The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 841 Setting a Record

April 19th, the last day of the 1997-1998 regular season.

All teams will conclude their regular season today, determining their final playoff rankings.

Of course, by this point in the competition, the rankings of the top eight teams in the East and West had already been determined long ago.

Regardless of the outcome of the final game, it will not affect the playoff matchups.

In some past seasons, the eighth, seventh, or even sixth seeding might not be determined until the very last game.

This season, the NBA has shown a huge "gap between rich and poor", with weak teams being quite weak and most of them in the process of rebuilding.

The Denver Nuggets have a dismal record of 11 wins and 71 losses, making it difficult to lose to them.

In the Eastern Conference, the Toronto Raptors only managed a 16-66 record, a complete failure of Isaiah Thomas's team-building philosophy.

Correspondingly, the top teams remain strong, with the Chicago Bulls pulling away in the second half of the season to secure the top spot in the East with a 62-20 record, surpassing the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers to gain home-court advantage in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In the West, the Utah Jazz, last season's Western Conference champions, also came from behind, rising from fourth to third, and then from third to second, finishing the regular season with a record of 62 wins and 20 losses, achieving 60 wins for the second time in franchise history.

Furthermore, the Jazz swept the Chicago Bulls in the regular season and handed the Portland Trail Blazers a loss at home, which is enough to prove their strong strength and great potential.

The Seattle SuperSonics and Los Angeles Lakers are ranked third and fourth in the Western Conference, respectively, with records of 61 wins and 20 losses and 60 wins and 22 losses.

The Lakers played their final game of the season yesterday, while the Seattle SuperSonics have one more game to play against the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers have already secured the top spot in the league with a record-breaking 76-5 record. Regardless of the outcome of their final game, they will set a new NBA record, improving upon the Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record by several games.

Regardless of who wins or loses the final game, the Western Conference will simultaneously have four teams with 60 wins in the regular season, setting another NBA record.

The fact that a single division has four teams with 60 wins for the first time illustrates the significant disparity in strength within the league.

This gap has resulted in a significant difference between top teams and mid-to-lower-tier teams, making many regular season games less suspenseful.

This is one reason why the Trail Blazers have achieved such an amazing record. Two 70-win teams have emerged in three years. It is also largely related to the fact that new teams further dilute talent and the imperfect collective bargaining agreement.

The major labor negotiations in the summer of 1998 were inevitable. The league would definitely push for a new labor agreement to ensure a balance of team strength, take care of the interests of small and medium-sized teams, and promote talent mobility.

At 7:30 p.m., the game between the Trail Blazers and the SuperSonics began at the Rose Garden Arena.

Because both teams are located in the West Coast Pacific region, which has the latest time zone, the game will start at the latest time.

So this was the last game of the 97-98 regular season in the true sense, and the season ended after this game.

This was originally a clash of titans, but since rankings were irrelevant, neither team would go all out.

However, the Trail Blazers still want to improve their best regular season record to 77 wins, so they won't easily give up.

As for the SuperSonics, they have always been at odds with the Trail Blazers, and George Karl will never miss an opportunity to take a bite out of the Trail Blazers.

Before the game started, George Karl's full beard caught the attention of the live broadcast cameras.

In the latter part of the season, Karl and the SuperSonics coaching staff grew beards to show their determination to make a name for themselves this season.

To be honest, if it weren't for the Portland Trail Blazers this year, the SuperSonics would have had a very good chance of making it out of the Western Conference.

Mid-season, the SuperSonics made a significant trade, sending away Sam Perkins and acquiring Charles Oakley, a former teammate of Patrick Ewing, from the Detroit Pistons.

This trade further strengthens the SuperSonics' interior defense, and the Seattle team is one of the few Western Conference teams in the league with hope for this season.

They have been at odds with the Trail Blazers since the 70s, battling it out in the playoffs, and defeating the Portlanders has always been Seattle's dream.

Unfortunately, ever since Gan Guoyang came to Portland in 1984, the SuperSonics have been relentlessly suppressed by the Trail Blazers and have been unable to turn the tide.

During the brief window of opportunity when Forrest Gump retired in 1995 and 1996, the SuperSonics seized the chance to break out of the West.

However, they were not strong enough to defeat the strong Eastern Conference teams in the Finals, until Forrest Gump returned, and fear returned.

Since his time with the Warriors, George Karl has repeatedly faced the Trail Blazers and Forrest Gump, but he never gave up.

In the final game of the regular season, he still looked defiant and fielded his full starting lineup, hoping to take another bite out of the Trail Blazers.

Ewing, Oakley, Hawkins, Payton, and Schrempf – a very strong starting lineup.

