The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 679: Do it big
After the 1988 season, I was fired again. Nobody supported me, and the whole league seemed like a stranger to me.

I felt shocked and empty. I had led the team into the playoffs and was full of confidence, ready to go even further, but I was told that I was no longer the team's coach.

I was replaced by Trail Blazers assistant coach Adelman, who in fact didn't stay in the Warriors' coaching position for long before slinking back to Portland.

In short, I realized that being a basketball coach is a difficult way to make a living.

He has a lot of money, but lacks security and stability, and is often separated from his wife and children.

My self-esteem was deeply hurt; it seemed that no matter how much I did, I could never gain their trust.

For months, I was depressed and I called my former Spurs teammate, Koby Derrick.

"What should I do now?" I asked him.

“You’re a coach, and you can only be a coach. What else are you going to do?” Koby answered me.

"Back to the CBA?"

"I don't know George. You can only be a coach. In the CBA and the NBA, you're a coach."

Koby seemed to be saying some nonsense, but it was actually very useful.

Knowing who you are is an important principle.

Too many people and teams waste time trying to be who they are not.

I am a basketball coach, I have been, I am, and I will be in the future.

I've already proven myself in the NBA. Maybe this place isn't right for me anymore. I can find another place to continue coaching and start over.

In this new place, I will win the competition, improve myself, and become a better person.

I stopped the endless waiting and took the initiative to call and contact people about work.

In the following days, I met Phil Jackson, whose life trajectory was the opposite of mine.

I'm leaving the NBA, while Phil will be returning.

After coaching the Albany Patrol in the CBA for five years, Phil was hired as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls.

The patrol team boss called and asked me who I could recommend to replace Jackson.

I asked, "How am I?"

"What!?"

Gary Hawley was a little skeptical that I would do that.

First of all, the salary for coaching in the CBA is far less than that in the NBA; it's practically a pittance.

Secondly, a former NBA coach returning to the minor leagues? There's no precedent for this, and it's quite a disgrace.

But I did it anyway. I realized who I was, and I let go of pointless pride and dignity.

I am a basketball coach. I need to lead the team and work with everyone to win games and achieve victory.

If I refuse to do this or that in order to maintain my position as an NBA coach, I will eventually lose everything.

For someone like me who is often questioned, the patrol team and the CBA are absolutely perfect.

My NBA experience, combined with my confident coaching style, has made me a powerful coach, and here I'm rebuilding my confidence and dignity as a coach.

The team's home stadium is the Washington Avenue Armory, built in 1890. It can hold 3600 people and is made of red brick with a copper spire on the outside. Inside, it is dark, dirty, and crowded with people.

That's a building that resonates with me, I like it—the other one, of course, is the Ridfeld submarine.

After a year in Albany (where we achieved a record of 36 wins and 18 losses), I went to Madrid to coach Real Madrid.

The sudden death of Spanish basketball legend Fernando Espina caught us off guard, and after a sad and crazy season, I was fired.

In the 1990-91 season, I returned to the Patrol, a place that always opened its doors to me, where I experienced the final trials that fate had given me.

We achieved a record of 50 wins and 6 losses—the best record in professional basketball history.

Our winning percentage of 89.3% is higher than that of the Lakers, Bulls, and Portland Trail Blazers.

50-6.

How did they manage to do that? Of course, I, as the coach, deserve some credit.

Meanwhile, team manager Oliver deserves much credit.

We didn't do well in training camp, but Oliver found three very good players: Mario Elie, Vince Ask, and Albert King.

They will shine in the NBA in the future; they have proven themselves first under my guidance.

And through myself and the patrol team, I proved myself once again.

At the end of our season, both my former team, the Warriors, and Real Madrid called me to ask if I was interested in returning to coach.

Mike Dunleavy is doing well with the Warriors, but they need to go further, while Real Madrid is struggling.

My self-esteem and confidence were restored, and I decided to return to Madrid to save Real Madrid like I saved the patrolmen.

My coaching record this time is better than before, but my situation is getting worse and worse, and my relationship with the media is as bad as ever.

At one point I felt tired, very tired.

San Antonio, Niagara Falls, Cleveland, Oakland, Albany, Madrid, Albany, Madrid... I moved between eight different places in 11 years.

My family followed me everywhere, and the children never had a stable environment to grow up in.

On New Year's Eve in 1991, my family and I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the Spanish Building.

I told my daughter and son that I would quit my job after the season and we would move back to the United States.

I will try to find a college coaching job to stabilize our lives, recruit young students, and mentor them in the NCAA.

