The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 780 Those who have been beaten are different.

I first heard his name when I was a junior at college in Arkansas.

He gave me hope, and I realized that I didn't necessarily have to go to a prestigious university to be drafted by the NBA.

As long as a person possesses talent and a spirit of dedication, their dreams can still be realized.

Dennis Rodman's incredible journey began in a Dallas, Texas slum, then moved to Oklahoma State University, and finally earned him a place in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

He possesses both talent and dedication.

I entered the league a year after Dennis. We were rivals, then enemies, and finally comrades.

We hate bad boys, they hate us, and then we all hate the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump.

Back then, the Pistons kept beating the Bulls in the playoffs, and their methods were despicable, but I greatly admired his defense and rebounding abilities.

The instant the ball leaves his hand, he knows where it is going and can snatch rebounds from players who are five inches tall and weigh fifty pounds (except for Forrest Gump).

That was not a coincidence.

He studied the shooting patterns of his opponents and teammates, positioning himself in the perfect rebound position before the ball was even released.

Dennis has an incredible basketball IQ; he can have a huge impact on the game without scoring. How many players can do that?
So, in the summer of 1993, when Phil Jackson asked me what I thought about the Bulls recruiting Dennis Rodman, I nodded and said, why not?
Michael didn't object either; his reaction was the same as mine: why not?
At that time, Buck was getting older, and Horace's relationship with Michael was getting worse. He told me personally that he was planning to leave, and our power forward position was in crisis.

The power forward position is a crucial position in basketball, and can even be the deciding factor in many games.

We need someone who can grab 10+ rebounds, block opponents from attacking the basket, and handle big men like Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Forrest Gump.

No one is better suited for this task than Dennis Rodman.

Although he pushed me off the court in Game 4 of the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, which resulted in me needing six stitches in my chin.

But so what? We need a championship, we need a better roster.

Phil assured Michael and me that if Dennis became too distracting, the team would get rid of him, and that would be clearly stated in his contract.

I'm so glad things have never gotten this far.

Phil tried his best to deal with all sorts of personalities, while Michael and I insisted on keeping Dennis engaged in his work so that he could play seriously every night.

We had a pretty good season in 1993-1994. Our roster underwent a major overhaul, with the addition of Dennis Rodman, Luke Longley, Ron Harper, and Toni Kukoc.

With a regular season record of 67 wins and 15 losses, we defeated the Miami Heat in the playoffs, avenging our defeat in 1993.

Unfortunately, what awaited us in the Finals was not the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump, but the Phoenix Suns.

That year, Forrest Gump's decision not to retire was already a huge surprise. We all thought he would retire, but he stayed to continue to create psychological trauma for us.

However, I could still sense that Agan had changed from their regular season matchups. Dennis Rodman also said that Sonny was missing something. His strength hadn't declined, but he lacked something that made people fear him. He didn't even go all out to compete for the rebounding title.

We finally won the championship and defeated the Suns. At that moment, I felt relieved and incredibly happy. Michael hugged the championship trophy and cried. I can understand how he felt at that moment. We had waited for too long and suppressed our emotions for too long.

Michael waited for 10 years, and thankfully he didn't leave or give up.

In the 1995 season, Michael suffered from knee inflammation, while Dennis began to let loose, constantly changing the color of his hair.

Yellow, green, red, and eventually all sorts of colors appeared. That year, he received 5 technical fouls in 8 preseason games. I want to emphasize again, it was preseason.

What's happening to Dennis? The championship has changed each and every one of us.

Of course, the biggest change was Michael's injuries, and at the same time, Forrest Gump decided to retire that year.

We all breathed a sigh of relief, but Michael didn't. I could sense his disappointment and dejection.

Michael's biggest regret was not being able to beat Forrest Gump and the Trail Blazers in the Finals; he longed to defeat Forrest Gump and win the championship.

Just like Chamberlain defeating Russell to win the championship in 1967, the Lakers and Knicks defeating each other, Dr. J defeating the Lakers to win the championship, Magic Johnson and Bird having a love-hate relationship, Michael can't accept that he didn't win a championship by stepping over Forrest Gump's corpse.

