The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 667 Challenger

As we approached 1992, at the end of 1991, a superpower had perished.

The highly symbolic red flag was slowly lowered from the Kremlin, marking the end of a social experiment after 69 years.

The rapid collapse of the Soviet Union caught even its biggest rival, the United States, off guard.

The NBA Christmas Day game paled in comparison to this momentous international event, and President Bush quickly delivered a nationally televised address, explaining to the American people the big news they had just seen on the news.

He viewed this event as a victory for the United States in its fight against another bloc over more than 40 years, declaring the Cold War officially over and celebrating the culmination of American values ​​and ideals.

A few weeks later, Bush declared in his State of the Union address, "We won because of God's blessing."

He also declared that a new world order was about to be born, with the United States becoming the sole superpower.

As for the fragmented Soviet Union, this enormous corpse will become a grand feast to be devoured by various forces.

Just like when an NBA super team suddenly collapses, other strong teams will benefit from it to some extent, and may even rise to prominence overnight.

For example, if the Portland Trail Blazers suddenly split up internally, Gan Guoyang decides to leave, and the Blazers undergo a complete rebuild, the landscape of the league will definitely change drastically.

Any team that acquires Forrest Gump will instantly become a top team in the league, allowing them to build a roster and contend for the championship.

Other key players such as Sabonis, Lewis, and Porter will also be distributed to other strong teams, enhancing their strength.

As for the Trail Blazers, they fell apart and had to start all over again, and they may never see another Forrest Gump.

Fortunately, the Trail Blazers are very united, and Gan Guoyang has no intention of leaving.

Despite numerous injuries within the team, things are improving recently, and Gan Guoyang is enjoying his best offensive season since 1987.

His scoring average has returned to over 30 points per game, and by the end of December, he was averaging 33.5 points, 17.9 rebounds, and 3.7 blocks.

His two-point field goal percentage reached a record high of 66%, which is quite terrifying for a center.

However, the Player of the Month award for December was ultimately given to Celtics guard Jeff Hornacek.

After Larry Bird's retirement, Hornacek took on more offensive and playmaking responsibilities. This unassuming white guard averaged 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game in December, helping the Celtics secure a playoff spot with his all-around performance.

Hornacek's all-around performance surprised the Boston media, who increasingly felt that trading Reggie Lewis for Hornacek and Divac was the right choice.

These two intelligent white players have filled the void left by Bird's departure quite well in terms of their abilities. Both of their stats have improved this season, and the Celtics' record has not declined significantly.

Reggie Lewis plays more of a role player for the Trail Blazers. With Forrest Gump shining so brightly, Lewis's presence on offense is not very noticeable.

Furthermore, Lewis is not good at three-pointers, which makes him somewhat detached from the Trail Blazers' offensive system. His main tasks are defense, and he also performs some one-on-one tasks on the perimeter and fast break tasks, nothing more.

After all, the Trail Blazers have a lot of talented players, and many of them can attack from the outside with the ball, so Lewis doesn't stand out as much.

However, Jerry West, who spearheaded the deal, maintained that it was a good deal, with both sides getting what they wanted.

The Celtics need to complete the transition between generations, while the Trail Blazers need to find a talented perimeter player who can go one-on-one with Jordan and Pippen.

As 1992 approached, Reggie Lewis's performance in the game steadily improved, and he began to deliver some amazing performances.

With Sabonis back from injury, Bobby Berman is in no hurry to put him in the starting lineup to avoid disrupting the current good chemistry.

Sabonis gradually regained playing time starting from the bench, while Lewis took advantage of the opportunities in November and December to become the team's second-highest scorer, averaging 20 points per game.

Lewis has always had the ability, and he will definitely not hesitate to seize the opportunity.

Especially after Lewis only scored 11 points in the game against the Bulls on November 29, he told his teammates in the locker room, "I will definitely score 30 points in the next game."

Sure enough, in the next game against the Spurs, Lewis scored 31 points, helping the Trail Blazers defeat their opponents and get off to a good start in December.

By this time, Reggie's mother had successfully escaped the abyss of drugs. She had converted to Christianity and moved her family to Portland, hoping to be closer to her son.

On the family front, Reggie Lewis's wife became pregnant in late November or early December, with the baby expected to be born in August.

The arrival of the new life gave Lewis tremendous strength, making his performance on the court increasingly outstanding, and he already has the potential to surpass Sabonis and become the Trail Blazers' number two player.

Of course, within the Trail Blazers, nobody cares about the so-called "number two" title.

Anyone can be number two, as long as you perform well enough tonight.

Veterans like Porter and Cox stepped up to become Forrest Gump's best support.

