The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 956 The Place Where the Dream Begins
Because of Wang Fuxi's busy work schedule, Gan Guoyang began to spend more time with his daughter.

Gan Guoyang's third-grade daughter is growing up rapidly, and almost every now and then, he notices some changes in her.

He's grown a bit taller and more sturdy, and his appearance sometimes resembles his mother more, and sometimes his father more.

As she became more and more girlish and less and less childlike, Gan Guoyang began to worry about her safety in American society, where sexual maturity comes early.

To spend more time with and see his daughter, and to ensure her safety, Gan Guoyang had his bodyguards pick her up from school and take her to the MGM Grand Stadium every day on match days.

This was a treatment Gan Wenshan had never received before. Back in Portland, whether or not he came to watch a game depended on his mother's mood and how much work she had at home.

After arriving in Las Vegas, Gan Guoyang hoped that his daughter could come to every game, as seeing her by his side would put his mind at ease.

Gan Youwei would stay by his granddaughter's sidelines, still holding a notebook in his hand, recording the events before, during, and after each match.

After arriving in Las Vegas, betting on sports became much easier for him, and he no longer had to do it secretly like he did in Portland.

Gan Youwei was very supportive of his son building a basketball team in Las Vegas, but when they actually came, he lost a lot of money.

Before the match started, Gan Wenyi would ask his grandfather, "Grandpa, will Dad win today's match?"

Gan Youwei pushed up his glasses, thought for a moment, and said seriously, "It's hard to say."

Why is it hard to say?

"Hey~ your dad's gotten worse."

What does "changing dishes" mean?

"His skill level isn't what it used to be; he's getting old."

"How old can he be? Older than your grandfather?"

"In terms of the lifespan of a basketball player, he is older than my grandfather."

"How bad can he be?"

"I often only score around 20 points and grab a little over 10 rebounds in a game. What's the use of that? I have a bunch of rookies and veterans under my command. They can't shoot accurately, they can't run fast, and they just play haphazardly! But before, when my teammates were playing haphazardly, my dad could still get 40 points and 20 rebounds, and he could revive them from the brink of disaster. Now, he's really a dead horse."

In November, the Las Vegas Glory's performance was not good.

Just like at the beginning, they always win one game and lose another, win one game and lose another.

They can win relatively easily against some weaker teams, but it's very difficult against strong, top-tier teams with powerful attacks.

Gan Guoyang was able to win some important games on his own at the beginning of the season, but he can't play like that every game.

Moreover, as NBA teams have expanded and matured, increased NBA exposure and high salaries have attracted talent from all over the world to the NBA. Now, unlike in the early to mid-90s, the NBA is no longer a place where talent has been diluted and there are many weak teams.

Especially in the West, there are many strong teams, and the league is entering a state where there are no weak teams. Anyone can sink a team out of nowhere.

Moreover, as the newest expanding NBA team, the Las Vegas Glorious are undoubtedly the worst teams out there; they are the biggest ditch.

Fortunately, Gan Guoyang made a comeback; otherwise, he wouldn't have even reached that 50% win rate, and might not have been able to win a single game.

However, Gan Guoyang is no longer at his peak; he has declined to the level of Larry Bird. With this lineup, even if Bird came, it wouldn't make a difference.

Gan Guoyang was very patient, not in a hurry at all despite winning and losing, and had a very good mentality.

Faced with this situation, many American media outlets couldn't help but start to ridicule and mock, saying that Gan Guoyang was leading a bunch of scoundrels and was going to ruin his reputation at the end of his career.

This put considerable pressure on the other players in Vegas.

Young players like Gerald Wallace, Arenas, and Bale have consistently faced criticism from commentators.

People say Wallace is reckless, Arenas is selfish, and Bale is dull; in short, for teams with a lot of viewers, both their strengths and weaknesses are magnified.

Chinese fans across the ocean have been relentlessly criticizing them, with everyone hoping that Forrest Gump would be surrounded by experienced stars.

