The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 546 Dictator

The Trail Blazers' winning streak continues, while Sabonis was suspended and fined after the game for his headbutt.

The league imposed a severe punishment: a two-game suspension and a $10,000 fine, much heavier than the punishment Gan Guoyang received for fighting.

David Stern personally announced the news and later called Jerry West to criticize the Trail Blazers for too much violence during the game.

Gan Guoyang had Larry Fleischer personally plead with David Stern back then, but now that Fleischer has passed away, no one in the NBA circle can surpass David Stern in prestige and power.

After the 1988-1989 season, David Stern's contract expired, and there were rumors that the NFL wanted to poach him to be its commissioner.

League owners immediately offered David Stern a five-year, $27.5 million contract extension, including a $10 million signing bonus.

This contract was higher than the annual salary of all the NBA superstars at the time, which is enough to illustrate David Stern's status and the significant contributions he has made to the league in recent years.

Correspondingly, Stern became increasingly domineering. If he was dissatisfied with a team, he would call them to reprimand them or even threaten them.

For example, Frank Lyden, the Jazz's former head coach and current general manager, frequently complained about refereeing issues in the media, which greatly annoyed Stern.

So he called the Jazz owner directly and told him to warn Frank Lydon to express his dissatisfaction through appropriate channels instead of complaining publicly.

"If you can't manage your players and coaches and make them understand how we do business in this league, I'll fine you until you're dirt clean and take back all the money you've made!"

When Stern first took office, he was determined to solve the problem of violence on the court. However, other problems were more serious at the time, especially the issue of banned substances, which caused Stern and league officials a lot of headaches.

After several years of vigorous crackdown, including making an example of several players by imposing lifetime bans, and cooperation with the FBI, the problem of players using banned substances has been greatly alleviated.

The solution to the doping problem also benefits from the continuous rise in players' income, making basketball an increasingly attractive career choice. With more and more stakeholders involved, players are becoming more cautious in their words and actions.

The early reinstatement of two Rockets players who were banned for life this season signifies a partial victory in the league's war on drugs.

The days when a large portion of a team would use cocaine, even smoking in the locker room, are finally over.

Now, Stern can finally address the issue of violence on the court.

There are two teams in the East and West that are representative of violence: the Detroit Pistons and the Portland Trail Blazers.

Unfortunately, these two teams are among the most successful in recent years, so Stern has a real headache. He has to strike a balance between ratings, stadium rules, and media opinion.

With Sabonis's headbutt on Patrick Ewing, Stern was definitely going to give the Soviet giant a good talking-to.

"The Trail Blazers are an excellent team, and you're a fantastic organizer. Your viewership is a major force in the league. I don't want to see this kind of violence on broadcast all the time. The NBA isn't the NHL, nor is it kickboxing. We need to attract more middle-class families, and we need to cultivate a lot of children and teenagers as fans. Violence is not allowed! Jerry, please understand this. You're a rational person, and I believe you'll handle this issue! Otherwise, I think you'll regret jumping ship from the Lakers to the Trail Blazers."

In a phone call to Jerry West, David Stern openly threatened West, and West, not daring to say anything, could only agree.

After hanging up the phone, West cursed a few times, calling him a "Jewish dwarf" and a "deli maker," expressing his dissatisfaction with David Stern's tyranny, yet feeling helpless.

That's the current state of the league. The once amiable David with the mustache has transformed into an iron-fisted dictator.

In the afternoon, West took some time to find Sabonis and asked him to come to his office for a talk.

Sabonis was upset when he learned of the league's decision to punish him and apologized to Jerry West, saying he had acted too impulsively.

West waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. It's normal to fight on the court. Nobody can stand it. People who have never been in a fight probably haven't played basketball properly either."

After comforting Sabonis, West changed the subject: "From now on, you need to control yourself. If you have emotions, you need to be smarter and use reasonable methods to vent them, instead of hurting your opponent or even yourself."

Sabonis nodded, but hesitated to speak.

West knew what Sabonis was trying to say and said, "You mean Forrest Gump? You should have heard the saying, 'A center is a center, and Forrest Gump is Forrest Gump.' Forrest Gump is different from everyone else. Don't compare yourself to him. You have your own path. In some ways, Forrest Gump isn't a good role model. Don't learn from him."

