The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 1439 - 46: Gone or Die (Part 3)

At the Olympics, in the same training camp as Charles Barkley.

Then in the 1984 draft, everyone entered the league together, becoming teammates + rivals of the 80s.

In the middle, Drexler "betrayed" the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan, joining Pat Riley, who was intent on revenge.

Riley, after years of painstaking effort, poached from the Trail Blazers, bit by bit forming a team, finally acquiring Olajuwon, getting infinitely close to a successful revenge.

However, in 1993, they were dramatically defeated, with unaccomplished ambitions, but fortunately, in 1995, they successfully won the championship, though regrets remained.

Ah Gan made a comeback, Charles Barkley ventured to Miami in the east, forming the third wave of Avengers, aiming to attack the championship and seek revenge once again.

Under Riley’s management, the Heat’s lineup was considered luxurious for many consecutive years but ultimately won only one championship trophy.

Last summer in a massive restructuring, after acquiring Charles Barkley, the Heat formed an almost shameless four-star luxury lineup.

But the history of the NBA has repeatedly proven that the success rate of stacking basketball stars is not as high as imagined.

From the Lakers’ Chamberlain-West-Baylor Big Three, to the Philadelphia 76ers’ luxurious caravan, to the Celtics’ five-star lineup, many times they barely secured a championship.

And dynasty teams are often built through drafts; mid-road star-studded lineups often maintain combat effectiveness for only one or two seasons, collapsing once a championship is won.

The Heat not only faced internal division issues but also problems of aging core players leading to injuries and declining form.

At the start of the season, Charles Barkley was in great shape, and together with Olajuwon, Drexler, and Tim Hardaway, they swept the league for a time, even the Bulls were not their match.

But by mid-season, Barkley began getting injured, Olajuwon and Drexler’s forms were not as good as before; Olajuwon married a much younger wife, while Drexler, entering the late stage of his career, began to lack the motivation to compete for a championship.

At this time, the Heat’s real team leader became the young Tim Hardaway, and Riley preferred to use the ball-handler position.

From Magic Johnson to John Starks, and then to Tim Hardaway, Riley’s offense liked to give the ball-handler enough freedom to solve problems.

Hardaway posted all-star level stats and controlled a lot of possessions, and tension began to develop between him and the original core, Hakeem Olajuwon.

This was no longer just a Heat internal issue, but a public struggle known throughout the league, and the conflict between Hardaway and Olajuwon was just on the surface; the real deep conflict was with Riley.

Olajuwon increasingly could not tolerate Riley’s excessive interference in the team and lack of respect for him personally.

The Big Dream is a Muslim, and he has many religious limitations in his lifestyle, like fasting during Ramadan, not eating during the day, which undoubtedly affects his training and game state.

In earlier years, Riley could support Olajuwon’s customs, but in recent years, as Olajuwon refused to renew his contract, Riley’s reproach and dissatisfaction with Olajuwon increased.

He even criticized Olajuwon: "If you want to maintain religious purity, why marry someone so much younger, affecting your condition?"

This made Olajuwon quite unhappy, as marriage was his personal affair, and even if it affected his condition, it was his own matter; moreover, declining in his 30s was entirely normal.

This season, Olajuwon was still performing at an all-star level most of the time, just not comparable to the likes of Ah Gan or Jordan, and he felt he was worth a big contract.

Entering 1997, as Barkley got injured, Olajuwon’s dissatisfaction grew, and the Heat’s performance became unstable, with their record gradually falling behind the Bulls.

After the All-Star break, the Bulls were already running away with the lead, while the Heat dropped to third in the Eastern, having to compete with the Hawks for home-court advantage.

In this highly anticipated Heat vs. Trail Blazers game, both Barkley and Olajuwon were listed as ineligible to play; one was injured, the other had intestinal discomfort.

Barkley had already missed over 20 games this season; he didn’t even participate in the All-Star Game, and now he sat absentmindedly on the sidelines.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang hugged him; when the summer trade was completed, Barkley called Gan Guoyang, and they agreed to meet in the Finals.

Now, Barkley still had confidence in making it to the Finals, though the team had various issues, but in the playoffs, everyone aimed to win, and they had a chance against the Bulls.

However, Barkley was still thinking of keeping a way out for himself; he whispered to Gan Guoyang: "Sonny, if things don’t work out, leave a spot for me in Portland."

In the past, Barkley said such things as a joke; he had pride and didn’t want to cling to Ah Gan.

Now it was hard to say, even though he was only 33, his poor body management and dietary control made his condition decline rapidly.

After this injury, Barkley noticeably felt that his peak was quickly slipping away, no matter how hard he tried to hold onto it.

If he didn’t hurry, he might really never win a championship in his whole career.

On the Trail Blazers’ side, someone was also absent; Riddle was benched for a game by Bird for being late to practice.

The kid gritted his teeth and persisted for more than half the season, but relaxed near the end.

Since last time being suspended after fighting with Kobe, he was once again watching from the sidelines, and replacing him in the lineup was indeed Kobe.

Kobe got the starting opportunity, which once again made him feel ambitious, thinking tonight he would dunk on Drexler.

Before the game, he provocatively stared at Drexler, keeping his eyes fixated on the Glider as if trying to see through him.

And Drexler, after experiencing the ups and downs over the years, had little pursuit left for basketball and played more for enjoyment.

Seeing Kobe’s belligerent gaze, Drexler, as someone who’d been there, said to Kobe: "Good evening, Bryant, another of Ah Gan’s toys."

Kobe glared at Drexler, saying: "I don’t understand what you’re talking about."

Drexler chuckled and said: "You’re another deputy developed by Ah Gan, right? A beautiful buzzer-beater against the Jazz, I forgot, I was one too."

Kobe said disdainfully: "But you became a deserter, a traitor."

Drexler maintained his smile and said: "You’re naive, young man. There are only two outcomes for Ah Gan’s sidekicks: gone or die, that’s destiny."

Kobe still scorned: "I don’t believe in fate; get ready to be dunked on by me, traitor."

Drexler put away his smile, not because of what Kobe said, but because Ah Gan was approaching, he couldn’t keep laughing, or he’d get targeted.