The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 672 The Windbreaker

After discussing it, Gan Guoyang named his daughter Gan Wenyi, which means "sweet as honey," hoping that his daughter's future life would be as sweet as honey.

Before Gan Wenshan was born, Gan Guoyang's feeling of loving and caring for his child after becoming a father was not particularly strong. After all, Gan Wenshan was his son, and he had high expectations for his son, hoping that he would achieve great things in the future.

When Gan Wenshan was able to crawl, Gan Guoyang intentionally observed his son's gross motor skills to see if he had inherited his own genes for a body of steel.

Gan Wenshan can now walk and is a healthy and strong little boy. If he can inherit some of his father's athletic talent, he may become an outstanding athlete in the future.

As for whether it's basketball, football, or another sport, Gan Guoyang doesn't care. He doesn't even really want Gan Wenshan to follow the path of basketball. If Gan Wenshan also plays basketball, he is almost destined to live in his father's shadow forever.

Instead of doing that, why not open up new tracks, go to new places, and create your own world?

Gan Guoyang's expectations for his daughter were completely different. When he hugged her, he had only one thought in his mind: he hoped that she would live a healthy and happy life.

He finally understood what kind of feelings Gan Youwei had for him, and what kind of feelings parents who deeply love their children have when they treat their children.

These are things he could hardly understand in the past, and they are also the things he is most grateful for after coming to this time and space: not his extraordinary basketball career, but the warmth of family.

With the birth of the new member, Gan Youwei left San Francisco and came to Portland, where he chose a small room in Gan Guoyang's huge villa to live in, cooking and serving his daughter-in-law every day.

Gan Guoyang reserved a comfortable large room for Gan Youwei, but Gan Youwei refused to stay there. He insisted on living in the cramped attic and sleeping on a narrow wooden bed.

He said he was used to sleeping in such a room and on such a bed, and that he would not be able to sleep all night if he slept in a big room with a comfortable Simmons mattress.

Gan Guoyang was helpless; he knew Gan Youwei's stubbornness.

He himself also insisted on feeding and changing his child's diapers at night, then participating in training during the day while still sleepy, and playing matches at night.

During the days when I was away from Portland playing away games, I would call home every day to ask how things were going at home.

The birth of his daughter gave Gan Guoyang even more motivation to play ball, and all his fatigue and weariness disappeared at that moment.

The victory over the Phoenix Suns became a turning point. Charles Barkley sent Forrest a large bouquet of flowers and a small gift after the game that night to congratulate him on the birth of his daughter.

“Dear Sonny,

For your daughter's sake,

Be a decent human being.

—Charles Barkley

This is a message that Barkley left for Gan Guoyang in the gift box.

Barkley has always been the greatest poet in the NBA.

Gan Guoyang smiled and resolved to go easy on the Phoenix Suns next time they faced them, and not to go too far.

As for the other teams, they weren't so lucky. After having a daughter, Gan Guoyang's performance started to improve again, as if he had returned to the beginning of the season.

On February 20th, the Trail Blazers will host the Los Angeles Clippers.

After several seasons of poor performance, the Clippers welcomed new head coach Mike Schuler in the 1990-1991 season.

Schuler worked for the Bucks for a period of time before joining the Clippers and improving the team's defense. In the 91 season, the Clippers won 31 games and got back on track.

In the 1991-1992 season, the Clippers built a roster with Ron Harper, Danny Manning, Doc Rivers, Charles Smith, and Haitian center Alden Polynes as its core.

This roster is highly competitive in the Western Conference, both offensively and defensively. Schuler, with his meticulous coaching style, led the Clippers to the playoffs.

However, Clippers owner Donald Sterling remains unchanged; he is still extremely impatient, causing the entire Clippers team to be in a state of constant agitation.

Before the All-Star break, the Clippers fired Schuler, the coach who helped the team recover from its setbacks, and replaced him with assistant coach Mike Calvin.

Mike Calvin was only a temporary replacement; after coaching one game, the Clippers had a new coach: Larry Brown.

Brown was fired by the Spurs in January. The direct reason for his departure from the Spurs was the same as Schuler's: the players did not obey his management, and the conflict between the coach and the players was irreconcilable.

The difference is that Larry Brown is genuinely awful; he's notoriously harsh on players among coaches.

Mike Schuler, on the other hand, was more neurotic and too stressed about his basketball job, which made it difficult for him to build good relationships with players.

As the 90s approached, the players' salaries increased, their fame grew, they received more and more endorsements, and their tempers also became increasingly volatile.

