The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 540 Best Friend
In the 1988 Finals, Gan Guoyang led the Trail Blazers to an easy victory over the Washington Bullets, winning their third consecutive championship.

Charles Barkley had a terrible run in that series, playing only well in Game 3, and his performances in the remaining games were disastrous.

It can be said that Barkley carried Gan Guoyang to the first peak of his basketball career.

Barkley was truly impressed by Gan Guoyang's three-peat; he was genuinely defeated.

The bullet, a beat-up, cobbled-together old car, was speeding at 120 mph on the highway when it finally gave out just before crossing the finish line.

The following season, the Bullets never regained their glory of 88 and began to disintegrate.

Although Bernard King is in better form, Charles Barkley is in his prime, and Moses Malone and Moncrief still have fuel in the tank, Malone's relationship with the Bullets has become strained. He wants a bigger contract, but the Bullets don't want to give it to him.

The honor of reaching the finals made the entire Bullets team more ambitious, and even though they lost the finals, many of them still gained greater fame.

Throughout the season, Moses Malone was locked in a stalemate with the Bullets, while Charles Barkley wavered between Malone and the team.

Dick Motta has become more demanding of the players, but they've started to rebel. They gave it their all last season, so why can't they enjoy themselves this season?

The Bullets made it to the playoffs again in the regular season, but they finished seventh in the Eastern Conference and faced the New York Knicks in the first round.

They were eliminated 1-3 by the young Knicks led by Ewing and Oakley, and their run in the 1988 Finals seemed to be just a flash in the pan.

Barkley not only suffered defeats on the court, but also faced numerous troubles off the court.

The summer after reaching the Finals, Charles Barkley was pulled over by New Jersey state troopers on an Atlantic City freeway after police suspected his Porsche of containing guns and drugs.

He had just finished attending a children's basketball training camp and was on his way home.

Police searched his vehicle and found a loaded 9mm black Kohler Koch semi-automatic pistol, which Buckley did not possess a New Jersey gun license.

Barkley was arrested for possession of a dangerous controlled weapon—a charge that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

This was just the beginning of Barkley's arrest career.

Barkley later explained that he acted out of fear of racism, worried that something bad would happen to him as a Black athlete, and that he was trying to protect himself.

He was granted bail, and then a judge ruled that the police search was illegal and the charges against Barkley were dropped—and a large sum of money that Charles Barkley was bailed out was paid by Gan Guoyang.

Barkley refused to pay because, although he had tens of millions of dollars in assets at the time, he couldn't come up with a large sum of cash.

He is facing financial problems, and big problems at that.

Although heeded Moses Malone's advice and stopped squandering his salary on meaningless things, he was still terrible at managing money. Having grown up in poverty, he was not very sensitive to money.

He placed excessive trust in his agent, Lance Luchnick, with whom he signed an agreement that granted Luchnick the power to deposit, withdraw, and borrow money.

He handed over his salary directly to Luchinnick, who took 10% of it and could control the rest.

Luchnick took Barkley's money and invested it in hotels, car dealerships, and a bank, only to lose everything.

He also invested $90 in a land deal—a Texas plot of land intended for cattle and pecan farming, which was worth at most $30. Barkley lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the purchase.

In the summer of 88, Newsday reported that Luchnick was suspected of bribing high school and college coaches to secure the signing rights of star players. The report also exposed Luchnick's past record of stealing funds from clients and various problems with his tax returns.

When Barkley was arrested and found that he couldn't even come up with bail, he knew he was in big trouble.

Gan Guoyang, being a good Samaritan, extended a helping hand and had Gan Guohui bring a team to conduct a financial audit for Barkley free of charge.

You wouldn't know until you hear the truth, and once you do, you're shocked. Luchnick not only failed to help Barkley make money from his investments, but he also caused Barkley to incur a lot of debt.

Not only was he in debt, but Luchnick also failed to file Barkley's taxes on time, resulting in Barkley owing four years' worth of taxes and penalties, and having a large deficit in his account.

Ultimately, Barkley sued his agent, terminated the contract, and the court ordered Luchnick to pay Barkley $500 million in damages.

But Luchnick was broke. His clients had terminated their contracts with him and filed lawsuits. Luchnick filed for bankruptcy and became a penniless pauper.

Barkley can only swallow the massive financial loss; he can always earn more money later. Fortunately, he still has a big contract with the team, and his contract with Avia is quite lucrative.