They are trying to learn from last season's lessons in case Gan Guoyang is targeted in every way, and the others don't know how to play.

Berman demanded that everyone step up and become the temporary focal point on the field, and they all had that ability.

Petrovic's condition gradually improved as the situation in Croatia became clearer, and his mental state stabilized.

By the second half of December, the Croatian army had made progress, recapturing approximately 1140 square kilometers of land at the cost of more than 10,000 deaths, more than 100,000 displaced persons, and the destruction of tens of thousands of homes.

Iceland then became the first country to recognize Croatia's independence, and subsequently, more and more countries recognized Croatia.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia began to struggle alone, and the Yugoslav army gradually withdrew from Croatia, finally putting Petrovich's mind at ease.

On January 17, in the Trail Blazers' game against the Detroit Pistons, Petrovic came off the bench and played 31 minutes, scoring a season-high 40 points.

He went on a rampage that night, with his Trail Blazers teammates providing him with ammunition, and the Pistons' once invincible, savage defense crumbled like paper.

Isaiah Thomas has recovered from the elbow injury suffered by Karl Malone, but his overall performance and mental state are no longer what they used to be.

Currently, the best performing and most active player on the Pistons is Dennis Rodman, whose average rebounds this season have reached an astonishing 17.6, ranking second in the rebounding list, only 0.3 rebounds behind Gan Guoyang.

Gan Guoyang's position as the king of rebounds is facing a serious challenge.

Gan Guoyang's average of 17.9 rebounds per game is already quite impressive, surpassing his rookie season record of 17.6 rebounds.

However, Gan Guoyang also has to take on a lot of other tasks on both the offensive and defensive ends, while Dennis Rodman can focus on defense and rebounding.

Furthermore, as the season progressed and Sabonis returned from injury, Gan Guoyang's rebounding numbers decreased.

In November, he repeatedly grabbed 20 rebounds in a single game, and even had an amazing 31 rebounds in one game, bringing his average rebounds per game close to 20.

In December, Gan Guoyang's rebounding numbers began to decline, and by January, his teammates had recovered, causing Gan Guoyang's numbers to drop further.

Rodman, on the other hand, had an excellent rebounding performance in November, which turned into something amazing in December. He grabbed 20 rebounds in three consecutive games, including 25 rebounds in an away game against Portland on December 13.

His 20 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds posed a direct challenge to Gan Guoyang, proving his rebounding prowess.

In 11 consecutive games in December, he had more than 20 rebounds in 8 games, which brought his average rebounds closer to Gan Guoyang's.

On January 17, in the Trail Blazers' away game against the Detroit Pistons, Petrovic had a scoring outburst, scoring 40 points.

Gan Guoyang focused on grabbing rebounds from Rodman, wanting to show Rodman what it would be like if he focused on competing for rebounds with him.

The outcome was obvious: under Gan Guoyang's all-out defense, Rodman only managed 11 rebounds throughout the game, including 3 offensive rebounds and 8 defensive rebounds.

Gan Guoyang grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and 17 defensive rebounds, for a total of 28 rebounds. All of his offensive rebounds were passed out to Petrovic, and he did not have any second-chance opportunities.

This was a clear message to Rodman: I'm here tonight to showcase my rebounding ability, not to score points.

This competition did not make the game trivial; on the contrary, it made the game incredibly intense and full of highlights.

Rodman, as always, was defiant towards Forrest Gump, constantly pushing, provoking, and engaging in aggressive physical confrontations during the game—though to little avail.

Gan Guoyang did his best, showcasing his greatness on the defensive end—21 points, 28 rebounds, 8 blocks, and 4 steals.

When his teammates are able to score, he doesn't mind giving up some of his shot attempts, but the defense is an area where he can never relax or give up; he can always give it his all.

The Trail Blazers won. The Pistons are truly old. They've lost their edge and are just relying on past momentum to keep going. No matter which direction they choose, their overall trajectory is downward, constantly falling, and they can no longer go up.

Bill Laimbeer played like a college student, Rick Mahorn left the Pistons, and Turpin's dark side diminished. He circled back to the Pistons after a short time, and the wisdom in his eyes seemed to be increasing.

Thomas had a grim face throughout the game, and he didn't smile, greet Gan Guoyang, or even say any trash talk.

He hated Stockton, he hated Malone, he hated Jordan, and of course he hated Forrest Gump even more. As the Sports Illustrated article said, that elbow in the 1990 Finals shattered the halo around Thomas, and from then on, the smile on the face of this "Smiling Assassin" was never sincere or radiant again.

