The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 98 Draft 2
After the dust settled, Gan Guoyang quickly calmed down and was no longer so nervous.

He had been to Portland many times. It was close to Spokane, and Wang Fuxi had studied there. It was on the West Coast and not too far from San Francisco, so it was a pretty good place to live.

Gan Guoyang first called the Gan Family Restaurant in San Francisco to report the situation to his father, Gan Youwei.

To my surprise, the phone was completely busy; several attempts resulted in a busy signal. Needless to say, a flood of congratulatory calls were coming in. I decided to try again later.

Gan Guoyang then called Wang Fuxi. Wang Fuxi was very excited on the phone. It was great that Gan Guoyang could play in Portland. It would make it much easier for her to get rid of all the beautiful women around Gan Guoyang.

After exchanging a few words, Gan Guoyang figured Stockton must be at Jack and Dan's Bar, so he called the bar.

Sure enough, the other end of the phone erupted in chaos. Stockton, Bellman, Fitz, Anderson, McAfee, and others grabbed the microphone, wanting to say a few words to Gan Guoyang. Gan Guoyang heard a cacophony of screams and thought to himself that these guys must have been drinking.

The game didn't last long before a second wave of cheers erupted at Knight's house as Stern announced the Bulls' third overall pick, "surprisingly" selecting Michael Jordan.

Because the Bulls had wanted a center before, and they figured they couldn't get Hakeem Olajuwon or Steve Gan, they might as well draft Sam Bowie from Kentucky.

However, when Knight spoke with Rod Thorn, he strongly recommended Jordan. The Bulls' management listened to him and, after some deliberation at the draft, selected Jordan.

Jordan went to the receiver; it was now his turn to make the call.

Both of them appeared calm and shook hands with each other.

Gan Guoyang was calm because this was within his expectations, while Jordan was calm because being drafted by the NBA at that time wasn't necessarily a great thing.

Although the Celtics' championship win and the Lakers vs. Celtics showdown brought a lot of attention to the NBA, the league's overall image has not changed significantly.

The problem of doping has not been effectively resolved, and the NBA's dirty image needs time and action to wash it away.

Moreover, although the salary cap was well received by owners, the players were not happy about it.

Especially for the new batch of players who entered the NBA in 1984, they will be the first to be subject to the salary cap.

Forget about a 25-year, $2500 million contract like Magic Johnson's; even his $46-a-year rookie contract is impossible for some players.

For example, the Philadelphia 76ers, who hold the fifth overall pick, already have Moses Malone and Julius Erving on their roster. Their salary cap is already full, and they can only offer rookie contracts of up to $75,000 per year.

Because he felt the pay was too low, Charles Barkley started eating like crazy to gain weight after hearing that the 76ers wanted to draft him, hoping to fatten himself up to a size unsuitable for playing basketball within 48 hours.

I heard that his menu these past two days has included KFC, pancakes, bacon, mashed potatoes, cabbage, McDonald's fish fillets, large fries, Coke, Texas barbecue sandwiches, T-bone steak, baked potatoes, and all sorts of desserts. He's basically eating like crazy, all to prevent the 76ers from drafting him.

He didn't want to earn $75,000 a year. He was born into poverty and wanted to turn his life around by entering the NBA so that his family could live a better life.

As a result, the Dallas Mavericks selected Sam Bowie from the University of Kentucky with the fourth pick, seemingly as if they had gotten a bargain, believing they had acquired the most underrated center in this draft class.

The Dallas Mavericks' selection made the fifth overall pick, the Philadelphia 76ers, change their minds. They picked Sam Perkins, Jordan's North Carolina classmate, with almost no hesitation.

When Stern announced that the 76ers had drafted Perkins, the cheers in the living room were particularly loud.

This means that Perkins will be able to team up with Moses Malone, Irving, Tony, and Cheeks, giving them a chance to contend for the championship.

In the 1983-1984 season, the defending champions, the 76ers who were still playing FoFoFo the previous season, were surprisingly eliminated by the Nets in the first round.

The power forward position is the 76ers' biggest weakness right now. They were dominated by Buck Williams of the Nets. In the series, Buck averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds, including 23 offensive rebounds, more than Moses Malone.