Although Gan Guoyang invested in and built a team in Las Vegas, he did not buy the media in Las Vegas.

Besides, even the US president gets criticized and scolded every day in the US, so even if you're the greatest of all time in the NBA, you'll still get criticized if you lose a game.

Upon hearing his grandfather's words, Gan Wenyi ran to the Glory team's locker room as soon as the game started. What was a forbidden area for others was a small playground for Gan Wenyi.

She would politely knock on the door and say, "I'm coming in, everyone. Please get dressed."

"Come in, we're all dressed!" came the reply from inside.

During this period, Gan Wenyi was constantly going in and out of the locker room, so everyone consciously avoided going shirtless.

Upon entering the locker room, Gan Guoyang was preparing for the match, bandaging his foot.

She ran up to her father and said, "Dad, Grandpa said you're a noob."

"Grandpa's memory isn't good. I'm not a noob. My opponent is the noob."

"Grandpa also said that you killed the horse while treating it."

"Really? Dad is a basketball player, not a veterinarian."

Gan Guoyang rolled his eyes. His dad must have been watching a lot of ESPN or TNT commentary lately.

Especially Barkley, that big mouth, he must be taking advantage of the Glory's inconsistent performance to spout nonsense.

That fatso loves to settle personal scores. Seeing his old friends Gan Guoyang and Jordan making a comeback, he keeps making sarcastic remarks about the two veterans on TV.

Gan Guoyang knew, of course, that he was saying this to generate buzz and traffic; Barkley had also spoken to him privately.

But as the saying goes, it is impolite not to reciprocate, so Gan Guoyang decided to take some time to teach this fatso a lesson so that he would behave himself on television.

"From now on, tell Grandpa not to watch TV all the time. Spend more time with him, play chess with him or something."

"Dad, have you really become so bad?"

"Of course not, Dad is still pretty good, just not as good as he used to be."

"Could it be because your teammates are too bad?"

Upon hearing this, the entire locker room burst into laughter, though there was a hint of embarrassment in the laughter.

Children speak without restraint, so of course no one would blame Gan Wenyi for saying such a thing.

However, when a child says such things, it's because she's heard others say them; she herself has no idea.

Major sports media outlets, as well as local media in Las Vegas, are now criticizing Gan Guoyang's teammates for being too weak.

The team should cherish Gan Guoyang's peak years, make more trades, and acquire more experienced veterans to form a strong team.

Although Gan Guoyang has repeatedly clarified that he believes the current lineup is good and has great potential, everyone should be patient and accompany the team as it grows.

But fans watch games primarily for the thrill of winning; only a small minority have the patience to watch rookies grow.

Moreover, Las Vegas has a small local population, and most of the fans are tourists. The Glorious's home games have become a local tourist attraction.

Most tourists hope the home team will win, so Glorious plays better at home than away.

So far, most of the wins have been at home, with only one away win, against the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Winning against the Clippers was basically a free win; it didn't count as a win you earned yourself.

"No, everyone is improving, it just won't be that fast. Just like studying, you won't understand everything in just one day. It takes a long time to learn, and you won't know your grades until the end of the semester, right?"

"When are your end-of-term exams?"

"There are still five months until the playoffs."

For Gan Guoyang, watching the players of the Glory team grow is just like watching his own children.

Because this is truly his team, it truly belongs to him, unlike the Portland Trail Blazers, where he is the symbol and totem, but the Blazers are ultimately not his.

Moreover, as time went on, Portland's crime rate increased, and the city began to resemble Los Angeles more and more, sprawling out in all directions. Gan Guoyang became increasingly unfamiliar with the city.

His deepest memories of Portland are still from the 1980s, the era when players could stroll and walk with fans.

Portland's urban foundation was once built on a series of communities, and Portland has a very strong community culture.

Gan Guoyang still keeps in touch with his neighbors in the Oswick Lakeside Park community. Even though he has become such a big star, he has always maintained his ordinary side.