The terrible summer of '88 tormented Barkley, preventing him from having a good summer to improve himself, so the '89 season naturally wouldn't be much better.

By 89, Barkley's life was still not going well.

Moses Malone's negotiations with the Bullets broke down, and Malone left for the Atlanta Hawks.

Previously, Barkley's good friend Rick Mahorn was also traded to the Pistons in exchange for Donaldson.

During the playoffs, Barkley ran into trouble again—this time with his brother, Daryl Barkley.

Daryl grew increasingly resentful of his brother's success out of jealousy, and he even refused to watch his brother's games on television.

He told reporters that he was born with an enlarged heart, which prevented him from having the same athletic abilities as Charles; otherwise, he would have been a basketball star.

Daryl dropped out of high school, attended a vocational high school for a year, and then faced numerous rejections and couldn't find a job, so he started using drugs to numb himself.

In May 1989, Daryl Barkley was arrested by police for selling cocaine.

Barkley's mother and grandmother demanded that Daryl take a test, and if he tested positive for illicit substances, they would kick him out of the house.

The result was obvious: Daryl had been using cocaine since 1988, the year Charles Barkley made it to the NBA Finals and the whole country was talking about him.

When Daryl was arrested, the Washington Bullets had just been eliminated by the New York Knicks, but everyone's attention was not on the game, but on the arrest of Barkley's brother.

Helicopters hovered near Barkley's house, numerous television broadcast vans were lying in wait nearby, and television stations across the United States were reporting on the incident.

Worse was yet to come: Daryl Barkley spent five months in rehab, but suffered a stroke just before his release.

Doctors discovered a blood clot on the right side of his brain. The cause of his stroke was a congenital enlarged heart, which prevented it from pumping blood to the brain quickly.

Before the start of the 89-90 season, Charles Barkley left the training camp to visit his brother in a hospital in Birmingham.

Daryl Barkley, only 22 years old, was paralyzed by a stroke, unable to move or speak, and in a state of confusion.

Barkley was filled with guilt, pain, and confusion. But this time he was different from before. He knew he had to be strong because his daughter, Christiana Barkley, was born just as Daryl was arrested.

This is the thing that has made Barkley happiest in the past two years, apart from reaching the NBA Finals.

He met his wife, Maureen, in a bar in 1987, after which Barkley began pursuing the model.

After a stable period of dating, they got married, had a daughter, and formed a happy family of three that Barkley found very unfamiliar.

The reason it feels unfamiliar is that Barkley never had such an experience in his childhood. He was raised by his mother and grandmother and grew up in an incomplete family that lacked a father figure.

Now that he's going to be a father himself, he's very nervous and feels completely unfamiliar with the role.

At this time, Gan Guoyang, who had become a father a few months earlier than him, became Barkley's best confidant.

Sometimes he would get up in the middle of the night to feed his child, and when he was on the verge of a mental breakdown, he would call Agan.

As a result, Gan Guoyang's mother was also breastfeeding, which made Barkley feel much better, and the two exchanged experiences on the phone.

When Barkley encounters a problem, he consults Gan Guoyang. If Gan Guoyang doesn't know the answer, he calls Stockton, who has more experience.

With Gan Guoyang's help and companionship, Barkley went through the most tumultuous two years of his life, and he learned a lot from Gan Guoyang.

Barkley's mindset became more stable. He realized that life was more than just basketball. He longed for a good marriage, a large family, and to build something lasting, not just fleeting happiness.

In the process, Barkley and Gan Guoyang's friendship naturally grew stronger.

After the start of the 1989-1990 season, the Washington Bullets had an outstanding record.

The Bullets and the Trail Blazers are the only two undefeated teams so far.

Moreover, the Bullets' undefeated record is highly impressive. On November 4th, they narrowly defeated the defending champion Detroit Pistons by 2 points at home.

Charles Barkley scored 33 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, making him a key figure in the team's victory.

After the game, Charles Barkley had a caddie hand Bill Laimbeer a note with a poem written on it:

“Dear Bill,”

Fuck you.

Love you.

Charles Barkley.

This is the greatest poem that Barkley has ever written.

Then, in the back-to-back home and away games on the 7th and 8th, the Bullets defeated the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics in succession, with Barkley continuing to perform exceptionally well.

