The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 193 Michael's Troubles
On his first night in Indianapolis, Gan Guoyang met many basketball stars at a party, including Thomas, Bird, Johnson, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Gan Guoyang wasn't shy or embarrassed because he was a rookie. He chatted and greeted everyone normally, since he knew all of them.

He's not a socialite; he can't grin like Magic Johnson, putting his arm around everyone and chatting away, becoming the center of attention at parties.

Compared to his confidence and dominance on the court, Gan Guoyang is calm and indifferent off the court. He doesn't deliberately keep his distance from the media; he needs exposure and needs to create buzz for Avia.

However, he will not allow the media to hold him hostage, forcing him to participate in endless commercial activities, be surrounded by too many fans, media, and business people, and ultimately become a commodity.

Jordan did not attend this private party tonight because Nike had arranged other commercial activities for him. Jordan is currently unique in terms of commercial development, and Nike has prepared a lot of promotional resources for him for this All-Star Game.

Michael Jordan, whose popularity remains high in the East, will participate in this All-Star Slam Dunk Contest to showcase his aerial prowess to audiences across the United States.

In comparison, Aiva's marketing was weaker, but they still placed a lot of ads at the Indiana Dome, where the All-Star Game was held.

Furthermore, Avia has been working hard to promote its summer China tour, and in the United States, especially in the eastern region, Avia is unlikely to be a match for Nike in terms of marketing.

So they decided to take a different approach and develop overseas markets early on. For a potential market like China, first impressions are very important.

Avia has already begun building a team to prepare for its future expansion into Greater China.

Gan Guoyang agreed with all of this, saying that the American domestic market should indeed avoid Jordan's dominance, as the kid's recent performance on the court has been just as crazy as Gan Guoyang's.

对阵骑士，45分7个篮板11次助攻，对阵掘金35分14个篮板15次助攻，客场挑战凯尔特人，36分6个篮板6个助攻。

However, Jordan was unable to defeat the Celtics at Boston Garden in this game, and they lost by 3 points. The arrogant Bostonians felt a terrifying new force from the two young players, Gan Guoyang and Jordan.

If they continue to be arrogant, it will soon be time for them to be replaced by a new power.

It wasn't until late at night, after Wang Fuxi had fallen asleep, that Gan Guoyang received a call from Jordan.

"Fuck, you're calling me so late? My girlfriend's already asleep."

"You actually brought your girlfriend to the All-Star Game, you're really weird."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself, "I even brought Stockton with me."

For star players, the All-Star Game is a great opportunity to let loose, especially for young stars.

When the buffet dinner ended that evening, Gan Guoyang saw many brightly dressed women in the lobby downstairs, all waiting to make a big deal.

NBA stars are known for their wealth and generosity. Although providing services may be tiring, the earnings are substantial. What's a little bit of sour food compared to that?

Someone like Magic Johnson can provide employment for many people, making him a veritable tycoon for the nightlife scene and a money-making machine for prostitutes; everyone loves him.

Gan Guoyang had no interest in these things, and Jordan, for the sake of his image and publicity, couldn't get involved in them for the time being, otherwise he wouldn't have time to call Gan Guoyang late at night.

"Forrest Gump, come out, I'm waiting for you in the hotel gym."

"What? You want me to come out? That's not appropriate, is it? It's so late at night."

Jordan asked Gan Guoyang to go to the gym. Did they mean they were going to work out together late at night?

"Stop talking nonsense, I want to fight you one-on-one, are you in or not?"

Upon hearing Jordan mention a one-on-one match, Gan Guoyang immediately got up quietly, dressed, and slipped out.

The luxury hotel has its own gym and an indoor basketball court. The basketball court was already closed for the night, so Jordan called the staff over to open the door for him.

The staff would not have opened the door for a regular user, but when they saw that it was Jordan and Gan Guoyang, they immediately nodded and agreed. The price was that the two of them left a photo together and an autographed basketball.

This photo and the autographed basketball will fetch a high price at auction, making the employee a windfall.

"You were dragged to another Nike commercial event today, weren't you? Did you enjoy it?"

"No, I don't enjoy it at all. It's annoying and tiring, but there's nothing I can do about it. So I want some peace and quiet."

Nike's five-million-dollar contract with Jordan came at a price; it wasn't just about taking the money and selling shoes.

Air Jordan's sales were unexpectedly good, but pressure from Aiva forced Nike to fight hard to catch up.

Jordan felt he was no longer the college player who only cared about playing basketball. He started having Nike bodyguards around him, and his agent and media reporters were almost always by his side. Chicago is a big city, much more glamorous than Portland. Jordan participated in many social and commercial activities, shot commercials, did endorsements, played basketball with children in the community, and gave away shoes.

And this was just the beginning. Nike told him that once he became truly famous and won the championship, he would live the life of Michael Jackson, like an emperor.

