The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 925 A Glimmer of Light

"Basketball owes me nothing; I've owed basketball my whole life."

"I am 37 years old this year, and my wealth exceeds my biggest dream."

"When I entered the league in 1984, I just wanted to earn a million dollars for my grandmother, work here for ten years, retire, and then find a high school basketball coaching job."

"Now, I have material wealth, many people know me, and I have been to many places around the world. All of this is thanks to basketball."

"Now that I have a championship trophy, I think I can die without regrets."

Many people may have overlooked the fact that the night of celebration after Game 6 of the 2000 NBA Finals was not only Sonny Gan's retirement game, but also Charles Barkley's last game.

Of course, Barkley didn't care. He enjoyed the championship, champagne, and beer in the locker room. He was soaking wet and gave an interview while holding the trophy in front of his locker, talking about his relationship with basketball.

Unlike Forrest Gump's optimism and rejection of sadness, Barkley, this rough man, was more sentimental. His usually loud voice was now soft and gentle, with a contemplative and humble tone, having put aside all his former arrogance.

He said he never imagined he would become one of the 50 greatest stars or be inducted into the Hall of Fame, but his achievements and statistics speak for themselves.

With 1125 career games, he averaged 22.1 points, 11.6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, making him one of the greatest offensive rebounders in history.

He was selected to the All-Star team 11 times, the All-NBA team 12 times, won a regular season MVP award once, and won an NBA championship once.

As of the time of this book's publication, he was the eighth player in league history to reach 20000 points, 10000 rebounds, and 4000 assists, and he was also the shortest.

How did all this happen? He made so many mistakes, some of which could ruin a person's life if made just once, but he resolved them one by one, ultimately bringing his success and charisma to the world.

That night, the Portland Trail Blazers' locker room was filled with mixed emotions, and such a situation may never happen again.

They won the championship, and then nearly half of the players retired or were considering retirement.

Besides Forrest Gump and Charles Barkley, Domantas Sabonis, Dell Curry, A.C. Green, Chris Mullin, and Terry Porter Jr. may also leave the league.

Ultimately, Sabonis left, Chris Mullin retired, and after some wrangling with management, Terry Porter decided to leave Portland to play in another city, wanting to enjoy a more relaxed basketball experience (but fate later played another trick on him).

Dell Curry and A.C. Green remained with the Trail Blazers, where Curry nurtured his son and A.C. Green set a record for consecutive appearances.

Charles Barkley concluded, "I'm finally leaving, and the hardest part is that from now on, it's unlikely that anything I do for the rest of my life will come close to what I've achieved in my 16-year basketball career. That kind of life... might be very challenging."

—Excerpt from "Barkley," a biography of Charles Barkley by Motiejunas, published in 2022.

Charles Barkley faced a challenge soon after retiring.

After winning the championship in June, Barkley achieved his goal and began his own celebration.

The first thing he did was to have a big meal. On the night of the championship, he drank six bottles of champagne and then went to McDonald's and ordered 30 Big Macs to treat himself.

He has sacrificed so much to control his weight this season, and he is already starving. His craving for food is exactly the same as his craving for the championship.

For a period of time afterward, Barkley completely neglected his diet, indulging in excessive eating and drinking, and traveling extensively, causing his weight to quickly soar back to 300 pounds.

Unlike Gan Guoyang, who has many things to do in the future, Charles Barkley just wants to enjoy his retirement right now.

Having made a fortune and gained immense fame over the past 16 years, he doesn't need to worry about work for the time being; he can play, travel, and participate in various talk shows.

Barkley has made a plan: he will not touch basketball for 16 months, live a life unrelated to basketball for more than a year, and never set foot on the training court again.

However, after just over a month of implementing the plan, Barkley received a call from Gan Guoyang, asking him to return to Oregon and come to the American Basketball Academy in the Mackenzie Valley of Eugene.

"What? An American basketball academy? I've already planned not to touch a basketball for a year, what do you want me to do there? I'm not going!"

"Plans can't keep up with changes. I originally planned to be the President of the United States. Let's change your plans and come to Eugene. I've already booked your plane ticket, and everything is arranged. Also, you need to get your weight down to below 300 pounds within a week, otherwise you won't be able to compete properly."

"What? I have to compete? And I have to lose weight? Listen to what you're saying, Sonny? I'm not going, absolutely not!"