Authoritarian coaches have less and less room to survive in the NBA, and star players prefer motivational coaches and nanny coaches.

They can connect with players, understand their needs, especially star players, and guarantee their playing time and performance – which is crucial for contracts.

Over the past 10 years, the Los Angeles Clippers have changed coaches eight times, with each coach's tenure averaging less than two years.

Two years is not enough time for a team to undergo significant changes. Even a coach who leads the team to the finals and wins the championship in his first year in office must have had a coach or manager who has worked hard for many years and laid a solid foundation for the team before he can truly achieve a breakthrough.

The Clippers' frequent coaching changes are clearly driven by short-sightedness, and the team's atmosphere and culture have been corrupted by owner Donald Sterling.

However, Larry Brown's arrival put the Los Angeles Clippers on edge for a short time. They performed exceptionally well after the All-Star break, briefly climbing to seventh place in the Western Conference.

Brown has always been good at maximizing a player's potential, and the current Clippers team does indeed have a roster with potential.

Playing on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers, Brown and the Clippers are looking to gain an advantage and solidify their playoff position.

Earlier in the season, the Clippers defeated the Trail Blazers here. After Agan joined the Trail Blazers, the Clippers, a weaker team, defeated the Trail Blazers quite a few times.

Whenever the Trail Blazers are in a bad mood, they often encounter the Clippers and suffer a shocking defeat. This has happened more than once or twice.

Therefore, the Clippers even have a psychological advantage over the Trail Blazers. Donald Sterling even thought that if they fell to the eighth seed in the playoffs and faced the Trail Blazers, they might be able to create a miracle and cause the Trail Blazers a lot of trouble.

However, in tonight's game, Gan Guoyang, who just had a daughter, single-handedly shattered the illusions of Sterling and the Clippers.

Playing at home, he scored 48 points, along with 22 rebounds and 4 blocks, shooting 17-for-22 from the field and 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. The Trail Blazers easily defeated the Clippers 121-105, a 16-point advantage.

When your center can perform like this in a game, the opponent will be powerless and the teammates will have an easy time.

Larry Brown was screaming on the sidelines as always. In the past, Gan Guoyang would definitely have trash-talked Larry Brown.

But Gan Guoyang, who now has a daughter, just smiled at Brown and said, "The louder they yell, the more fun it is to beat them."

In the end, Brown completely shut up; his cries were useless. It was a utter and utter defeat, the game proceeding smoothly and without suspense. As Larry Brown left the court in dejection, lashing out at the players, Jerry West, watching from the sidelines, reminded his good friend Baylor, "Larry Brown's days with the Clippers won't last much longer, will they?"

Baylor did not give a direct answer, but judging from Brown's attitude, it seems that the harmonious relationship between him and the players will not last long.

Two consecutive big wins have restored the Trail Blazers' confidence and helped Gan Guoyang find his rhythm in the game.

Unlike the endless singles of 1987, Gan Guoyang had more tricks up his sleeve in 1992 and a stronger sense of control over the overall game.

He was as omnipresent as ever, but even more subtle and pervasive than he was in 1987.

During his era of endless one-on-one play, he was simply the most dazzling star on the court. He would hold the ball in the low post while four other players spread out, and all the spotlights would be on him.

With his superb and ferocious low-post skills and seemingly endless stamina, he proved to the league and fans that he could single-handedly destroy his opponents.

This season, for various reasons, Gan Guoyang's ball-handling usage rate is not much lower than in 1987, but from the perspective of watching the game, this guy's transparency has increased.

He often hides within the Princeton system, making numerous passes, running, and tactical plays, serving as both the initiator and the finisher.

The Trail Blazers' half-court offense was as pleasing to the eye as ever, but after a game, it felt like Forrest Gump didn't have any particularly memorable or beautiful shots.

But when you look at the stats after the game, it's often a terrifying 30 or 40 points, plus around 20 rebounds.

He has been subtly evolving from the previous stage of "a heavy sword without an edge, great skill without artifice" towards the stage of "every plant and tree can be a sword".

While each move may seem unremarkable, made entirely of plants, it can actually inflict continuous damage on the opponent and lead to victory.

In fact, Gan Guoyang himself could also sense that he was progressing to a higher level in basketball skills.

Before 1988, Gan Guoyang improved his technique every year, progressing from high school to university, from rookie to champion.

Making progress step by step gives him a sense of security, and each improvement brings him joy.

After 1988, he improved his playing style every year and his passing became better and better, but there was not much real progress.

