of loyalty or dishonesty.

Only superstar players have an emotional connection with their teams that goes beyond mere employment; this connection is not essentially with the team, but with the local fans and the city.

This is what distinguishes competitive sports from ordinary jobs; it carries the hopes and emotions of many people. Otherwise, what gives you the right to represent this city?

For stars from the 70s and 80s, they would not easily leave their original team unless absolutely necessary or the team decided to stop cooperating.

Hakeem Olajuwon came to the United States from Nigeria, and the first city he visited was Houston. After entering the NBA, he played in Houston for almost ten years, and he has a deep affection for the city.

So even when the situation was difficult, and even when the Rockets' management often did some inexplicable things, Hakeem Olajuwon never thought of leaving or requesting a trade.

However, Gan Guoyang's words after the match were like a small seed that fell into the crack in Olajuwon's heart, a crack that Drexler had opened.

The seed may rot over time, but it may also take root and sprout under suitable temperature and humidity.

Of course, Gan Guoyang greatly appreciates the quality of loyalty, and the older he gets, the more he realizes its value.

Being loyal to one's feelings, family, country, nation, and beliefs can give a person tremendous strength.

However, "loyalty" in the NBA has never been pure, especially since teams often apply double standards, sometimes loyalty, sometimes business is business, and they flexibly apply the standards of loyalty according to the actual situation.

Therefore, what hurts the players is not loyalty, but the untrustworthy, incompetent team management and the fans who turn their backs on them.

As the NBA becomes increasingly commercialized, disputes between stars and teams are bound to increase. Players themselves need to manage the balance between emotions and money, and strike a good balance between loyalty and their future prospects.

If you have the ability, you can have your cake and eat it too; if you don't, you can't have it both ways, you'll always have to choose one.

Of course, if you lack the strength and thick skin, you can simply change the loyalty criteria.

After securing their third consecutive win, the Trail Blazers flew overnight from Houston to their next destination, San Antonio.

This road trip will take us through the Texas Triangle: Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas.

The second stop, San Antonio, received a lot of attention because the San Antonio Spurs finally welcomed their number one draft pick this year, the Admiral David Robinson, whom they had been waiting for for two years.

This game was not only Robinson's first match against Gan Guoyang, the league's top center, but also his second time facing Arvydas Sabonis on the court.

Both of them were huge challenges for Robinson.

Losing to the Soviet Union at the 1988 Olympics was a humiliating moment in the history of American basketball.

Although David Robinson performed better than Sabonis in the game, no one cared about the process; everyone only cared about the result.

The basketball powerhouse, Team USA, lost. You, David Robinson, are the core player of Team USA. You lost to Sabonis.

As for Forrest Gump, any center who has just entered the league will have to face his test, just like they all had to face Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's test back then.

Due to scheduling issues, the Trail Blazers are playing their fourth game, while this is only the Spurs' second.

Between the two games, the Spurs have ample time to prepare, allowing their head coach Larry Brown to thoroughly analyze how to deal with the Trail Blazers.

Last season, the Spurs had a dismal record of 21 wins and 61 losses, ranking last in the league.

Larry Brown's first season with the Spurs was unsuccessful, but that's not their fault.

Because the team's roster was so bad, Robinson was serving his mandatory military service, and there was no one else available.

In order to wait for Robinson, the Spurs have not brought in any good centers in the past two years. They don't even have a proper big man over 6 feet 9 inches in their starting lineup.

In the NBA during the 80s and 90s, a team couldn't function without a center, so a record of 21 wins is understandable.

The Spurs became a completely different team in the new season, with David Robinson reporting for duty and selecting the third overall pick, Elliott, in the draft.

During the offseason, the Spurs acquired Terry Cummins from the Bucks, centered around Alvin Robertson, to bolster their frontcourt.

In August, the Spurs traded Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for veteran Maurice Cheeks.

The Spurs underwent a complete transformation overnight, almost entirely changing their starting lineup, all for David Robinson.

Two years ago, knowing that Robinson would be serving two years of military service, the Spurs not only used their precious number one draft pick to select him, but also invited Robinson and his family to visit San Antonio.

Because Robinson was hesitant about whether to play in the NBA, he could continue serving in the Navy.

The Spurs spent $16000 to charter a private plane to pick him and his family up, and a large number of fans went to the airport to welcome Robinson.

The family was taken to the city’s best hotel, where they stayed in a presidential suite with a fireplace and enjoyed the finest dinners.