But Forrest Gump retired, which hit him hard and left him feeling lost. We experienced a defeat in the 1995 season, and the Heat's roster was almost a complete bluff.

But we came back in the 1996 season, and Michael came back too. I remember the summer of '95 in Chicago, we would get up at seven o'clock every morning.

Ron Harper and I met at Michael's suburban home, where I was practicing weightlifting in his basement.

About an hour later, we enjoyed breakfast prepared by his chef, which included pancakes, oatmeal, eggs, and freshly squeezed orange juice.

We earned a title: the Breakfast Club.

Harper came up with the idea, believing it was a way for players to build rapport.

When I told him that Michael and I had virtually no contact off the court, he couldn't believe it; he had always thought that Michael and I were very close.

That summer, Dennis, Michael, and I were all in great shape. We were in top form and could accomplish almost anything.

At the beginning of the season, when I was looking at the schedule, I told my teammates, "I don't think we'll lose a single game in the next three months."

In fact, it's not far from what I said: 72 wins and 10 losses, we made history, an incredible regular season record.

In the playoffs, we faced no obstacles whatsoever, and no team posed a threat to us, including Ewing and the SuperSonics in the Finals.

We were up 3-0, then lost Game 4 and Game 5. People say we wanted to go back to Chicago to win the championship, but that's unfair to the SuperSonics and Payton.

The SuperSonics adjusted their defensive strategy, assigning Payton to guard Michael, which caused Michael a lot of trouble.

At the same time, I was also in a bad state. For a period of time, we missed 20 three-point attempts in a row. We just couldn't make the shots.

For Game 6, we returned to Chicago. The game was scheduled for Father's Day, and Michael must have had a lot of emotions. I felt sad for him; he is a son who misses his father.

87-78, we beat the SuperSonics to win Game 6, and for the second time in three years, we won the championship. Harper and I rushed onto the scorer's table and yelled at the fans, "We are the best basketball team in the world!"

Michael returned to the locker room, hugged a basketball, and shed tears. He had won two championships but could not share them with his father, which was the biggest regret of his life.

The second regret is that this championship was still not won by defeating Forrest Gump. So when Jordan was asked what his wish was for the new season during the championship parade, he joked, "I hope Forrest Gump comes back. I want to beat him in the Finals and win the championship."

Well, that's a really good wish. I think Michael is probably the only one in the entire league who wants Forrest Gump to come back.

What's frightening is that just two weeks later, Forrest Gump announced that he would return for the 1996-1997 season. He was back.

When I got the news, I immediately called Michael and said, "As you wished, that guy is back!"

Michael was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone—I guess he was smoking a cigar—before saying, "You never know what might happen."

—Excerpt from Scott Pippen's autobiography, Unguarded, published in 2021.

The game officially started at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time.

Gan Guoyang regained possession of the ball during a contest with Luke Longley.

More than a decade has passed since the first Gan-Qiao showdown, and the players and coaches around Jordan and Gan Guoyang have all changed.

The Bulls' starting lineup consisted of Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley, and Ron Harper.

The Trail Blazers' starting lineup consisted of Gan Guoyang, PJ Brown, Van Exel, Riddell, and AC Green.

Both teams have changed their arenas; the Trail Blazers moved to the Rose Garden, and the Bulls moved to the United Center.

Only two things have remained unchanged: the Bulls' and Trail Blazers' logos.

The Bulls were founded in 1966 and the Trail Blazers in 1970, and the Bulls logo and black and red spiral logo used by both teams at the time of their founding have not been changed.

Other teams periodically change their jerseys and logos to keep up with the times and attract younger fans to buy them.

Only the Bulls and Trail Blazers did not make any changes.

In 1990, the Trail Blazers attempted to modify the spiral to make it look more modern.

But Portland fans don't want the logo, which carries the memories of their championship, to change in any way.

As a result, the proposed changes were abandoned, and the team stopped making any further modifications, retaining the 1970 design.

The second constant is Michael Jordan and Gan Guoyang's desire to defeat each other.

