The Golden Age of Basketball

Chapter 971 A Full Stop

The 2002 All-Star Game ended with the two veterans sharing the All-Star MVP award.

In the same week, the Super Bowl also concluded, with the New England Patriots defeating the St. Louis Rams at the Louisiana Dome in New Orleans to win their first-ever Super Bowl trophy.

Tom Brady, the New England Patriots quarterback selected 199th overall in the sixth round of the 2000 NBA draft, won the Super Bowl MVP award.

In an interview, the white player, who entered the league with an extremely low draft pick, boldly declared that he aspires to become the Forrest Gump of football and the greatest of all time.

Gan Guoyang has become synonymous with the greatest in sports history and is the undisputed number one basketball player.

Since he achieved his 10th title, discussions about who is the greatest of all time have lost their meaning and popularity.

Because his first place was undisputed, everyone else was there to compete for second place.

The worst part is that this guy keeps playing and keeps adding medals to his stats and honor roll.

After the All-Star Game, Forrest Gump experienced a mini-breakout in form.

He performed exceptionally well on the team's road trip in the southeast, leading the team to consecutive victories against the Heat, Magic, Hawks, and Hornets, achieving a four-game winning streak.

In four games, Gan Guoyang averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks, showing 70% of the brilliance of peak Forrest Gump.

Gan Guoyang's three-point shooting, in particular, reached a career high in both the number of attempts and the shooting percentage in the four games.

As a pioneer of the three-point shooting trend in the league, three-pointers have been an important, but not top-three, weapon in Gan Guoyang's arsenal for the past decade.

As he gets older, his weight decreases, his physical strength weakens, and his offense becomes more focused on the outside, leading Gan Guoyang to shoot more and more three-pointers.

他的三分出手数从新秀赛季时期的2-3次，到中期4-6次，如今正达到场均8次的出手。

This number of shots is among the highest in the league, and the 46% shooting percentage balances both volume and accuracy.

It's important to know that many of his shots aren't open looks, but rather he pulls up for the ball on the perimeter and finishes the attack with a three-pointer when the tactics aren't working.

Gan Guoyang did the math: a 46% success rate on three-pointers is equivalent to a 70% success rate on two-pointers.

He's about on par with his peak, but his damage output is much lower, he takes fewer rounds to climb the ranks, his burst damage is stronger, and his instability is also greater.

It's suitable for making a big splash in certain matches and taking down the opponent in one fell swoop.

Even during the season, Gan Guoyang and his training team optimized their playing style.

After the All-Star Game, this optimization began to take effect, and with a surge in form, the Glorious team climbed to sixth place in the Western Conference.

But after returning to Las Vegas, the Glorious suffered another losing streak because their three-point shooting was inconsistent.

Whenever Gan Guoyang shoots with a 35% shooting percentage, the Glory team struggles to keep up on offense.

Three-pointers are indeed mathematically superior and more efficient, but they only bring about a qualitative change when they are used in sufficient quantities.

Even if you take out three, four, five, or six more attacks, the cumulative effect is not enough, so the impact is relatively small.

Gan Guoyang's contribution is relatively limited, and the other members of the Guanghui team are currently only average in terms of three-point shooting.

Moreover, the overall pace of the league is still relatively slow, and the Princeton offense of the Glorious team lacks sufficient cohesion.

The offensive flow failed to materialize, and the problems brought about by the Princeton offense, such as a lack of offensive firepower and inconsistent shooting, were exposed first.

In the past, Gan Guoyang used his powerful low-post scoring ability to cover everything, but now he has started to shoot more three-pointers, which naturally makes the problem more serious.

With the trade deadline approaching on February 21, Danny Ainge hopes to acquire a player with strong offensive capabilities who can address the Glorious's current lack of firepower.

On February 20, the Glory hosted the New Jersey Nets, the second-ranked team in the Eastern Conference.

The night before the game, Gan Guoyang invited Hakeem Olajuwon, the Nets' center and old friend, to take a bath in the hot spring room of the MGM Grand Hotel.

One thing that visiting players really appreciate about Glory's home stadium is that the hotel and the stadium are connected.

The hotel has a full range of facilities, including dining, bathing, gambling, and movie entertainment.

After the visiting team players check in, they can immediately go downstairs to the casino for a round of games, and they can stay there until the start of the game the next day. Even after the game, if they don't want to leave, they can continue playing until the early hours of the next day.

This is really fatal for many players and teams with weak willpower and lax management.

Some team coaches and management have protested, saying that Guanghui's actions were against the rules and that they were deliberately weakening the opponent's fighting power through such means.

