The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 922 The Big Player

The heavy rain stopped around 6 p.m., and Portland saw a tenfold increase in traffic accidents throughout the day compared to usual.

The Trail Blazers players were affected by rain and traffic congestion, and many arrived at the Rose Garden Arena at 6:30 p.m., an hour before the game was scheduled to start.

There's definitely no time to warm up. I take a hot shower in the locker room, pedal on the stationary bike for half an hour, and then have the trainer help me stretch. That counts as a warm-up.

For veteran players, high-intensity matches can easily lead to injuries if they don't warm up properly beforehand.

The players who arrived late complained that the long traffic jam had made their muscles stiff and they needed to stretch and warm up even more, causing chaos in the locker room.

Only Gan Guoyang remained calm and composed, sitting in a corner meditating. He had finished warming up and was making final preparations before going on stage.

His mind was blank, focused solely on his nose, a void of darkness, the past glories and the uncertainty of the future all forgotten.

The present moment is everything.

No matter what kind of competition it is, Gan Guoyang tries his best to participate with this mindset.

This is one of the secrets to his consistently high level of performance over the past decade. One must never be trapped by past achievements or fantasies about the future. The former makes you underestimate your opponents and careless, while the latter makes you timid and hesitant.

At the highest level of basketball competition, these are all unfavorable factors that affect performance.

The noise and chaos in the locker room did not affect Gan Guoyang, and everyone tacitly refrained from disturbing him.

Although it was a match point game for the championship, everyone except Charles Barkley remained very calm.

Barkley was the second player on the team to arrive at the arena, after Gan Guoyang. He certainly didn't arrive by helicopter, but rather because he left early.

He saw it was raining at noon and immediately went out, avoiding the peak traffic hours, and arrived at the stadium smoothly.

Barkley barely slept last night, waking up repeatedly in the middle of the night to check the time, then falling back asleep, only to wake up again, over and over again, his excitement and anxiety overwhelming him.

When he arrived at the Rose Garden Arena, the spectacle of Portland overwhelmed him. Was the championship he had dreamed of throughout his career about to arrive?

Although Barkley's stats have plummeted to career lows this season, even with his weight loss, he is unlikely to regain his former glory. He has only maintained his attendance rate and has become a complete role player.

But Barkley is willing to be a role player, someone who can step up when needed.

During the regular season, in games where Gan Guoyang was absent, Barkley repeatedly stepped up to play the power forward position and carried the team to victory.

In the playoffs, Barkley used his experience to play a crucial role in key moments of certain games.

In some games, Barkley plays terribly and doesn't get any playing time at all.

But in some games, Barkley can play the role of the clutch player. He is no longer a superstar, but an experienced veteran who knows when to take the shot.

Such a change is painful for a former MVP, much like asking Barkley to stop eating so many hamburgers and drinking so much cola.

But he endured all this pain for the sake of the championship, and now he is finally about to get his wish.

He felt an indescribable mix of pleasure and repression, a feeling that was simmering in his chest and about to explode, yet he couldn't find the fuse, because the time wasn't right yet.

Barkley had assumed that in the locker room, everyone would be united and work together to make a final push for the championship.

To everyone's surprise, they arrived in a scattered manner, hurriedly warming up, and their expressions and words seemed quite ordinary, no different from any other competition.

No wonder, he and Alan Henderson are the only two players on the team who have never won a championship.

Alan Henderson is still young, and unlike Barkley, his goal is to get a big contract, so winning a championship doesn't have much of an impact on him.

Others, like Terry Porter, already have nine rings.

This guy already had a bitter look on his face, and this season he's been looking gloomy every day.

With his tenth championship within reach, he had no interest in the title and was only thinking about retiring.

Recently, Bird and the Trail Blazers management have been trying to persuade Bosh to retire and discussing re-signing him.

Porter really didn't want to play anymore. He was dragged along by Forrest Gump to win another three-peat, without earning much more money. He already had a lot of honors, so for him, having one more or one less championship didn't make much difference. But playing dozens of games a year had exhausted him.

Other Trail Blazers players have as many as six or seven rings, and at least two or three.