The two had been friends for over a decade, and they had also been rivals for over a decade. By 1997, their competitive spirit had not diminished at all, but had intensified.

Gan Guoyang discovered that Jordan was trying to climb onto his head, and he was really close to doing so. The two lost years made him increasingly anxious.

After winning two championships, Jordan felt that the championship he won by defeating Forrest Gump was like a piece of gold with insufficient gold content. It was very beautiful and valuable, but there was still a bit of regret.

It doesn't feel like a real ring.

When Forrest Gump decided to make a comeback, Jordan was the most excited one, knowing that his chance to make up for his regrets had come.

But at the same time, he also had a little worry and fear deep down: what if he still couldn't beat Forrest Gump?
Jordan took this regular season game in 1997 very seriously, knowing full well that Forrest Gump would gain a psychological advantage in such a game.

He did exactly that in the 1991-1992 season, defeating the Bulls who were looking for revenge in the regular season, and finally winning the championship in the Finals with a change in his playing style and a slight psychological advantage.

In battles between the strongest, even the slightest advantage can determine the final outcome. This is a lesson learned through the blood and tears of Jordan's more than ten years of losing battles with Forrest Gump.

Therefore, the game started with intense competition from the very beginning. Jordan chased after Riddell on defense, and when Gan Guoyang came out to set a screen, Jordan shoved Gan Guoyang. Riddell passed the ball back to Gan Guoyang, who drew the defense before passing it to Riddell, who then drove to the basket and scored the first point of the game.

"You pushed me, Michael."

"Yes, I pushed you, so what?"

"Is this how you treat an old friend?"

"Come on, you've been preparing for this game for a week, haven't you? Stay in Los Angeles for special training."

"It seems you know everything."

“I see through you, Sonny. You have no chance. This is no longer your era or your world.”

"You've become so annoying to talk to now."

"Come on, Sonny, that's how you've always talked."

Just as he finished speaking, Jordan cut in from the middle and received the ball on the wing.

The ball wasn't received very well; Riedle's defense was very aggressive.

Jordan switched to a post-up move, but his turnaround fadeaway jumper missed.

Dennis Rodman tried to grab the rebound, but Gan Guoyang bulldozed Rodman aside and took the rebound.

Rodman's predictions were accurate, but Forrest Gump's predictions were equally accurate, and he was much stronger than Rodman.

"Don't even think about getting an offensive rebound tonight," Gan Guoyang said to Rodman after grabbing a defensive rebound.

Rodman shrugged and said, "Sonny, don't take your anger out on me. What you and Michael have to do with me."

Rodman has evolved from a quirky bad boy during his Pistons days into a colorful and eccentric character.

In Chicago, and indeed in the entire NBA, he was a unique presence.

He had no interest in getting involved in the feud between Forrest Gump and Jordan; he just wanted to watch from the sidelines.

The Trail Blazers got off to a good start, and Van Exel immediately took advantage of Gan Guoyang's screen to hit a three-pointer.

Scottie Pippen immediately responded with a three-pointer on offense.

Compared to 10 years ago, players are becoming more and more confident in their three-point shooting.

Gan Guoyang set a screen for Liddell on the perimeter again, and this time Jordan became even more aggressive in his pursuit of Liddell.

As Riddell circled around repeatedly, Jordan pushed Gan Guoyang again.

This time, Gan Guoyang didn't indulge Jordan. When Riddell passed the ball back to Gan Guoyang, Gan Guoyang received the ball, raised his arm to avoid Jordan's double-team, and accidentally elbowed Jordan on the eyebrow.

A seemingly casual elbow strike caused Jordan to bleed from the corner of his eye, with blood flowing freely. The referee had to stop the game and allow the team doctor to come onto the court to bandage him.

Jordan turned to Gan Guoyang and said, "Is this how you treat old friends?"

Gan Guoyang said, "My elbow hurts a lot too."

"So I should apologize to you?"

"It's okay. I forgive you."

"Fuck you, fuck you, Sonny!"

"Thank you, I like your North Carolina accent."

The match started with bloodshed, and the two engaged in a verbal battle.