“I’ve found you a job at Turner TV. The salary is very high, the contract is long-term, and there’s a signing bonus. You can start working here once my business is finished. The contract is with me. Are you coming?”

Barkley paused for three seconds on the phone and said, "Can you give me 10 days to get down to 300 pounds? A week is too short."

"Whatever, just make sure you lose weight. By the time you get to Eugene, I don't want you to be so fat that people mistake you for a brown bear. You really should control your weight, Charles, for your health and your future job. Okay, sorry for the nagging, I'm getting old. Anyway, get on with it, buddy."

A week later, in late July, Charles Barkley arrived at the American Basketball Academy in the Mackenzie Valley—a basketball training center built in a forest valley—following the address given to him by Gan Guoyang.

This center was built in 1997 by Gan Guoyang, along with several partners, Wilt Chamberlain, and Bill Wharton.

The center serves basketball enthusiasts and professional athletes in Oregon, surrounding states, and around the world, providing them with excellent training environments and researching and offering advanced basketball teaching concepts.

During the off-season, Gan Guoyang will spend some time here to train and maintain his form, unlike when he was younger and always had to go to New York or Los Angeles. After all, his family is in Portland, and it is more convenient to have the training base in Oregon.

Besides NBA legends like Gan Guoyang, Chamberlain, and Bill Walton, many basketball celebrities from the West Coast have affiliated themselves here, forming advisory committees to provide advice or assistance for the development and construction of the training center.

John Wooden, Dale Brown, Peter Newell, Jerry Lucas, and Jack Ramsey are among the members of the advisory board, making for a truly impressive lineup.

This was Barkley's first time visiting an American basketball academy. Seeing the name of the center, he thought to himself that Forrest Gump was really good at bragging, building a training center and directly using the name "America".

Why don't you just call it Portland, or Oregon Basketball Training Center?
But once inside the center, seeing the names of Chamberlain, Wooden, Walton, and others engraved on the list in the reception and exhibition hall, I realized that this "American" prefix truly carries significant prestige.

To Barkley's surprise, in addition to Gan Guoyang, Sabonis, Terry Porter Jr., Chris Mullin, and Dell Curry were all there at the training center.

"What's going on? Sonny, what do you mean? Are you trying to create a new Trail Blazers?" Barkley thought to himself, what are a bunch of old guys doing training together?
Sabonis came over and explained, "The Chinese national team is going to train here, and we were all called here by Agan to train with them."

Barkley suddenly realized that if Forrest Gump was going to represent China at the Sydney Olympics, Barkley, Sabonis, Mullin, Porter Jr., and Curry would make a perfect lineup.

Gan Guoyang came over and touched Barkley's belly, saying, "Go weigh yourself, Charles, and see if you've dropped below 300 pounds." Barkley asked, "If I haven't dropped below 300 pounds, can I leave?"

"No, I will supervise you until you get below 300 pounds."

"..."

Charles Barkley never expected that his challenges would come again just days after his retirement.

But there was nothing he could do; Forrest Gump had given him too much. When he saw the contract, he knew in his heart that he wouldn't have to worry about work and money for the next ten years.

Sabonis, Mullin, Porter, Curry and others must have received a great reward, otherwise it would be hard for them to come and be sparring partners at their age based solely on friendship.

The best thing about Forrest Gump as a leader is that when he gets people to do things, he never makes empty promises, but rather provides ample opportunities so that those who work for him are well-fed.

So everyone was willing to follow Forrest Gump and latch onto his coattails. Basically, they could have everything they wanted: championships, money, fame—they wouldn't miss out on anything.

Not long after the Trail Blazers' retired veterans arrived at the training center, in the early hours of the 17th, the Chinese men's national basketball team finally arrived at their destination after a 30-hour long-haul flight with layovers and a two-hour bus ride.

Gan Guoyang and Bruce O'Neill, the director of the training center, greeted the national team players, which made everyone on the national team feel flattered.

National team head coach Jiang Xingquan, dragging his tired body, was the first to step forward and shake hands with Gan Guoyang, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, thank you so much."

Jiang Xingquan's words have several layers of meaning. One is that at 3 a.m., Gan Guoyang personally went to the parking lot to welcome the national team, which was actually unnecessary, but he still did it.

One is Gan Guoyang, who has already retired at the age of 36. After a grueling season, he could have taken a good rest, but he rejoined the national team for the honor of the country and even arranged his training in the United States. His dedication is truly admirable.