A few days later, Bulls general manager Jerry Krause called me to ask for my opinion on Toni Kukoc and Sam Powes.

At the time, he was looking for these two European players, and I gave him some advice, talked about my current situation, and told him that I was preparing to return to the United States.

Two weeks later, Bob Whitsett, the general manager of the Seattle SuperSonics, called me and asked if I was interested in replacing KC Jones as the SuperSonics' coach.

We talked a lot on the phone about the SuperSonics and their potential. I don't think the SuperSonics should be what they are now—back then they were 18-18, which was mediocre in the West, but their players were anything but mediocre.

Ten days later, Seattle fired KC, and Whitsett and I began to seriously consider working together. As I boarded the flight to Seattle, I realized that this should be my last chance in the NBA.

If I can't achieve some results, I will no longer be an NBA coach.

I passed the interview, but Whitsit called the coaches and general managers of other teams to find out what they thought of me.

As a result, only one colleague supported me—that person was the Trail Blazers' head coach Bobby Bellman; everyone else thought I was poison.

I really wanted this job, so I accepted a pay cut and a ridiculous short-term contract of only a year and a half.

I also agree not to drink in public, which is an insult to me, but I have to endure it.

I told Madrid: Goodbye.

I told Seattle: We will win the game by being the hardest-working and most intense style.

Suddenly, I had the most talented player I had ever coached.

Ricky Pierce is a versatile offensive player who truly understands the game. Glen Rice is an excellent shooter whose shot is always reliable.

Nate McMillan and Derrick McGee had a defensive madness.

Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp are potential All-Star players, and I know I can develop them.

Then there's Benoit Benjamin—he has the highest salary on the team, but he's always lazy, careless, and infuriating.

After I joined the SuperSonics, we went on to have a 27-15 record, which was a pleasant surprise for the fans and was enough to get us into the playoffs as the fifth seed.

Our opponent is the Golden State Warriors. It would be a lie to say there's no animosity, but four years have really made me indifferent. The important thing is to win the game and keep going.

The Warriors have two All-Star caliber players, Chris Mullin and Tim Hardaway, but we beat them with Shawn Kemp.

Shawn dominated that series with an average of 22 points and 16 rebounds, bringing our audience into the game with some of the most ferocious dunks I've ever seen.

In the fourth game, he dunked so hard that I felt the ball might embed itself in the floor, like a golf ball embedding itself in soft grass.

After defeating the Warriors, we faced our real test – the Portland Trail Blazers.

They kicked me out of the NBA in 1988, and now I'm back, facing them again.

And now I have to face Forrest Gump again.

—Excerpt from George Carr's autobiography, *Furious George*, published in 2017.

The following day, a state of emergency was declared in the Inglewood area, and the National Guard began entering the area to maintain order and quell the unrest.

As expected, the Great Western Forum was locked down, and the Clippers' home arena, the Los Angeles Coliseum, was also unable to host a game. The Clippers' game against the Utah Jazz was moved to Las Vegas.

The Trail Blazers' bus, under police protection, headed to the airport in the morning, boarded a chartered plane, and left Los Angeles to fly back to Portland, thus ending their first round of the playoffs in chaos.

Gan Guoyang has always had a deep affection for Los Angeles. It is his lucky place. From high school to college and then to the NBA, he won many important games, won many honors, and played many classic games here. He also met the most important person in his life.

As the plane took off and slowly ascended into the sky, thick smoke could still be seen drifting over the city through the window. It was unclear when this unprecedented riot would end.

The city's unrest did not disrupt the NBA playoffs, and the best-of-five series in the first round quickly came to a conclusion.

In the Western Conference, the Trail Blazers, Jazz, Suns, and SuperSonics have advanced to the semifinals.

In the Eastern Conference, the Bulls, Cavaliers, Knicks, and Heat advanced to the second round.

The semifinals will undoubtedly be much tougher than the first round, and sometimes even more intense than the regional finals.

The Trail Blazers' second-round opponent is the Seattle SuperSonics, who surprisingly defeated the Golden State Warriors, who had an excellent record this season, in the first round.

Last season, the SuperSonics were easily eliminated by the Trail Blazers in the first round. This season, the SuperSonics have taken a step forward and are once again in front of the Trail Blazers.

The SuperSonics have had an unstable internal situation this season, having changed three coaches.

KC Jones was fired by management after a 18-18 start to the season, due to his unpopularity with players—especially Gary Payton—and his failure to meet expectations.

After assistant coach Cloppenburg filled in for four games, the SuperSonics welcomed their new head coach, George Carr.