No wonder the Glorious team has such a good home record, almost catching up with the top three teams in the league, but their away record is so-so. It turns out they were cheating behind the scenes.

But the players don't think so. All teams love to come to Las Vegas for away games, and Eastern Conference teams only have one chance a season, so they cherish it even more.

Due to his religious beliefs, Hakeem Olajuwon did not drink alcohol, gamble, or have relations with other women.

So Gan Guoyang invited him to take a bath, and they reminisced and chatted.

After leaving the Heat, Hakeem Olajuwon remained with the New Jersey Nets.

In 1999, the attempt to form a "Big Four" failed. Barkley joined the Trail Blazers, while Pippen and Richmond joined the Lakers, and both won championships.

Only Hakeem Olajuwon remained with the Nets. After the end of last season, he signed a contract with the Nets and announced that he would retire after this season, ending his 18-year NBA career.

Gan Guoyang did not recruit Olajuwon, but let him join Glorious and play for another year, because he knew that Olajuwon had no shortage of rings.

Once you have one championship ring, the desire for a second one won't be as strong.

When making a choice, we consider factors such as finances and family. It would be best to have more, but it's not a big problem if we don't.

After all, having experienced it, felt the glory, climbed the highest peak, and admired the scenery, there is nothing to regret.

The two of them were soaking in the bathhouse, playing chess together while lying on the edge of the room in the hazy mist.

Hakeem Olajuwon is a chess master; in a serious game, Gan Guoyang is no match for him.

"Hey...where's my horse that was just here?"

"Your horse is gone? I must have eaten it."

"No, it was right here just now. You didn't eat it... Did you steal my horse when you were moving the horse?"

"Who would steal your horse out of the blue? I must have eaten it. Let's continue. You don't have a horse, but you still have the advantage, right?"

Hakeem Olajuwon chuckled and shook his head. He knew it must have been Forrest Gump who had taken his horse under the cover of the fog.

If he were younger, he would definitely have fought with Forrest Gump; that guy is shameless.

The two were the two players who fought the most in the league during their rookie season.

Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye. Hakeem Olajuwon has become incredibly good-natured; he now talks about Allah and God constantly, and even goes on pilgrimage to Mecca during the off-season. In the championship-winning season of 1995, he still strictly adhered to fasting and scored 41 points in an important game.

However, the 9/11 attacks had a significant negative impact on Hakeem Olajuwon, especially since he was in New Jersey, which is so close to New York.

The entire city was filled with hostility, and Hakeem Olajuwon had to spend a lot of time dealing with his inner confusion and explaining his position to the outside world.

This is also one of the reasons why Hakeem Olajuwon decided to retire. He could no longer be exposed to the public eye for a long time. At the moment the building collapsed, he knew that it was time for him to retire, just like when the Houston Twin Towers were destroyed by Forrest Gump. It was over.

"Sonny, I know why you've won so many championships and still insist on playing. You're a fiercely competitive guy, you have to win."

"That's Michael, not me. I'm not that kind of person. I'm just better than you guys. If I played as badly as you, I would have retired too."

Even the good-natured Hakeem Olajuwon couldn't resist the urge to grab the chessboard in front of him and whack Forrest Gump on the head, then the world would be at peace.

"Sonny, if the world didn't have you, I could have won so many more championships."

"Forget it, you'd only win two championships without me."

"how do you know?"

"I knew it! General! You've lost!"

"Huh? Where...where is my queen?"

"Your queen is long gone, and I ate her long ago."

If he hadn't been truly outmatched by Forrest Gump, Hakeem Olajuwon would have actually taken action.

On the night of the 20th, Hakeem Olajuwon vowed to avenge his defeat on the court.

The Nets have a really good roster this year. After acquiring Jason Kidd in a trade, they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2000-2001 season, losing to the Philadelphia 76ers and coming within a hair's breadth of the NBA Finals.

Kidd almost made it back to Los Angeles and fought O'Neal for three hundred rounds.

This season, the Nets' core roster has matured further. The starting lineup of Kidd, Kenyon Martin, Kerry Kittles, Van Horn, and Hakeem Olajuwon forms a strong lineup with each player fulfilling their role and a mix of veterans, middle-aged players, and young talents.

Currently, apart from the Boston Celtics, no team in the entire Eastern Conference can rival the Nets. These two teams are far ahead of other teams in the East in terms of record and strength.

The Radiant team has a full roster, with Arenas and Gerald Wallace returning to the lineup, and they hope to end their losing streak in this game.

Arenas' form has gradually stabilized since the All-Star break. Although the Glorious have lost their last three games, Arenas has performed very well, consistently contributing double-digit points and around 5 assists in each game.

Despite being a rookie, his performance on the court was already good enough to make him a starting point guard for an average team.