Gan Guoyang received a technical foul, and Jordan made the free throw.

With the ball still in the Trail Blazers' hands, Gan Guoyang stopped assisting his teammates.

He received the ball in the low post, turned around and walked to the baseline despite the Bulls' double-team, and scored with a reverse layup!

Pippen tried to sneak in a three-pointer from the outside again, but this time he missed.

Jordan grabbed the offensive rebound, turned around, and made a jump shot.

Neither team played with much strategy at the start, which was actually intentional.

Larry Bird knew that if the Trail Blazers played a methodical game against the Bulls, their chances of winning were slim, so they decided to play more aggressively.

Phil Jackson had another consideration: he hoped that Jordan and Pippen could truly overcome the hurdle of Forrest Gump.

In the locker room before the game, Jackson asked Jordan, "Michael, would you hate Forrest Gump?"

Jordan shook his head and said, "No, never, never."

“I understand you now; you want to truly defeat him.”

Jordan didn't speak, but the answer lay in his silence, in the efforts he had made over the years.

Therefore, Jackson didn't make many tactical arrangements, letting the players deal with and solve problems on their own.

In Jackson's view, the Chicago Bulls of today are no longer the team that came so close to the championship in 1991 and 1992, but always fell just short.

Jackson believed that if Forrest Gump hadn't existed, the championship would definitely have been theirs. He even believed that if there had been a slight change in 1992, such as a butterfly flapping its wings on the other side of the Pacific, the championship might have been won by the Bulls.

But they just couldn't get it.

The new Bulls team that was reorganized in 1994 was a stronger and more complete team.

They are the best in terms of skills, tactics, physique, and mentality, Jackson firmly believed that.

The ball came back into Forrest Gump's hands. He turned and pushed past Longley, then made a deft hook shot with his right hand.

In response, the Bulls used their sophisticated triangle offense to create one-on-one opportunities for Pippen on the left side.

Pippen executed a move-hook against AC Green's defense and made the shot.

"Your signature move, Sonny!" Pippen shouted at Gan Guoyang.

He was telling Forrest Gump that this trick wasn't something only he knew.

Pippen is trying to get revenge for Gan Guoyang's earlier actions that caused Jordan to suffer a bloody defeat.

Compared to three years ago, Pippen has matured.

He is 31 years old this year, which is the prime of a player's life.

Of course, contract issues continued to trouble him.

The contract he signed in 1991 now seems incredibly cheap.

But there's nothing he can do; it's a choice he made in black and white, and his current annual salary is $225 million.

Allen Iverson, the number one draft pick who just entered the league, earned $227 million this year.

Grant Hill, who has only been in the league for three years, has already earned $500 million.

Shaquille O'Neal, who signed a contract worth over 100 million dollars, will earn 11 million this year.

Michael Jordan, who played on the same team, earned $2500 million, ten times that of Pippen.

As for Gan Guoyang, his annual salary is $3300 million, which exceeds the salary cap of an entire team.

Hearing Pippen yell at him like that, Gan Guoyang responded with a hook shot without hesitation.

After scoring, he turned to Pippen and said, "My hook shot is worth 15 times more than yours!"

Upon hearing this, Pippen's already long face stretched even longer.

He then assisted Luke Longley on a mid-range jump shot.

Then, on the defensive end, he stole the ball from AC Green and attempted a fast break dunk, but wary of the relentless pursuit of Forrest Gump, he passed the ball back to Jordan on the perimeter.

Jordan received the ball and drove to the basket, but Gan Guoyang blocked him again. Jordan then cleverly passed the ball behind his back to Rodman who was following up.

Rodman hit the ball high with an exaggerated motion, as if he was trying to dodge Forrest Gump's turn to defend against two opponents.

After scoring, Rodman shrugged at Gan Guoyang and said, "I have no intention of getting involved in your argument. It's my duty, my duty."

Rodman had no interest in trash-talking or competing with Forrest Gump on the court; he simply did his job.

Back in the day, a young and impetuous Rodman wasn't like this when facing Gan Guoyang.

Those who have actually been beaten are different.

(End of this chapter)