Gan Guoyang didn't believe Jordan was really annoyed, because that wasn't him. In fact, he enjoyed being the center of attention and becoming an idol, and Gan Guoyang was certain of that.

But his invitation to play ball with Gan Guoyang tonight wasn't just for show; he must have some real troubles, just unrelated to those business activities.

The two warmed up on the court and started playing Horse, chatting as they played. Gan Guoyang enjoyed chatting with Jordan because they were from the same world—Jordan felt the same way.

“Michael, just say what’s bothering you, don’t pretend. ‘I want some peace and quiet’? Screw you, you’re just a vain bastard who loves being fawned over.”

"Bullshit Forrest Gump, stop slandering me. I'm really annoyed. My parents have been arguing about me lately, an endless argument. This time they came along too, which is giving me a real headache."

Jordan's recent problem is that his parents are constantly arguing about their own affairs. Young Jordan was a huge treasure. As parents, they want the best for their child, but at the same time, they also fight for control over him.

Michael Jordan's father, James Jordan, and mother, Delores Jordan, had very different personalities, and they increasingly disagreed on their son's future development.

In the beginning, when Jordan was conducting business negotiations, both his parents would be present. Gradually, the couple almost never appeared together; either his father or his mother would accompany him.

Jordan had deep feelings for both parents, and seeing them constantly arguing about their own affairs made him very sad. As their son, he found it difficult to be in that situation.

Moreover, there are many family scandals that Jordan has been too embarrassed to tell Gan Guoyang. For example, her sister is considering suing their father, James Jordan, because she has been abused by him since she was five years old, for as long as five years.

Furthermore, James Jordan was once fired from his job for embezzlement, which happened before he entered the league. Nike has been suppressing these matters through public relations.

When Gan Guoyang heard about his relationship with his parents, he could only shrug and say, "I can't do anything about that. I only have one father, and I don't have that kind of trouble. My dad only has one requirement for me: to get married early and give him a grandson, and also to stay healthy and not hurt myself while playing ball."

Jordan stopped shooting, looked at Gan Guoyang with a questioning look, and said, "Doesn't your dad watch you play? Is he worried you'll hurt yourself? He should be more concerned about the health of your opponents."

Gan Guoyang scratched his head and said, "He already reminded me. I swear I won't fight again in 1984."

Jordan shook his head, ran to the three-point line, and made a three-pointer. He had been practicing his long-range shooting a lot lately.

Gan Guoyang performed an aerial spinning dunk in front of Jordan, who said, "Sonny, I'm going to participate in the dunk contest tomorrow. Can I design a move for you and give you some suggestions?"

Gan Guoyang's "Rock the baby" deeply impressed Jordan, who never expected that Gan Guoyang could replicate such a dunk in a real game.

Gan Guoyang said, "Okay, I suggest you do a 720-degree mid-air spin with a between-the-legs windmill dunk, and then a two-handed dunk from the three-point line. You'll have the championship in the bag!"

"Don't joke around, I'm serious."

"Hey Michael, do you think I'd let you give me advice on my three-point shot? Be confident, you're the best dunker in the world."

Jordan smiled and said, "You're right. Why don't you consider participating once too?"

"I'm not interested. But maybe there will be a three-point contest in the future. I suggest you participate and we can compete against each other, how about that?"

"No problem, I'll go if you go." Jordan was very confident at that moment, believing that his accuracy was terrifying.

The next day, February 9th, the first day of All-Star Weekend, Saturday, after a round of preliminary rounds of the Slam Dunk Contest, the All-Star Legends Game was held in the evening.

Drexler, who participated in the preliminary rounds of the Slam Dunk Contest, was eliminated early due to a poor performance, while Jordan successfully advanced to the finals.

In the Legends Game, a number of veteran players, including Rick Barry, Nate Thurmond, Bob Pettit, Oscar Robertson, and Connie Hawkins, returned to participate, demonstrating the NBA's respect for history and legacy.

When Gan Guoyang saw Thurmond dragging his heavy knees and running slowly on the field, he thought to himself that these veteran players really had it tough. At their age, they were performing for others, and their bodies couldn't take it anymore.

Like Rick Barry, who couldn't take it anymore and went to the bench for oxygen therapy, frankly speaking, he just wanted to make a living and have a job in the league.

After the legends game, Jordan and Dominique Wilkins had an extremely exciting dunk contest.

Ultimately, Dominique Wilkins won the Slam Dunk Contest, while Michael Jordan suffered a heartbreaking defeat.

However, during the game, Jordan wore a big gold chain and red and black Air Jordans, and his drifting dunks still gave the fans in the arena and in front of the TV a huge visual shock, becoming an excellent advertisement for Jordan and Air Jordan.

(End of this chapter)