On the 10th, the Bullets moved their home games to their former home city of Baltimore, where they played a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Baltimore Arena.

Barkley scored another 31 points, leading his team to victory over the Cavaliers and securing their fifth consecutive win.

On the 12th, two teams on five-game winning streaks will meet in Portland.

Before the game started, Gan Guoyang beat Charles Barkley in the vote to win his first Player of the Week award of the new season.

Barkley was very dissatisfied, and as compensation, he took two boxes of milk powder from Gan Guoyang's house and brought them back to Washington.

The Washington Bullets of the 89-90 season had undergone significant changes compared to the 88 team.

Dick Motta left his assistant coach position, not content with just being an assistant; he also wanted to shine as head coach.

Wes Unseld will continue as the team's head coach.

Moses Malone was replaced by James Donaldson, and Barkley became the team's absolute core.

The style of play is no longer the human millstone of 88. That style of play was too exhausting for the players, and no one wanted to play like that all the time.

Basketball is essentially an offensive game. While defense is important, players tend to focus their energy on offense.

Most people play basketball to try and get the ball into the basket more times than their opponents.

Few people find the pure joy of playing ball in defense, preventing the opponent from scoring.

One or two players might do that, but it's difficult for an entire team.

In a series, or throughout the playoffs, a team can focus all its energy on defense.

But in the long run, you still need to attack; scoring goals is what brings positive motivation.

Moreover, professional players need scoring statistics to secure big contracts; no one is willing to do manual labor forever.

Therefore, the Bullets transformed from a defensive team to a well-rounded team, with Charles Barkley as the core, complemented by a group of elite players such as Bernard King, Moncrief, John Williams, and Donaldson. The team's overall strength was more balanced than in 1988.

Mitchell Thompson will miss tonight's game due to knee soreness and is not on the roster.

Sabonis made his first appearance in the Trail Blazers' starting lineup.

In just five games, Sabonis has already earned Bobby Bellman's trust.

He is indeed a genius center with excellent physical attributes. His height, strength, wingspan, and agility are all top-notch in the NBA, making him a very reliable giant in the paint.

Before the game started, Barkley stood in front of Sabonis, looked up, and said, "Fuck, it's so high... Hey! How's the air up there? Is it too thin? Are you having trouble breathing?"

Gan Guoyang said from the side, "You'd better speak Russian."

Barkley shouted, "Hurrah!"

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "Charles, do you know what it means for Sabonis to start?"

Barkley said, "That means your starting lineup will have the highest average height in the league."

“Wrong, it means I’m going to play one-on-one with you the whole game.” Barkley gave a disdainful look and said, “I’m not afraid of you, Sonny, I’m not afraid of you.”

Barkley said this, but turned his back to Gan Guoyang, took a deep breath and then exhaled.

For Barkley, figuring out how to face Gan Guoyang one-on-one in a game has always been a major challenge.

His strengths were completely covered by Gan Guoyang, and his weaknesses were magnified in front of Gan Guoyang.

When the two trained together in the summer, Barkley asked Gan Guoyang for advice on what he should do.

Gan Guoyang's suggestion was: "Go back to the furnace, be reborn. I have a funeral home, I'll give you a 40% discount."

The Fak that Barkley gave to Gan Guoyang could be compiled into an Oxford dictionary.

Of course, joking aside, Gan Guoyang still gave Barkley advice: improve your outside shooting ability.

Especially three-pointers.

So Barkley practiced his long-range shooting like crazy all summer.

Last season, Barkley averaged 2.1 three-point attempts per game.

The hit rate was abysmal, only 28%.

In the first five games of the season, Barkley attempted 2.6 three-pointers per game.

He attempted 13 three-pointers and made 5, showing a significant improvement in his shooting percentage.

Of course, the season is still long. Many players have amazing shooting percentages at the beginning of the season, but their performance will become worse and worse as the season progresses, with their accuracy fluctuating.

Sabonis's starting position did indeed free Gan Guoyang from the heavy workload of center forward.

From 85 to 87, Gan Guoyang had a relatively easy time playing center, as he didn't have many responsibilities.

Because the Trail Blazers have abundant wing resources, Thompson is in his prime, Drexler is also a semi-wing player, even better than most wing players in the league, and Vandeweghe is also very offensively potent.

With the Trail Blazers' frontcourt depleted, Korsey is just the right fit, and the team has transformed into a center-guard hybrid team.