The cleaning ladies at the Rose Garden Stadium all have several commemorative items in their hands.

Therefore, people take the championship less seriously and don't feel the same excitement as Barkley, who had nowhere to vent his emotions.

Barkley couldn't hold it in any longer. He ran up to Gan Guoyang, poked him, and said, "Sonny, Sonny, wake up! The game is about to start!"

Gan Guoyang opened his eyes and saw Barkley's fat face, angrily shouting, "Who the hell is asleep! I'm meditating! Can't you be quiet for a bit?"

Barkley sighed and said, "Quiet? I barely slept a wink last night, you guys are all too calm!"

Gan Guoyang said, "You've never been able to win the championship because you're too easily flustered!"

"really?"

"It's fake, you're just too bad."

"..."

The two chatted for a while before the game, but Barkley seemed much calmer.

Gan Guoyang told him that his emotions would stabilize once the match started.

"A championship is still a competition, just like any other game. It lasts 48 minutes, is divided into four quarters, and has one point from a free throw, two points from a mid-range shot, and three points from beyond the three-point line. Everything is the same, only the meaning is different. Don't let the meaning destroy the thing itself; let the thing, the game, create meaning."

Barkley felt he only vaguely understood what Gan Guoyang was saying.

Gan Guoyang could only say, "When you win the championship later, you can shout it out."

"Okay, got it."

If Forrest Gump said he would win the championship, then he really could win it.

After being reassured, Barkley felt much better and was no longer so anxious.

Half an hour later, the players entered the field for a grand opening ceremony.

Tonight, the Trail Blazers once again invited superstar Michael Jackson to sing the national anthem at the Rose Garden. It's fair to say that Jackson's opening performance was one of the main culprits behind Portland's massive traffic jam.

The Trail Blazers released the news early on, and the ticket prices for this game reached astronomical levels. The cheapest tickets were $1500 each, and the average ticket price reached a terrifying $25000. Who could resist the temptation of the Finals with the two number one players coming together?

Michael Jackson last performed at the Finals in 1988, the same year Charles Barkley was also in the Finals, but he was the one who was defeated.

Compared to 1988, Jackson's appearance had changed drastically; he had gone from being a Black man to a completely white man.

Due to vitiligo, burns, and plastic surgery, he is almost unrecognizable.

By the mid-to-late 90s, Jackson was no longer just a singer, but a symbol of popular culture and a world-renowned figure.

His main work is no longer releasing albums and singing, but participating in various commercial and social activities and making contributions using his fame.

Since the release of his album "Dangerous" in 1991, he has not released a proper new music album in the past 10 years, but only releases a new song + compilation album every few years.

In terms of originality and innovation in music, he has passed his most glorious golden age.

In interviews over the past two years, he has revealed his desire to get involved in film shooting and production, hoping to achieve something in the film and television industry.

In ordinary occasions, such as concerts, Jackson would never go, and even the Super Bowl was no longer a stage for Jackson to perform.

The NBA Finals are considered a lower-level event than the Super Bowl, and Jackson has performed there before, but he was still invited this time.

For Forrest Gump, and for the bond between them.

They helped each other when one was in the eye of the storm, which makes them true friends in adversity.

After Michael Jackson finished singing "The Stars and Stripes Will Never Fall," he specially invited Gan Guoyang to the stage, and the two shook hands and hugged.

The audience erupted in cheers. The friendship between these two icons in their respective fields is also a legend.

As he left the court, Michael Jackson said, "Sonny, I really envy you. You've been able to stay active on the court all these years and have a clear goal to strive for."

Gan Guoyang said, "But now, this road is almost over. I'm going to be like you. You'll have to take me with you then."

Jackson smiled, shook his head slightly, and said, "This isn't good for me at all... You should really keep playing, really..."

Gan Guoyang saw helplessness in Jackson's smile. Michael Jackson has been a world-class idol for the past 10 years, but there is not much he can do in his own musical realm.

His fame and status forced him to spend a lot of time on various activities, and the numerous lawsuits and copyright disputes left him exhausted, making it impossible for him to devote himself to music.