After leaving the Golden State Warriors, George Karl coached for many years in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and Europe, serving as the head coach of the Patrol and Real Madrid.

This coach, who didn't leave a good reputation in the NBA, achieved considerable success in the CBA and European basketball.

The arrogant George Karl regained the NBA's attention, and the SuperSonics management decided to give him a chance.

Karl showed some skill with both the Cavaliers and the Warriors, but ultimately, due to off-court factors and his own personality, he was unable to truly unleash his talent.

After a period of wandering and reflection, George Karl finally found a suitable roster and players in Seattle, giving him the opportunity to showcase his talents.

After taking over the SuperSonics, Karl led the team to an outstanding record of 27 wins and 15 losses, leading them to fifth place in the Western Conference and into the playoffs.

The first-round victory over the Warriors was Karl's proudest achievement, avenging his earlier defeat at the hands of the Warriors.

Unlike the unpredictable Trail Blazers vs. Lakers game, the Warriors vs. SuperSonics game was quite exciting and intense.

Under George Karl, the SuperSonics changed the old team style of KC Jones. Like Karl's personality, they were full of passion and aggressiveness in both defense and offense.

In the third game, during the crucial final moments, Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp completed an alley-oop, dunked the ball, and drew a foul from the Warriors, resulting in a free throw.

This goal helped the SuperSonics take the lead, and they eventually won Game 3 by one point, gaining a series lead. They then defeated the Warriors in Game 4, successfully pulling off an upset and advancing to the semifinals.

This victory is significant for both George Karl and the SuperSonics, but even more so because they will now face the Trail Blazers, the league's kings and the ultimate boss.

Karl the Madman isn't afraid to play against the Trail Blazers; he's the kind of guy who has nothing to lose and isn't afraid of those who have shoes on. He even tore into the Trail Blazers when he was with the Warriors.

Now, after years of dedicated development, the Trail Blazers have returned to the NBA, and they still stand at the top. Karl couldn't have been happier with this matchup.

Unlike his arrogance and attempts to undermine the Trail Blazers in 1988, George Karl has become much more composed after years of hardship and wandering.

Although he remains passionate, arrogant, and unlikable at heart, at least on the surface he has figured out how to temper his arrogance, calm down and focus on coaching the team to deal with strong opponents.

"I was surprised that before I left the NBA, the Portland Trail Blazers were on a three-peat. When I returned to the NBA, people told me, 'The Portlanders are on a three-peat.' What's going on? Has time stopped? Or did I never even leave the NBA?"

Before the semifinals began, George Karl used this joke in an interview to express his awe of the Trail Blazers, but in reality, he was thinking about defeating the Trail Blazers all the time.

In 1988, it was Gan Guoyang's three-pointer that ended George Karl's coaching career with the Warriors, beginning his four-year journey as a wanderer.

Of course, Karl harbors no resentment towards Gan Guoyang or the Trail Blazers; survival of the fittest is a normal occurrence in basketball.

In Karl's mind, the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump are a benchmark, a knot in his heart, and an abyss he needs to cross.

In fact, the same applies to other teams and coaches in the league.

Before the series began, Karl and the team arrived in Portland early to prepare for the game two days in advance.

The SuperSonics and Trail Blazers played five games in the regular season, with the SuperSonics winning one and losing four, showing a significant gap in strength between the two teams.

Karl and his coaching staff carefully studied the Trail Blazers' game footage from over the years, especially the playoffs.

In the past two years, no team has been able to stop the Trail Blazers in the slightest.

With the new teams of the 90s diluting talent, there are no teams in the West that can rival the Trail Blazers.

From the 1990 season to this year, the Trail Blazers have won 21 consecutive home games in the playoffs.

For more than two seasons, no team managed to win a single playoff game in Portland.

Portland has become a true intimidating home ground, and Portland fans rarely experience defeat.

Especially in May and June, they won every game, which was simply unbelievable.

George Karl didn't believe in this superstition. He thought that most teams would lose their first game as soon as they arrived in Portland, immediately losing momentum.

The Trail Blazers then completely took control of the series and were easily eliminated.

Karl was determined to break the Trail Blazers' 21-game home winning streak and set a completely different tone for the series.

He fixed his gaze on Agan and on those who passed the ball to Gan Guoyang.

“It’s cold at the top of the mountain; it’s time for them to come down and warm up.”

Karl told the players on the training field that Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, and Glen Rice are all very talented and ambitious young men.

Young people always want to pull off a big heist.

(End of this chapter)