For the Trail Blazers, veterans Domantas Sabonis and Chris Mullin, who have been heavily affected by injuries, opted to rest.

With Kobe and Jermaine O'Neal taking up starting positions, Gan Guoyang naturally wouldn't be rested and would continue to appear in the center circle to support the Rose Garden.

Standing opposite Gan Guoyang was his old friend Ewing. Ewing entered the NBA a year later than Gan Guoyang, but was two years older, and was already 36 years old this year.

Ewing has been plagued by injuries this season, only playing in more than 40 games, but the SuperSonics have still maintained a very good record.

In the summer of 1997, they signed Jim McEwen for a high price in the frontcourt as Ewing's backup, which was considered a luxury.

The SuperSonics still have cap space to sign McEwen because Ewing's contract, like Olajuwon's, is only $300 million this season. This was a deliberate decision to keep the contract small to free up cap space for the team to strengthen its roster.

It's obvious who McEwen was signed for: to counter Forrest Gump and the Portland Twin Towers.

McEvan stands at 7 feet 1 inches tall with an outstanding wingspan, making him a true center giant.

Although his scoring ability is worrying and he has no independent offensive ability, he can contribute 2 blocks per game on the defensive end thanks to his outstanding physique.

He was seen by the SuperSonics management as a weapon to compete with Sabonis or Agnes. With Ewing out injured, McEwen filled the gap in the team's interior defense very well and was a key contributor to the team's 60 wins.

With defensive stalwart Charles Oakley also on the roster, the SuperSonics' interior defense doesn't seem to be too afraid of the Trail Blazers on paper.

Of course, a real game is a different story, and the SuperSonics haven't beaten the Trail Blazers yet this season.

Moreover, every time they met, Forrest would dominate the paint, and a big white center like McEwen was just a toy in front of Forrest.

On the contrary, the older Ewing, with his years of experience of being beaten, was able to limit Gan Guoyang in his previous matches.

The first half was a close contest between the two sides. Although the SuperSonics welcomed the tough forward Charles Oakley, George Karl's team still played an open and aggressive style of play.

With his wide-open offense and constant harassment of the ball handler, Ewing has been appearing less and less in the low post this season.

He became more of a finisher than an initiator on offense, and devoted his remaining energy to defense.

Ewing's knee has been plagued by injuries, and his movements on the field have become increasingly slow and heavy.

His playing time decreased to 32 minutes, and his scoring average dropped to 20 points per game, but he still maintained over 10 crucial defensive rebounds. This is where Ewing has improved over the years; his defensive rebounding is much better than when he was younger.

But youth will never return, and Ewing can no longer run freely at both ends of the court.

In the third quarter, the Trail Blazers fielded a younger lineup.

That darn Forrest Gump started playing the small forward position, a move that's giving the SuperSonics a real headache.

The SuperSonics' defense is very good at double-teaming the paint, forcing interior players to the wings and keeping them away from the paint.

Gan Guoyang is good; he doesn't need your defensive pressure. He goes to the wing himself. Actually, I'm a small forward.

In the final game of the regular season, everyone was a bit tired, and the SuperSonics, a team that relies on energy, especially needed some rest.

As a result, the Trail Blazers started playing track and field with the SuperSonics at the beginning of the third quarter, once again setting the pace at a breakneck speed, clearly aiming to outrun them.

Ewing is 36 years old, and Oakley is 34. The two are good at grinding out half-court sets and can run fast breaks, making it really difficult for them to keep up with the Trail Blazers' young players.

Later, Larry Bird also substituted Blaylock out of the game, letting Kobe play point guard to set the pace, and A.C. Green moved to the shooting guard position.

Green is definitely going to play; his consecutive appearances since the 1987-1988 season have reached 901 games.

With this one game, he will reach a record 902 games. This guy's ironman status is just as admirable as his virginity.

Therefore, although A.C. Green is no longer a core member of the rotation this season, Bird will still ensure that Green gets playing time in every game.

Even if he only plays for a few seconds, just walking around the court, Green has to walk around once. Sometimes he forgets, and Hart, Carlisle, or other players will remind Bird.

"It's time to get him into AC! Otherwise, his virginity will be lost!" That's what everyone jokes about.

He certainly couldn't miss this game, because without a proper point guard, the Trail Blazers were playing very chaotically on the court.

Despite the chaos, the Trail Blazers relied on a group of young players running wildly on the court. Gan Guoyang and Kobe could charge in whenever they got the ball.

The SuperSonics either let two players drive to the basket or they have to foul, leaving the remaining three guys with only one thing to do: grab offensive rebounds.

The SuperSonics were known as the wildest team in the league, but the Trail Blazers were even wilder.