In fact, from the perspective of his career, Thomas has no regrets.

Three finals and one championship are enough for him to reminisce about when he gets old.

Players as strong as Dr. J (Irving), Moses Malone, Jerry West, and Rick Barry only have one championship ring.

His performance with the Detroit Pistons in the late 80s and early 90s is destined to be remembered in history.

However, Thomas lost to Stockton in the selection process for the 1992 Olympic team, which dealt him a heavy blow.

He had already heard the rumors that Forrest Gump, Jordan, and Stockton had conspired to force the organizing committee not to take him to Barcelona.

Thomas had been hoping his good friend Magic Johnson could help him out, but Johnson turned out to be in dire straits himself.

He contracted AIDS and had to retire from basketball. It's questionable whether he can even participate in the Olympics, let alone help Thomas.

Thomas grew increasingly resentful, and after losing by a large margin to the Trail Blazers in the game on the 17th, he left the court without uttering a word.

Back in the locker room for an interview, Dennis Rodman suddenly turned his criticism on Gan Guoyang, saying, "Gan is an anomaly in this league. Many people feel sympathy and curiosity towards him because of his skin color. When he first entered the league in his rookie season, everyone said, 'It's amazing that an Asian can play in the NBA.' In fact, everyone was lenient with him. In his first game against the Pistons, he tackled Laimbeer, which I think was very bad behavior."

"In the years that followed, how many people did he hurt? How many fights did he get into in Detroit? Yet he became the most popular guy, simply because he won the championship and had great stats. This is a distortion of our social values. Truly kind and hardworking people do not receive respect. A minority, relying on the halo of skin color, always has someone protecting them. This is the beginning of our society's decline."

Dennis Rodman's words caused a huge uproar, and when Isaiah Thomas was asked what he thought of Rodman's remarks, Thomas's response was, "We are a country with free speech."

Soon, some people suspected that Thomas was the real culprit who instructed Rodman to say such things, because Rodman usually wouldn't say so many targeted things.

Gan Guoyang had already left Detroit when he saw Rodman's remarks. He smiled dismissively and turned to the next page of the newspaper.

Of course, this does not mean that Gan Guoyang let Rodman and Thomas off the hook. In fact, in January, the media launched a major attack on the Pistons, Rodman and Thomas, thoroughly clearing up the negative impact of their brutal basketball in the 1980s.

Gan Guoyang's enormous influence and abundant resources in the media and political circles forced Thomas and Rodman to publish an apology and retract their racist remarks.

The Detroit Pistons declined completely from then on, and they were no longer seen on the championship stage in the 90s.

On March 4, 1992, I broke the Pistons' single-game rebounding record.

Back then, we were playing against the Indiana Pacers, and I bravely grabbed 34 rebounds.

Before anyone else could react, I had already figured out the trajectory of each ball.

At that time, I was competing with Forrest Gump for the season's rebounding title, and I broke Bob Lanier's rebounding record.

I was so proud of myself for breaking his record that I couldn't control myself and burst into tears.

After the race, a reporter asked me if breaking the record was the greatest achievement of my life. I replied, "No, that's not my greatest achievement. My greatest achievement is changing my destiny."

That statement was true then, and it remains true now.

Whenever something similar happens to me, I always think back to my birthplace and am amazed that I didn't end up as a criminal.

At times like these, memories flood back, which is one of the reasons why I'm so emotional.

In Detroit, I learned that basketball is a sacred and serious sport, and that players are all focused on playing their best and that everyone has their own role to play.

We were "bad boys," playing rough and head-on, but to those who understand basketball, there was beauty in it. Every night, we gave it our all, fighting like it was a life-or-death battle.

The NBA today is like an expanded version of the All-Star Game; players all want to dunk and show off, and want to see themselves on ESPN's nightly sports interviews.

Teams are also fueling this sentiment; go to any NBA arena and you'll see what's going on off the court.

Basketball seems to have been relegated to second place; the music, dance troupes, and stunt performances are breathtaking. During timeouts, someone dunks on a trampoline, someone dances like a gorilla—it's all a chaotic mess. All of this diminishes the value of the game.

In 1992, I encountered a lot of trouble. I tried hard to become the rebounding champion, but there was an annoying guy who kept blocking my way. Even 30 rebounds were not enough to surpass him.

Yes, Forrest Gump, I still hate him to this day, and everyone in Detroit hates him.

But I must also say that he was a true basketball player, an incredibly serious, dedicated, and great basketball player.

I'm serious, I'm not just saying this casually.

—Excerpt from Dennis Rodman's autobiography, "I Do My Own Way," published in 1999.

(End of this chapter)