The problem is that the consistency is not good enough, and the three-point shooting percentage is not good, at 34%, and it fluctuates a lot.

手感爆棚的时候7中6，5中4，手感不行就5中1，4中0，这样的表现打季后赛肯定是不行的。

Every game in the playoffs is crucial. Winning by 30 points in one game and losing by 10 points in another is far less effective than winning by 5 points in both games. Consistent performance is key.

Arenas is still young, a newcomer, and has plenty of time and space to grow.

For Nets power forward Kenyon Martin, facing Forrest Gump was also a nightmare.

Before Christmas last year, the Glorious played an away game in New Jersey, and Martin boasted before the game that he would dunk on Forrest Gump three times.

At the time, Kidd and Olajuwon both smiled and remained silent. Sure enough, Martin got six blocks in the game, all of which came from Gan Guoyang.

Compared to last December, the Glorious team has changed its playing style significantly, focusing more on offense rather than defense.

But Martin, having learned his lesson, put his new tattoo, "Silence is golden," into practice. He didn't say a word before the match and just waited quietly for it to begin.

After the jump ball, on the first possession of the game, Gan Guoyang attempted a three-pointer from the left corner. The ball spun around the rim and bounced out, missing the shot.

The Nets quickly launched a counterattack. With Kidd on the court, the Nets' fast breaks were quite sharp, but they are not an offensive team.

On the contrary, the Nets' excellent record this season is mainly due to their defense, and Kidd is very cautious about initiating fast breaks.

Martin received the ball on the wing and tried to pass it inside, but it was intercepted by Gan Guoyang, resulting in a mistake and a transition between offense and defense.

Aside from Martin and Kidd connecting on fast breaks, the Nets don't really have any true fast break scoring experts.

Martin's ability to create his own offense is practically nonexistent, Olajuwon is too old, Van Horn has a strong shot but average individual ability, Kittles is a defensive stalwart, and Richard Jefferson, who came off the bench, is a good fast break player, but he is too young at the moment.

The Nets' real strength lies in their defense. From Kidd to Olajuwon, every position has a good defensive ability with no obvious weaknesses.

Before the game, head coach Byron Scott showered Forrest with praise, saying, "I never imagined that even now that I'm a coach, Forrest would still be putting on an MVP-caliber performance in this league. It's incredible, it's amazing."

However, the boasting style is no longer of much use to Gan Guoyang. Let's just shut up and focus on playing basketball.

Neither team scored in the first few possessions. Gan Guoyang's pass to Gerald Wallace at the 45-degree angle was disrupted by Kittles.

The Nets are very strong in steals, ranking among the top in the league. They are quick and aggressive on defense, and players must maintain a high level of concentration.

A minute and a half into the game, no one had scored yet. Kenyon Martin's floater missed completely under pressure from Gan Guoyang.

This young man was genuinely afraid of Gan Guoyang; his attack faltered, and he didn't even manage to touch the basket.

After gaining possession, the Radiant team launched a counterattack. Arenas wanted to speed up the pace, but Gan Guoyang reminded him to slow down.

Guanghui needed to break the deadlock on the field, so Gan Guoyang stopped floating on the outside and went down to the low post to ask for the ball.

Hakeem Olajuwon and Gan Guoyang have been battling it out in the low post for 18 years, still fighting in the paint.

Miller passed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who pushed past Olajuwon, turned around, and faked Olajuwon out of position.

Hakeem Olajuwon knew he'd been tricked and would either lose a point or commit a foul, so he decided to go all in and slap Gan Guoyang on the forehead, making Gan see stars and squat on the ground for a while, covering his face.

The referee immediately called a foul on Olajuwon, and after reviewing the video, added a flagrant foul, awarding two free throws and possession.

But Hakeem Olajuwon played with great gusto, finally releasing the pent-up frustration he had from playing chess the night before.

Gan Guoyang wasn't annoyed by his old friend and rival's challenge. He got up, shook his head with a smile, patted Olajuwon on the shoulder, and went to the free-throw line to shoot.

He knew in his heart that this match was very likely to be his last showdown with Hakeem Olajuwon.

Unless both the Glory and the Nets can make it to the Finals.

From the 1984 NCAA Finals to today, their rivalry is coming to an end.

Hakeem Olajuwon ultimately failed to cross the Gan Guoyang mountain range, but he also gained his own unique scenery.

When he left the league, he recalled the bright sunshine on the day he arrived in Houston from Africa, the humid rainy night on his way to Miami, and the night he defeated the SuperSonics to win the championship in 1995. It all seemed like a dream, unreal, yet fulfilling, without any regrets.

(End of this chapter)