The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 135 - 35 Rip City

When Gan Guoyang drove up to the team’s warm-up practice on the morning of the 30th in a golden Porsche, everyone was shocked, bombarding him with questions about when he bought the car and how much it cost.

Guoyang answered with a casual, "It was a gift."

It wasn’t until Kossie mentioned it that everyone realized a dealer had actually gifted Guoyang the car.

To say they weren’t envious would be a lie, but that’s how it was on the basketball court: if you had the talent and the fame, all sorts of good things came rushing to you.

Because your fame could be cashed out, turned into much larger benefits.

Gifting you a car meant a loss of tens to hundreds of thousands, but giving Gan Guoyang a car could earn them ten to a hundred times that amount in return.

Everyone understood this business principle; although Guoyang’s stats weren’t as explosive as Vandeweghe’s in the first game, anyone who had played against Guoyang knew he just hadn’t pushed himself.

Against a team like the King, with an undersized frontcourt and practically non-existent defense, Guoyang could easily score thirty or forty points if he hogged the ball.

But he didn’t do that. Instead, as a team player, he devoted himself to doing the work of a center, while also scoring a fair amount with some flashy moves.

Veterans like Sampson and Vandeweghe held Guoyang in high regard, recognizing him as someone who truly played for victory, for the team.

Especially his defense—they knew they could rely on him in tough battles.

On the evening of the 30th, the Trail Blazers faced an old rival, the Seattle SuperSonics.

Seattle and Portland are quite close to each other, and there’s always been a competitive relationship between the two cities.

Overall, Seattle has a longer history, a more developed economy, and a cultural and sports industry that outshines Portland’s.

Seattle is an international city, while Portland during the ’70s and ’80s was more of an average metropolis, unable to compare with Seattle in any aspect.

Even professional league teams reflect this difference, with Seattle hosting the SuperSonics, NFL’s Seahawks, MLB’s Mariners, and NHL’s Kraken.

Only large cities like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago with their significant economic clout and market population could support teams in all four major leagues.

Portland, an up-and-comer, was always trying to escape Seattle’s shadow and aimed to take cues from Los Angeles, but in the end, fell short...

As it was the opening game of the new season and the opponent was the SuperSonics, Memorial Coliseum was predictably packed, with its 12,666 seats all sold out well in advance.

Of course, even if it wasn’t the opening game or if the opponent wasn’t the SuperSonics, Trail Blazers tickets would still sell out—they had been selling out every home game since 1977, a streak that was continuing.

The smaller capacity of Memorial Coliseum helped the Trail Blazers maintain this record, with just over twelve thousand seats, it’s one of the smallest venues in the League.

Tonight, among the 12,666 fans, many in the crowd surprised Gan Guoyang:

The Trail Blazers had actually flown his father, Gan Youwei, in from San Francisco to watch the game from the front row seats.

Gan Guohui and his girlfriend were there as well, coming to witness Guoyang’s first home game performance.

Fitz, the athletic director from Gonzaga University, along with head coach Delong and other members of the coaching staff, were all in attendance for Guoyang’s opening home game.

Guoyang was deeply moved, but he was puzzled why Coach Beelman hadn’t come to the game.

Fitz told him, "Beelman is out scouting new players; he doesn’t have time. Normally, that’s my job, but now he’s taken it upon himself. He’s looking for the next Gan. However, I told him, Gan, I’m afraid he’ll never find another you. Also, Bobby really misses you."

Gan sighed inwardly; ever since he graduated from college and joined the NBA, Beelman had occasionally called, but they had not met in person.

Beelman always said he was busy, but what was he so busy with? Was he genuinely intent on finding another version of himself?

Seriously, he’s not young anymore; why does he still fancy daydreaming.

Despite being the opening game of the new season, the opening ceremony of the 1984 game remained quite modest.

There were no flashy light shows; the live entertainment was just cheerleaders kicking their legs up and someone singing the national anthem.

When the home team players were introduced, Michael Jackson’s "Beat It" played in the background to boost the home court atmosphere.

Gan Guoyang was the last to come onto the court, wearing the red, white, and black number 11 jersey of the Trail Blazers, simple and stylish.

Due to aesthetic reasons, Guoyang didn’t want to wear clothes that were too tight, especially the athletic shorts of the time which made him feel like a pervert.

So in customizing his uniform, Guoyang specifically requested that his jersey be made one size larger; this way, it felt more comfortable to wear, and he felt more pleased looking at himself in the mirror.

The League had regulations on shorts length, which couldn’t be arbitrarily lengthened or shortened, so Guoyang wore a pair of white stretchy shorts underneath, and if it was an away game, he added a black pair.

This way, when he played, he wouldn’t always have to worry that during intense confrontations his balls and baton might accidentally be exposed, which would be embarrassing if it happened.

And Gan Guoyang’s more complex-looking but more comfortable uniform style, paired with the red and black skyscraper sneakers on his feet, would soon set a new trend in jerseys and shoes among young players.

The Seattle center, Jack Sikma, muttered after seeing Gan Guoyang’s outfit, "A unique style of dressing, what is that he’s wearing under his shorts? Sweatpants? It is a bit cold."