Gan Guoyang played like a fish in water at the small forward position. He stopped defending, stopped grabbing rebounds, and stopped boxing out. He would quickly go down to the basket and launch a fast break whenever he had the chance.

Kobe really enjoyed passing the ball in this game, making long passes to Gan Guoyang for fast breaks whenever he got the chance.

George Karl soon discovered that Ewing and Oakley couldn't withstand Forrest Gump's reckless actions; that son of a bitch was unpredictable.

Everyone's getting old. Why not just coast along in the paint with strength and experience, wallowing in the mud, and teach those bouncy young guys a lesson with defense and skill?

This kid, however, relied on his good physical condition. At 34, he could still run and jump. Even though his explosiveness was not as good as before, he didn't rely on his first step, but on the inertia generated by his large weight to generate huge impact force. No one in the entire league could stop him.

In several possessions, even with Ewing standing guard in the paint waiting for Gan Guoyang, he still couldn't stop Gan Guoyang from directly attacking the basket.

This guy is like a battering ram; once you get hit by him, it takes forever to recover. Ewing didn't even want to defend against him anymore towards the end.

This is, after all, a regular season game. The SuperSonics didn't make any specific defensive arrangements, and everyone was just relying on sheer willpower to fight the Trail Blazers.

After the third quarter, the Trail Blazers, led by Gan Guoyang's 17 points in the quarter, widened the gap to 14 points, and the SuperSonics' momentum was extinguished.

Gary Payton tried to stop Forrest Gump on defense, but after being knocked away twice, he didn't dare to try again.

The recovery plan that Gan Guoyang set when he returned to the sport in 1996 was perfectly executed.

Despite a decline in speed and explosiveness, he elevated his power to its strongest level in history.

During the fourth quarter break, Gan Guoyang raised his right arm, showing off his bulging biceps to the fans.

The crowd chanted "MVP!" He was an absolute lone hero last year, creating one of the greatest individual performance seasons in NBA history.

This season, Gan Guoyang led one of the greatest teams in NBA history to achieve the most remarkable record.

When needed, he can step up and turn the tide; when needed, he can step back and take the lead. Gan Guoyang's performance on the court has reached its peak this season.

Ultimately, the Trail Blazers defeated the Seattle SuperSonics 124-113 at home, securing their 77th win of the season and setting a record that has remained unsurpassed.

George Karl, sporting a full beard, returned home disappointed once again, but he still hopes to showcase his skills on the playoff stage, at least to reach the Western Conference Finals and have another chance to challenge the Trail Blazers.

Four days later, the NBA playoffs officially began, with the Trail Blazers facing the Houston Rockets in the first round.

The Rockets made a mistake in the summer; they traded away Robert Horry and acquired Ceballos in hopes of bolstering their offense.

But Ceballos only has better stats; his impact on the court is far less than that of Robert Horry.

With Horry on the roster, the Lakers immediately became a Western Conference powerhouse, possessing the qualifications to break out of the West and having enormous potential.

The Rockets, however, went from being a rising powerhouse to a team on the verge of making the playoffs.

Chris Webber's performance declined compared to last season, and he failed to be selected for the All-Star team.

Although he signed a very long contract with the Houston Rockets, he would have a player option in the summer of 1998 to opt out of the contract early.

At that time, the NBA did not have a standard contract. Various terms and conditions were freely available. A contract could be signed for 10 or even 15 years, but players or teams could have options starting from the second year, in order to ensure the flexibility of teams and players in their operations.

Given the Rockets' current decline, it's a big question mark whether they can retain their talented forward in the summer of 1998.

Facing the Trail Blazers in the first round undoubtedly deepened Webber and the Rockets' despair—last season, they were able to snatch two victories in the semifinals by relying on their talent on the wing.

The Rockets had no hope this year. In the three games, the Trail Blazers scored higher and higher, 91-109, 88-117, and 102-125, easily sweeping the Rockets out of the playoffs.

After a blowout loss to the Trail Blazers at the Summit Arena, Chris Webber walked down the tunnel back to the locker room with his head down, telling himself that he might have already played his last game for the Rockets.

At the same time, Webber silently vowed in his heart that one day he would beat Forrest Gump in the playoffs, no matter how slim the chance was, he would try his best.

This became Chris Webber's belief throughout his career and the strongest manifestation of his will in his athletic life.

No one knows how much I sacrificed for this moment, how far I walked alone in silence—a path that transformed me from a boy into a man. I pursued the light, persevering through hardship, and finally found my own light. I thank God, and even more so, I thank the sun.

—Excerpt from Chris Webber's post-game interview during the NBA playoffs in May 2002.

(End of this chapter)