Compared to Barkley's unruly nature and significant weight issues, Perkins's prestigious college background led the 76ers to change their minds, give up on Barkley, and acquire Perkins instead.

With the 76ers acquiring Perkins, the Washington Bullets, holding the sixth pick, selected Charles Barkley minutes later.

Barkley attended tonight's draft. When Stern called his name, the chubby guy walked up to the stage with a big smile and shook hands with Stern. Tonight, Barkley wore a very flashy gold double-breasted burgundy suit, his favorite color and the only formal suit he could pull off.

Barkley was very satisfied with being selected by the Bullets because back in 1983, when the Bullets had the tenth pick in the first round and a second-round pick, they contacted Barkley and said they were willing to select him in the second round.

At the time, Barkley was interested in the Bullets, but the problem was that the Bullets wanted to keep their 10th pick to select Jeff Malone. If they used the second-round pick to select Barkley, Barkley wouldn't get a very big contract.

Due to financial reasons, Barkley ultimately did not participate in last year's draft.

Now, with the sixth pick, the Bullets have a group of young players and plenty of salary cap space, enough to give Barkley a lucrative contract.

Moreover, Barkley has always been considered a faster and more agile version of Bullets legend Unseld, so playing in the capital would be a good option for him, as the Bullets are currently lacking an inside player.

Everyone was happy when Barkley was selected, especially when they saw his flashy burgundy suit; everyone started commenting on it.

Surprisingly, after being selected, Barkley called Knight's home to inform him that he had been chosen.

Bob Knight, abandoning his usual fierce and sarcastic demeanor, congratulated Barkley on the phone like a kind father, and even had his son Pato answer the phone and say a few words to Barkley.

Next, the Spurs selected Alvin Robertson with the seventh pick, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Melvin Tppin, and the Kansas City Kings picked Thorpe…

Gan Guoyang had been anxiously following the draft, and when the Utah Jazz selected John Stockton with the 16th pick, Gan Guoyang jumped up from the sofa and immediately ran to call Stockton.

The first call didn't go through; the line must have been busy. Gan Guoyang got through on the second call.

Stockton answered the phone, and he knew it was Gan Guoyang calling. The two of them talked like idiots on both ends of the phone.

But Stockton quickly calmed down and said, "Hey Gan, Gan, I can't go to Portland. I'm going to Salt Lake City, where there's nowhere to eat at night, and it's full of Mormons."

"It's okay, you'll love it there. You've always been an easygoing person who likes peace and quiet, haven't you?"

"You're right. Gan, from now on we'll be rivals."

"What's wrong? Are you scared?"

"A little. But you'd better be careful."

"Haha, I'm so scared~ By the way, John, I heard that Mormons in Salt Lake City can marry two wives. Do you want to consider it?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Nada's here..."

As they spoke, the two of them laughed again on the phone.

On the night of the draft, many neighbors, friends, teammates, and coaches crowded into Jack's Bar to watch the live broadcast. When Gan was selected second overall, the bar went wild; everyone was happy for him and wanted to talk to him on the phone.

Later, when the first round reached the teens, everyone thought it might be my turn, and they all crowded around the TV. At the sixteenth pick, President Stern stepped to the front of the stage and announced that the Sir Alex Ferguson of Utah had selected John Stockton of Gonzaga University.

The crowd erupted for the second time, and I rushed outside onto the street to try and calm myself down and figure out what was going on. When I came back, I received a call from Jazz general manager Hendry, who was calling from Salt Palace to congratulate me and say that Salt Lake City fans were very happy to see me.

Then everyone was immersed in a dream, celebrating and elated that someone they knew had been selected for the NBA! I was just a spectator, nobody wanted to shake my hand, and in fact, their attention wasn't on me at all.

Then Gan called, and we were both very happy. We laughed for a long time, and when we stopped, I felt a little lost. I realized that firstly, I had to go to Salt Lake City, and secondly, Gan and I would be rivals instead of teammates from now on.

—Excerpt from John Stockton's 2012 autobiography, *Assisted*.

(End of this chapter)