This was Jackson's helplessness and regret. Watching his friend Forrest Gump continue to create brilliance in the basketball field and achieve his third three-peat, Jackson was envious from the bottom of his heart.

Gan Guoyang understood Jackson's good intentions and said, "But I really have no choice, Michael, you must understand me."

"I know I know."

If we're talking about who truly understands the phrase "one is often powerless in the world of martial arts," Michael Jackson would certainly be one of them.

After a grand opening ceremony, Michael Jackson left the stage, and the starting lineups for both teams took to the court. This could be the final game of the season.

Inside the high VIP box at the Rose Garden Arena, Michael Jordan witnessed this grand opening ceremony, which may also have been Forrest Gump's grand farewell ceremony.

It's impossible not to feel envy, jealousy, and resentment. Such a farewell ceremony and a championship are the dream come true for any player, like a dream come true.

It's said that Forrest Gump even arrived at the arena by helicopter to avoid traffic jams and heavy rain. There's no more romantic or cooler way to make an entrance.

The two have been battling for so many years since 1984, but Jordan is ultimately no match for Forrest Gump in any aspect. Even his departure from the court wasn't as cool as Forrest Gump's.

The loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1998 NBA Finals marked a tragic end to Michael Jordan's career, leaving him with lingering resentment and discontent.

Sitting next to Jordan is Phil Knight, the president of Nike and now a minority shareholder of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Knight saw the emotion on Jordan's face, and he patted Jordan on the shoulder and said, "It's okay, Michael. We can beat him somewhere else. This is his last game."

With Nike-led Portland consortium set to acquire the Portland Trail Blazers, Gan Guoyang's retirement is inevitable, given their rivalry with Avia.

In 1997, Phil Knight chose to retire, handing over the CEO position to someone else. However, in 1999, Jordan's first season after retirement, he chose to return to reorganize Nike's business.

One of the most important tasks was to form a powerful consortium to invest in the Portland Trail Blazers and prepare to buy them from Tang Jianguo.

It is quite rare in the history of professional sports for a sports brand company to take the lead in purchasing a team, but Nike has the capability to do so, and they also need the prestigious brand name of the Trail Blazers.

It would be even better if Gan Guoyang were a Nike player, then Nike could truly dominate the market. Unfortunately, Gan Guoyang is not, and his presence makes Avia Nike's biggest rival.

Now, Gan Guoyang is in the late stages of his career. Even though he is still very strong, all parties are eager for him to leave so that younger people can make room for him.

The absence of Gan Guoyang is very important to Nike.

From the perspective of capitalists like Phil Knight, no matter how many championships Forrest Gump won, how many times the world cheered for him, how many glorious retirements he made, and how many legends he left behind, it's all just a small part of his life.

However, in the game of capital, the bosses are the real winners. Retired players are just a brand; unless they control capital, they are not true players.

Just like Michael Jackson, he was famous enough and had enough money, but in his battle with Sony, Sony still had the upper hand, and Michael Jackson himself was exhausted.

Similarly, Forrest Gump has been embroiled in controversy by the FBI and Congress, and his dominance in the funeral industry has greatly diminished. He has already sold most of his shares and is now mostly in cash.

Avia's Skyscraper line, like Nike's Air Jordan, is an iconic brand in the sneaker world, but it's difficult for them to compete fully with Nike, Adidas, and Avia.

In Knight's view, Forrest Gump should just be a symbol, a signboard, a cultural icon, someone people will remember; he's already out of the picture.

“And you, Michael, you can get in and become a real big player!” Knight said to Jordan.

He encouraged Jordan to join the consortium and become one of the shareholders of the Portland Trail Blazers, making him a future owner of the team.

Jordan responded cautiously and calmly to Phil Knight's encouragement, saying, "That means I can't play anymore."

Once you become a team owner, you cannot participate in games as a player. This is an NBA rule, a clear-cut rule.

Knight waved his hand and said, "Shareholders are the real players! Why are you still thinking about what's going on on the field, Michael?"

Jordan didn't say anything more. He knew Phil Knight couldn't truly understand him, and the game had already started.

(End of this chapter)