But as the city has developed, Portland's communities are gradually disappearing because their foundation was industry, a large number of physical businesses, and dense transportation networks. Today, Portland is developing towards finance, high technology, entertainment, and sports—the so-called Los Angeles-ization—with capital becoming more concentrated, but the number of people engaged in physical industries is decreasing, as industries have moved to other regions and even other countries.

For example, the Portland area once had a huge shoe manufacturing industry, which gave birth to shoe giants such as Nike and Avia.

However, with globalization, all their factories moved to China, where there are lower labor costs and stronger manufacturing capabilities, helping Nike and Avia become sportswear giants with global sales coverage.

But if you walk the streets of Portland, you won't see anything related to the sneaker industry except for advertisements. Factory buildings, raw material production, and so on are all not here, and even design workshops may not be here.

This is the headquarters brain, the center of profits, while its physical body has been dispersed all over the world.

This is the current situation for Nike and Avia, the current situation for Portland, and the current situation for the United States. With China's accession to the WTO, this process will accelerate.

Speaking of Portland, Gan Guoyang flipped through his calendar; the date for his first game back in Portland was fast approaching.

After tonight's game, the next game is in Seattle against Jordan, and the game after that is back in Portland.

Although he always told his family that Portland was no longer a good fit for him and that it made him feel like a stranger.

But from the very first game of the new season, Gan Guoyang was already calculating in his mind when he would return to Portland to face the Trail Blazers.

As the time drew closer, his inner emotions fluctuated more and more, and the words he uttered sounded more like a cover-up.

After carrying his daughter out of the locker room and taking her to the stands, Gan Guoyang said to her, "Daddy is going back to Portland in a few days. It's Saturday, so why don't you come back with me and see your brother?"

Gan Wenyi pouted and said, "I don't want to. My brother doesn't even come back to see me."

"I think he's been having too much of a good time in Portland. How about we go over there and teach him a lesson?"

"How to cure it?"

"Take Mom with you."

"it is good!"

The father and daughter reached an agreement, completely disregarding the feelings of their mother and brother.

Two hours later, the Radiant team will host the Phoenix Suns at home.

The Suns started the season full of ambition, ready to compete with many Western Conference powerhouses.

Their roster, centered around Walker Hill, was indeed very talented; however, Hill's injury once again dashed the Suns' hopes for the season.

After playing 15 games in the new season, Hill announced an indefinite suspension due to an ankle injury.

Last season, Hill missed a lot of games due to an ankle injury, which led to the team's poor performance.

Hill's fragile ankle has become a major obstacle preventing him from going any further.

Without Hill, the Suns can only rely on Antoine Walker and Anfernee Hardaway to carry the team.

Unfortunately, Anfernee Hardaway's body is also fragile. A series of injuries have turned him from one of the most elegant and talented guards in the league into a relatively mediocre guard who consistently contributes 15+5 per game, a near-All-Star level guard.

This is thanks to the excellent treatment from the Suns' team doctors and Phoenix's dry climate, which is suitable for recovery.

All I can say is that the NBA is an extremely physically demanding and demanding profession.

Here, talent must be supported by a resilient physical physique; otherwise, all brilliance will fade with the wear and tear of time.

Of course, the Suns have their own team-building plans, and a young player has already established himself as the team's starting point guard.

He is Tony Parker from France. The Suns selected him with the 19th overall pick in the first round, and they are very optimistic about his future development.

Two months later, the Suns will also acquire a rookie named Joe Johnson, who was selected by the Knicks with the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2001 NBA draft.

The New York Knicks are now in a state of chaos after Alonzo Mourning retired due to kidney disease, Shawn Kemp gained weight and declined rapidly, and Jeff Van Gundy resigned in the summer.

A clear indication of a team's disarray is its complete lack of patience for the development of its rookies.

It's all like scratching a lottery ticket; once you scratch off a "thank you" sign, you throw it away and want to get a new one to scratch.

As a result, various trades were initiated, with players replacing one player with another, and any slight misperformance was met with public criticism that would target the team's roster.

Gan Guoyang didn't want Las Vegas to become like this, so he insisted on withstanding all the pressure and giving young people room to grow and make mistakes.