The next day, the mayor of San Antonio and the Spurs owner took them on a helicopter tour to overlook the entire city, to the most famous country club for lunch and golf, and also on a boat tour of the famous San Antonio River. It was a truly generous gesture.

Finally, moved by this sincerity, Robinson agreed to sign. The Spurs held a grand signing ceremony for David Robinson at their home arena.

The contract was worth $26 million over eight years, with a $2 million signing bonus, setting a record in the NBA at the time.

After signing the contract, Robinson returned to Jacksonville, Florida to serve in the military, and Spurs fans began to wait.

For a team like this, the players undoubtedly deserve to invest their emotions.

Four days ago, in the Spurs' season opener, the Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers at home.

David Robinson proved to Santoho fans that their two-year wait was worthwhile and that the team's efforts had paid off with a performance of 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Tonight, San Antonio fans are eagerly anticipating David Robinson's potential to dethrone Forrest Gump's reign of terror in the West as he faces the Trail Blazers.

At 7 p.m., both sides were ready to go at the San Antonio Convention Center Arena.

During the pre-match warm-up, Gan Guoyang was chatting and laughing with David Robinson.

The two had known each other for a long time, and the opportunity arose during the labor negotiations of the 1987-1988 season.

At the time, in an effort to force the owners to concede, the players' union had some players file an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA.

David Robinson, the number one overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, was still serving in the Navy and had never played a game for the Spurs. However, he stepped forward and became one of the players' representatives to file a lawsuit with the court.

Gan Guoyang later served as vice president of the players' union and had frequent contact with David Robinson, exchanging views on litigation and union matters.

They ate together at the 1988 Olympics. After the semi-final, Gan Guoyang comforted Robinson, saying that he would challenge Sabonis to a one-on-one match to avenge him.

When Larry Fleischer passed away, David Robinson attended the memorial service and provided significant support to Gan Guoyang.

In 1989, Robinson finally entered the league, and he was a little nervous about the upcoming showdown between the two.

He knew Gan Guoyang's strength, having watched many of Gan Guoyang's match videos. Gan Guoyang's bravery and cunning were well-known.

Robinson was mentally prepared to be thrashed by Gan Guoyang in the first game.

Gan Guoyang, however, didn't really want to compete with Robinson, whose personality was completely different from Olajuwon's.

Hakeem Olajuwon was fierce and ruthless, with a strong and unwavering belief in basketball. His first confrontation with Gan Guoyang in the NBA was a fierce and exciting battle.

Robinson was different; his life story was not like that of a Black person, but rather more like that of a white elite.

He excelled academically from a young age and was very intelligent, gaining admission to the Naval Academy with high exam scores.

During his sophomore year, he had the opportunity to transfer to another prestigious basketball school, which would allow him to avoid the Navy's service requirements and enter the NBA sooner.

But after struggling, he announced to the public that he would not leave the Naval Academy, but would stay, even if it meant serving five years of military service after graduation.

His decision was widely praised in American society; he disregarded fame and fortune, remained loyal to his beliefs, and was willing to serve his country.

His excellent character was one of the reasons he made this decision, and another reason was that David Robinson didn't like basketball that much.

Robinson has a wide range of interests, and basketball is just one of them. However, his exceptional height and athleticism led him to a professional basketball career.

During high school and college, he disliked training, finding it too strenuous, and preferred to play the piano.

When deciding to stay at the Naval Academy, he said, "My life would be great even without basketball."

Therefore, when Gan Guoyang and Robinson met privately, they never talked about basketball; they talked more about music and history.

Gan Guoyang did not have a strong desire to conquer such an opponent; he could not ignite the deepest divinity within Gan Guoyang.

The two chatted and laughed during warm-up, with Gan Guoyang, as a senior, sharing some experience on how to survive in the league with Robinson.

Suddenly someone shouted, "David! David! Come here!"

The two turned around and saw that it was Larry Brown, the head coach of the Spurs, who waved to Robinson with a cold expression.

Robinson jogged over to ask the head coach what was wrong, and Brown said, "The game is about to start, don't talk to Forrest, that guy is a master at manipulating people."

"But we just..."

"You are the core of the team. You need to have the fighting spirit to kill the opponent, not to joke around with Forrest Gump!"

Brown said sternly. Robinson said nothing more, gave Gan Guoyang a wink, and ran to his own basket.

Gan Guoyang guessed what had happened and thought to himself, "You're really meddling in other people's business. We'll see what happens during the competition."

(End of this chapter)