Another point is that after the 1992 Olympics, Jiang Xingquan was promoted to vice chairman of the Basketball Association and often worked in the capital, which gave him access to more information from high-level officials.

Jiang Xingquan learned from various sources that Gan Guoyang had made outstanding contributions to the country in many ways, not just in basketball, and that he was the kind of person who should be draped in the national flag after his death.

Therefore, the phrase "Thank you for your hard work" is full of respect.

Afterwards, Jiang Xingquan asked each member of the national team to come over and shake hands with Gan Guoyang, which was considered a meeting.

Only two veterans from Barcelona are in the national team this time: Hu Weidong and Sun Jun. Hu Weidong looks to be in good health and form.

Hu Weidong left the Boston Celtics at the end of the 2000 regular season because he was not included in Bobby Berman's 12-man playoff roster.

There are many reasons, among which physical condition and injuries are part of it. Years of high-intensity competitions and training have taken a toll on Hu Weidong's body.

Therefore, Hu Weidong prefers to return to China as soon as possible after the regular season ends, to rest, maintain his form, and prepare for the Olympics in September.

Therefore, Hu Weidong missed the opportunity to meet Gan Guoyang in the Finals. Of course, even if he stayed with the Celtics, he wouldn't have much playing time in the Finals.

Others like Wang Zhizhi, Liu Yudong, Battulga, Li Nan, and Zheng Wu were members of the national team in 96 and are now in their prime, possessing strong fighting power.

There were also a few players who were participating in the Olympics for the first time: Zhang Jinsong, Li Qun, Guo Shiqiang, and the last one who shook hands with Gan Guoyang, who was also the tallest player, Yao Ming.

Yao Ming looked awkward as he shook hands with Gan Guoyang. At 2.26 meters tall, he seemed a head shorter than Gan Guoyang, who was 2.09 meters tall.

He greeted Gan Guoyang in a low, muffled voice, looking somewhat bewildered, as this was the first time Yao Ming had met this national idol face-to-face.

Yao Ming once watched Gan Guoyang play in person. In Shanghai, when Gan Guoyang came to do an event, Yao Ming watched him from afar in the stands.

He was an idol and dream for young people across China who loved sports, an iconic figure, a true legend in the sports world.

People say that those legendary figures often disappoint when you meet them in person.

For example, the description might portray him as wise and powerful, but upon meeting him in person, you might find that he is just an old man or an ordinary middle-aged man, lacking any charisma.

Forrest Gump is a completely different kind of person. Everyone who has actually met him says, "He's more amazing than what you see on TV," "He's more fascinating than you can imagine," and "He's like a god, radiating divine light."

Yao Ming's thoughts at this moment were exactly the same as those people's. Standing in front of him was a god-like figure, making you want to bow your head or even kneel down.

Gan Guoyang greeted Yao Ming with a smile and joked, "Isn't the air fresher up there?"

This was a joke Barkley made about Sabonis in the past; Yao Ming was actually a bit better than Sabonis.

Gan Guoyang was also deeply moved, recalling that night that changed his fate in a very, very distant memory.

He began this magical journey after hearing the news of Yao Ming's retirement, and now he has met Yao Ming again, who had just entered the basketball world.

Everything resembled an ouroboros, with its head eventually biting its tail, forming a tight loop.

Later, when Yao Ming took a photo with Bruce O'Neal, he appeared much more composed and confident, with a determined look in his eyes.

Influenced by Gan Guoyang, the younger generation of Chinese players are quite confident, optimistic, and full of ambition and aspirations for the future.

Like Hu Weidong, although his Celtics journey has ended, he does not plan to return to China to play basketball. He plans to stay in the United States to look for a job after the Olympics.

Wang Zhizhi had a decent season with the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 11 points and 4 rebounds per game, which demonstrated his potential and value for development.

Now, Wang Zhizhi is Atlanta's most popular player, and he always has a smile on his face.

Other players like Liu Yudong and Battier also have the potential to join the NBA, which offers higher economic value. At the same time, the Chinese Basketball Association hopes that they can train in high-level leagues to improve the national team's level.

In the recently concluded NBA draft, Battier was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the second round with the 42nd overall pick. He will play for San Antonio next season.

In short, under Gan Guoyang's leadership, the future of young talents in Chinese basketball is bright.

(End of this chapter)