In this game, facing an opponent missing their star player Hill and with a depleted roster, the Radiant team didn't perform much better than the Suns.

The two sides were evenly matched for the first three quarters. Tomjanovich kept adjusting the lineup, reducing Gan Guoyang's playing time and not letting him do everything, but giving other people the opportunity to solve problems.

Gan Guoyang may be patient, but when it comes to the game, he will still scold his teammates for making mistakes.

He would yell at players on the field, and he would yell even more when watching from the sidelines, especially when young players made basic mistakes.

Gerald Wallace was caught off guard on defense, his eyes unsure of where to look, and his opponent easily beat him.

Gan Guoyang stood up angrily, ready to berate Wallace, but Tomjanovich quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't swear, Sonny. Your daughter is watching. Calm down, calm down."

Gan Guoyang could only shut his mouth for the time being and suppress his anger.

When the game came down in the crucial fourth quarter, the score was still tied at 91-91.

Suns point guard Tony Parker darted around the Lightning's paint like a little mouse.

He is incredibly fast and has agile ankles, leaving Gerald Wallace momentarily stunned when defending him.

Brad Miller was repeatedly outmaneuvered by Parker under the basket, unable to keep up with his speed.

In the 2001-2002 season, with the implementation of the defensive three-second rule, Parker's ability to drive to the basket and finish was given more room to shine.

As a relatively late draft pick among foreign rookies, the 19-year-old Parker has already put up very impressive numbers in several games in November.

For example, he scored 22 points and 8 assists against the Hornets, and had a double-double of 19 points and 10 assists against the Timberwolves.

With Hill absent, he took on more ball possession and played like a tireless spinning top, causing a lot of chaos in the opponent's paint.

Seeing him, Gan Guoyang was reminded of another Suns point guard, Kevin Johnson, who was also a master at disrupting the paint.

Of course, in Gan Guoyang's eyes, both Parker and Kevin Johnson are targets for sanctions.

In the final stages of the fourth quarter, Gan Guoyang returned to the center position and began to guard the basket.

Even with the three-second rule, Gan Guoyang can still use his superior observation and anticipation skills to prevent opponents from attacking the basket.

Parker, refusing to believe it, tried to drive into the paint, but Gan Guoyang timed his move perfectly and blocked his shot head-on.

Parker was baffled; he had clearly noticed that Gan Guoyang's eyes weren't looking in their direction.

Why did it suddenly appear and give itself a cover?

Then, Gan Guoyang drew another offensive foul on defense, forcing Parker to commit another turnover.

Now that Gan Guoyang's explosiveness and lateral movement have slowed down, he tends to draw fouls whenever he gets to defend the perimeter.

Parker's lack of experience led to him being taken advantage of and tricked, while Glorious scored five consecutive points on the counterattack.

All of it came from Arenas, who easily broke through Parker's defense and hit a pull-up three-pointer from the outside.

In fact, the Suns' defense was very weak. If Glorious had made fewer mistakes, the game wouldn't have gone to the crucial moments of the fourth quarter.

After resting for a sufficient amount of time in the first three quarters, Gan Guoyang came out and took over the game. After two successful defensive plays, he also successfully grabbed the rebound.

Then, in a half-court set, he easily backed down Antoine Walker, drove to the basket, and dunked with one hand, widening the gap to 7 points and forcing the Suns to call a timeout.

After that, the Suns were unable to catch up. Parker felt threatened by Gan Guoyang under the basket and was unable to penetrate the paint to score again, while Walker's three-point attempt also failed.

The Radiant team defeated the Suns 103-96 to secure a victory.

After this game, their record is 9 wins and 8 losses, ranking eighth in the Western Conference.

After winning the game, Gan Guoyang carried his daughter back to the locker room, but he also had to say goodbye to her temporarily.

The team is about to embark on a short road trip, heading to the Northwest, to Seattle, and to Portland.

Go to where Gan Guoyang's dream began.

(End of this chapter)