Gan Guoyang has to shoulder a lot of the responsibilities of a forward, and he also has to take on the heavy burden of a center.

With Sabonis starting, Gan Guoyang has completely shifted to the power forward position. Sometimes, the paint situation can be ignored, as Sabonis is still very reliable.

However, Gan Guoyang's performance in tonight's game was rather average. After the start, he faced Barkley in one-on-one defense and missed several shots in a row.

On the contrary, Barkley hit two three-pointers in the first quarter, helping the Bullets to a 31-26 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Barkley was very pleased with himself. Gan Guoyang had a poor performance in the first quarter, scoring only 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting and failing to make a single free throw.

Gan Guoyang didn't hold it against Barkley. He knew he was just having a bad night, and that this kind of thing happened every season in the regular season.

In the second quarter, Bellman and Gan Guoyang said, "You're not in good shape, so rest on the bench for a while longer."

So, at the start of the second quarter, Bellman brought in Divac and Petrovic, pairing Divac with Cliff Robinson and Mark Bryant.

Divac delivered his best quarter since joining the NBA.

He displayed the all-around and slippery characteristics of a Yugoslavian center forward.

He delivered a series of blocks on defense, then helped his teammates launch a fast break.

On offense, he can back down to the basket while also not being confined to the area under the basket.

His positioning often extends beyond the three-point line, keeping the Trail Blazers' offensive space unaffected.

At the same time, he can receive passes from guards and dribble directly into the paint to attack the basket.

Sabonis can do this too, but Gan Guoyang does it perfectly.

It can be said that all three of the Trail Blazers' big men are incredibly agile and can engage in a wide variety of plays with their guards.

Midway through the second quarter, after Barkley scored a basket under the rim, Divac made a long pass from the backcourt to Petrovic, who received the ball and scored a layup, netting two points.

The entire Memorial Stadium erupted in cheers, and Bill Seanley yelled "Rip-city!"

Gan Guoyang, who was sitting on the bench, also stood up and cheered for Divac. The pass was brilliant and beautiful.

This type of shot is almost a standard move for European center forwards; players like Divac and Sabonis can both execute it this way.

Washington Bullets called a timeout, after which Bellman substituted Divac and Clive Robinson with Gan Guoyang and Sabonis.

"You played beautifully, a landmark game. You'll have even more opportunities in the second half."

Bellman encouraged Divac.

In half a quarter, Divac contributed 2 points, 2 blocks, 2 assists and 3 rebounds, showing a well-rounded performance on the court.

Not only did he not hold the team back, but he also dominated the team's offense and defense to a certain extent. His performance was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.

Thanks to Divac's performance, Gan Guoyang was able to sit on the bench for a rare five minutes to rest and regroup.

Having young people as backup is really great.

Thanks to Divac's outstanding performance, the Trail Blazers gradually caught up in the score.

However, the Washington Bullets still took the lead at the end of the first half.

Besides Barkley's three-pointer, Bullets' small forward John Williams played exceptionally well.

He scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half and also dished out 4 assists.

Jerome Kossie struggled to stop this physically imposing small forward.

John Williams is 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 245 pounds, which is the standard weight for a center.

He shares the same name as "Hot Rod" Williams, the talented forward who was previously suspended by the Cavaliers, but the two have completely different playing styles.

You can tell from their nicknames: the Cavaliers' Williams is called "Hot Stick," and the Bullets' Williams is nicknamed "Hot Plate."

Although he has a problem with not being able to control his weight, just like Barkley, he is not only similar to Barkley in weight, but also in playing style. The two of them wore the same jersey number, 34, in college.

John Williams arrived late and could only wear number 33.

He has the height of a small forward, plays a well-rounded game, and in some ways is a replacement for Barkley. Moreover, his assists are surprisingly good.

Last season, he averaged 4.3 assists per game, quickly becoming an important outside playmaker for the Bullets.

This is why the Bullets let go of Moses Malone and traded Mahorn for James Donaldson.

The Bullets saw potential in John Williams, whose "twin big men" combination with Barkley was more offensively powerful than the "twin big men" combination. Moreover, Williams and Barkley could switch positions, making the Bullets more flexible on offense.