Whether it's three-pointers, mid-range shots, hook shots, turnaround shots, blocks, rebounding skills, low-post defense, etc., he is proficient in all aspects.

He has honed many of his skills, including dribbling and offensive techniques, to an excellent degree, and is able to use them in games.

The extensive training and learning are primarily aimed at maintaining form or making minor adjustments to adapt to the new NBA playing environment.

Real progress, going from 0 to 1, is unlikely to happen to him anymore, after all, human beings have limits.

His three-point shooting percentage has reached its limit no matter how much he practices; there's no possibility of any major breakthroughs.

Some techniques, such as the hook shot, are being used less and less due to changes in the court environment and the pace of the game, and are being phased out—Gan Guoyang is currently the center in the NBA with the most hook shot attempts.

Under such circumstances, persisting in high-intensity training year after year, month after month, day after day, is a tremendous test and torment for one's mental strength.

Because you rarely get spiritual rewards; what you face is endless sweat, exhaustion, and an empty road ahead.

There was no one in front of Gan Guoyang anymore; he could see no one's back. He no longer needed to chase after anyone. He was a pioneer in the history of the NBA.

Such a path is lonely, unbearably so, and difficult for ordinary people to endure. Even someone as strong-willed as Gan Guoyang would sometimes sit on the floor in a daze after training, asking himself if it was all worthwhile.

At this moment, he even envied Jordan and Barkley, because Jordan and Barkley had goals and wanted to catch up with him, so they were motivated and happy on the court.

It wasn't until his daughter was born that he suddenly felt that there was a small light in the darkness ahead on his path forward.

This lamp wasn't the goal he was chasing, but it illuminated his path, making him feel less lonely and isolated.

At the same time, more than a decade of arduous training and the accumulation of a lot of sweat have gradually reached the point where quantitative change leads to qualitative change.

Gan Guoyang vaguely sensed that he was standing at the threshold of a completely new realm in terms of basketball skills and game experience.

Although Gan Guoyang dominated the league and made history, overall he was the culmination of past center styles.

Russell's defense, Chamberlain's offense, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's consistency, Moses Malone's ferocity, Bill Walton's intelligence, and Thurmond's durability can all be found in Gan Guoyang.

But what lies beyond them? What transcends these collections? What are the unexplored territories? These are questions that Gan Guoyang must painstakingly explore in the darkness.

Besides the spiritual enlightenment he gained from the birth of his daughter, there were two other people who had been subtly influencing him: Sabonis and Petrovich.

Although Gan Guoyang is Chinese, he is essentially a product of American basketball, a thoroughly American basketball hero who reached his peak in 1987.

Sabonis and Petrovic were the cream of European basketball, one inside and one outside, and were truly remarkable basketball talents.

Even though Gan Guoyang's brilliance is so dazzling, their brilliance in Portland has not been completely overshadowed. Instead, they have continued to shine and play an important role.

When they first arrived at the Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang mentored and influenced them. By 1992, their third season, they had begun to subtly give back to Gan Guoyang.

European basketball's more team-oriented mindset and subtle style, coupled with the Princeton system, have been quietly influencing Gan Guoyang, allowing him to absorb new things.

Another breakthrough and evolution for Gan Guoyang is just around the corner.

On February 26th, the Trail Blazers will play against the Chicago Bulls on the road.

This is the second game between the two teams this season, and the 14th regular season showdown between Gan and Joe.

Except for the 1985-1986 season when Jordan was sidelined with an injury, preventing Gan Guoyang and Jordan from meeting, the two faced off twice in each of the other seven seasons.

Unlike the purely exciting and intense matches before, the Bulls and Trail Blazers' clash became more symbolic after their Finals series; it was a preliminary battle, a probing battle.

After losing their early-season matchup, the Bulls went on a winning streak throughout the season, and by the end of the season, their record was quite impressive: 47 wins and 10 losses.

The early-season loss to the Trail Blazers left the Bulls deeply dissatisfied and dealt a significant blow to their morale. Back at home, Jordan and the Bulls were determined to fight for victory and win the game.

But to the surprise of Chicago fans, tonight once again became Gan Guoyang's career night:

With a triple-double of 38 points, 21 rebounds, and 15 assists, the Trail Blazers, riding high on their morale, once again crushed Chicago!

After winning the game, a photo of Gan Guoyang raising his fist in the Chicago stadium became the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1992.

Caption: Who can stop Sonny Gan? Nobody can.

(End of this chapter)