Sabonis nodded again; he understood what West meant.

Gan Guoyang is indeed different; he holds a special position in American basketball and even in American society as a whole.

Although he is Chinese by nationality, he is a true American player in terms of basketball lineage. He has an illustrious high school and college basketball career, and his basketball success is closely intertwined with the development of American basketball.

American basketball stars often mention their college basketball experiences or major basketball events during their formative years when writing their autobiographies.

In terms of status, college basketball surpasses professional basketball, and each era has its representative matchups.

In the 50s, West vs. Oscar Robertson; in the 60s, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar vs. Hayes; in the 70s, Magic Johnson vs. Larry Bird; in the 80s, Forrest Gump vs. Hakeem Olajuwon, and so on.

Gan Guoyang is a significant figure in the history of American college basketball, and future sports columnists will undoubtedly dedicate a large section to him when compiling histories of American basketball.

And Sabonis? He's a talented player from a rival country to the United States. He's very good and will become a basketball icon in Portland, playing an important role.

But he could never become an iconic figure in American basketball like Forrest Gump, and naturally he wouldn't have many privileges.

Forrest Gump's fighting is a guarantee of high ratings, a catalyst for high ratings; other people's fighting is just ratings poison.

This is the most direct difference, not to mention how many advertising sponsors and political and economic groups are associated with Forrest Gump.

After Sabonis was penalized, Gan Guoyang spoke out in his defense.

He felt guilty, believing that he had instigated Sabonis to commit the act during the match.

So he paid Sabonis's fine for him and then called David Stern to ask him why the penalty was so severe.

David Stern patiently explained for a long time before finally giving Gan Guoyang a relatively satisfactory explanation.

In the phone call, Stern promised to treat all Detroit Pistons players equally and crack down on their on-court violence.

Stern wasn't just talking; from this point on, discussions about "flagship fouls" were officially put on the agenda by the league office.

Stern's attitude towards Gan Guoyang was certainly different. Gan is now an iconic figure in the NBA, a super billboard for the NBA's globalization, and a guarantee of high viewership.

When George W. Bush gave his presidential campaign speech in Oregon, he would say he was a Forrest Gump fan to win favor.

Gan Guoyang inherited part of Larry Fleischer's political legacy and is the vice president of the league's players' union, wielding considerable influence.

Sabonis's minor headbutt incident ultimately didn't cause much of a stir. Instead, it gave Sabonis some time to rest and recuperate, allowing him to heal his fragile ankles and knees.

The Trail Blazers continued their undefeated streak in the following games, sweeping the Phoenix Suns at home and away, defeating the Seattle SuperSonics, easily taking down the New Jersey Nets, and then defeating the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers, achieving a 12-game winning streak to start the season. This is the best start in the history of the Portland Trail Blazers and the longest winning streak at the start of a season in franchise history.

This is partly because the Trail Blazers have gelled well, and their bench has been significantly strengthened in addition to their original starting lineup.

On the other hand, it is also related to the schedule. The team played 11 home games in the first 15 games, and the players were very comfortable.

Throughout November, he only had one three-game road trip in Texas and a trip to familiar Phoenix, after which he stayed in Portland waiting for his opponent to challenge him.

With the Trail Blazers having plenty of rest and facing relatively weak opponents, this easy schedule naturally allowed the team to dominate the standings.

The Trail Blazers' winning streak came to an end on November 26th, with a narrow 4-point defeat to the visiting Detroit Pistons, losing 104-100.

David Stern personally attended the game to prevent any violent incidents from occurring.

The Pistons were in better form, while the Trail Blazers, after a winning streak, finally felt mentally exhausted, and the whole team performed poorly.

Given the Pistons' formidable strength, their winning streak was ultimately ended, and no violent clashes occurred between the two sides, which Stern was very satisfied with.

But this is just the regular season, and both teams are clearly holding back, especially the Trail Blazers. If it goes to the Finals, things could get very different.

These two teams are undoubtedly the most likely to reach the finals this season.

Stern's heart was still heavy with anxiety.

(End of this chapter)