If the Bullets can add a 7-foot defensive center like Donaldson to the center position, their offensive firepower will be outstanding when they use a three-forward lineup of Barkley, Williams, and Bernard King. The defensive gaps can be covered by Donaldson and Moncrief in the backcourt, and they won't need an offensive veteran center like Moses Malone.

Their innovative and imaginative playing style made them extremely aggressive at the start of the season.

Even the Trail Blazers were finding it hard to cope.

During halftime, Gan Guoyang volunteered to find an opportunity to deal with John Williams.

"What about Barkley?" Bellman asked.

Gan Guoyang said, "I can defend against two opponents at once."

"Don't joke around. John is handed over to Kossie and Sanders. You two must keep him under control."

Gan Guoyang said, "Williams is the key to the Bullets' entire offensive operation. He is one of the few Bullets players with playmaking ability. If you shut down John, the Bullets' offense will come to a standstill, and they will run into big trouble. Defending him is perhaps more important than defending Barkley."

Bellman agreed with Gan Guoyang's assessment.

The Bullets' most important offensive playmakers right now are those two big men, Barkley and John Williams.

Bernard King, Moncrief, and Donaldson are all one-dimensional players.

Although Berman agreed with Gan Guoyang's assessment, he still entrusted the defensive task to Kexi.

"This is Koch's job. If he can't even handle this small problem in the regular season, what will he do when facing stronger forwards in the playoffs?"

With the coach saying that, Gan Guoyang had no choice but to give up; what Berman said did make sense.

Kossie breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that although guarding John Williams would be difficult, if Forrest Gump had to guard Williams, then he would have to guard Barkley!

In the third quarter, Kossie indeed intensified his defense against John Williams.

While Williams was on the bench, Kossie remained on the court, marking the hot rebound one-on-one.

John Williams' poor passing game immediately disrupted the Bullets' offensive flow.

They started relying on Bernard King's one-on-one plays.

Kim played 81 out of 82 regular season games last season, averaging 20 points per game again.

His form has improved further this season, scoring 30 points in a game against the Celtics.

However, relying solely on Kim's one-on-one play, the Bullets gradually fell behind the Trail Blazers in offensive efficiency.

The Trail Blazers' half-court offense started to flow smoothly, with fluid inside and outside passing, quick transitions between the strong and weak sides, and clear cuts. Coupled with Gan Guoyang's improved mid-range shooting touch, the Trail Blazers gradually caught up in the third quarter and eventually took the lead over the Bullets.

The bullets could only be fired by Jin and Barkley in one-on-one combat, and Barkley also started to miss shots under Gan Guoyang's tight defense.

He, who was arrogant and smug in the first half, gradually fell silent.

Both Kexi and Gan Guoyang have a physical advantage over John Williams and Barkley.

The Trail Blazers' frontcourt is already very tall, with Sabonis and Divac acting like pillars and devastating forces on the court.

The Trail Blazers controlled the rebounds very well.

The Bullets' offense became increasingly ineffective. John Williams went 5-for-6 in the first half, but only 1-for-6 in the second half, with just one assist.

Gan Guoyang's assessment is very accurate; John Williams' playmaking and passing are crucial to the Bullets' offense.

In December, the Bullets suffered a heavy blow when John Williams was sidelined for the season with an injury, and their record plummeted.

In this game, the Trail Blazers relied on their tenacious one-on-one defense in the second half and their height advantage in rebounding to defeat the Bullets 104-109, a 5-point advantage at home, ending their opponent's winning streak and extending their own undefeated record to 6 consecutive wins.

After the game, Barkley was very dissatisfied and hugged Gan Guoyang, saying, "You just rely on your teammates. Your teammates are all too good."

Gan Guoyang said, "You can also rely on your teammates. You can go to a stronger team, like the Lakers, or you can just go to Chicago and find Michael."

Barkley thought for a moment and then asked, "Can I come to Portland?"

"Sorry, Portland does not have a women's professional basketball team."

Barkley gave Gan Guoyang a thumbs-up and declared, "I love you, Forrest Gump!"

Gan Guoyang smiled, said goodbye to his friend, and they didn't have time to sit down for a drink and a chat.

That night, Barkley had to immediately fly to his next destination, Salt Lake City, where they would be playing the Utah Jazz on the road the next day in a back-to-back game.

After playing against Gan Guoyang, Barkley is now going head-to-head with Karl Malone.

As the NBA entered the 90s, the competition for centers became increasingly fierce.

(End of this chapter)