Sikma was a mild-mannered big man with a tough attitude on the court, the final piece of Seattle’s 1979 championship team, a rookie with a ridiculous Dutch mushroom cut.

However, by now, not many from that championship team remained, with Dennis Johnson, Gus Williams, John Johnson, and others either gone, traded, or retired.

This blond giant stood in Seattle like a relic of a champion; he was the youngest of them and a fine center who was very popular in Seattle, but he wasn’t the kind of big man who could carry a team.

His unique signature move, the Sikma step, involved a clean spin move from back to face to the basket and had become a fundamental move that all big men needed to master.

And his catapult-like over-the-head shot, combined with his height and long arms, made him extremely difficult to block.

In the first few sequences of the game, Sikma scored twice on Gan Guoyang, which left Guoyang feeling frustrated, as he hadn’t yet figured out the knack for defending against Sikma.

That’s when Mychal Thompson told Gan Guoyang, "Just stick close to him, stick fast, don’t let him create distance."

Thompson was experienced in one-on-one defense; Guoyang took his advice, and for the rest of the game, Sikma didn’t score another point, the opening 4 points were all he scored that night.

The two teams still played fast during the first quarter, with Guoyang keeping up with the backcourt and forwards in a mad sprint across the court, not feeling the least bit tired.

For many college big men joining the NBA, keeping up with the NBA’s fast pace is their biggest challenge.

Not only is the NBA quicker, but the games are longer, and the schedule is more grueling, so players’ careers are short-lived, most lasting only two or three years, four or five years is already quite good.

Gan Guoyang was able to run the full course and excellently complete his defensive and offensive tasks, and after the first game, his cooperation with the backcourt improved even more.

Three minutes into the first quarter, Gan Guoyang grabbed a defensive rebound, and the Trail Blazers pushed for a counterattack, with Guoyang sprinting fiercely and catching a pass from Valentine.

Tom Chambers tried to reach out to intercept the ball, but Guoyang reacted swiftly with a behind-the-back dribble to evade him, then easily scored with a one-handed layup!

This behind-the-back dribble move stunned everyone, and the Memorial Coliseum erupted with the loudest cheers since the game started.

At that moment, the Trail Blazers’ play-by-play commentator, Bill Schonely, broadcasting to the Oregon region, cheered for Gan Guoyang’s brilliant layup:

"Sunny Gan! His basket, full of imaginative behind-the-back dribbling, Woh! Hard to imagine this is a center, a 6-foot-10 center!" 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

As the famous voice of the Trail Blazers, Schonely was known for his passionate commentary and for shouting "Rip City" on exciting occasions.

This classic catchphrase originated during the Trail Blazers’ first season in a 1971 game against the Lakers where the home team was significantly behind at halftime, seemingly without hope for victory.

In the second half, the Trail Blazers mounted a comeback, at one point reducing the gap to just 2 points.

Guard Jim Barnett made a poor shooting choice near the middle of the court, taking a direct shot which, to everyone’s surprise, went in and tied the game.

It was then that Schonely, broadcasting on the radio, exclaimed "Rip City! Alright!" which sent the Memorial Coliseum into a frenzy.

Afterward, Schonely himself didn’t know why he had shouted that or what it meant, but it became a classic slogan for the Trail Blazers, often heard at exciting moments.

After Gan Guoyang’s beautiful layup, listeners in the Oregon region did not hear "Rip City," leaving many to wonder if the play wasn’t spectacular enough.

Gan Guoyang couldn’t hear the commentary; he wasn’t one to dwell on his own scores, and immediately after landing, he quickly retreated on defense.

Compared to the NCAA’s dominant zone defense and slower pace, the fast-paced NBA game actually highlighted Gan Guoyang’s offensive imagination and talent more.

But he never forgot his primary defensive duties; he directed his teammates to move appropriately, seeking resilience in defense rather than brute strength—the white weaklings on the perimeter did have strength, after all.

Gan Guoyang also played a crucial role with his outstanding protection of the defensive rebounds, allowing Vandeweghe, Parkson, and Drexler to confidently join in the fast breaks.

Teams strong in fast breaks often had some problems with defensive rebounding, as they were prone to conceding more offensive rebounds to the opponent, since guards and forwards needed to participate in the counterattacks and couldn’t all commit to grabbing defensive rebounds.

Gan Guoyang’s steady defensive rebounds provided ammunition for the Trail Blazers’ counterattacks; they launched a wave-like fast break assault in the first quarter, rapidly pulling off an 11:4 run, leading the score 17:8, forcing Lenny Wilkens to call a timeout.

[On October 30, 1984, Gan completed a very beautiful behind-the-back change-of-hands layup in the season home opener for the Trail Blazers. I was very excited at the commentary booth, but I did not shout "Rip City" as I usually would. If someone else had made that layup, I surely would have, but with Gan, I felt that he would have even more spectacular plays to come, and that’s when I should use "Rip City." It turned out I was right.]

— Excerpt from the 1999 biography of Bill Schonely, "Wherever You May Be", written by Kerry Eggers.