The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 157 - 55 Gump is Gump

(The photo of Dawkins shattering the backboard was reviewed, and the reason remains unknown.)

Gan Guoyang breaking the hoop during the game, as well as his outstanding defensive performance shutting down Mark Aguirre in the first quarter, quickly dominated the sports newspapers and magazines across America.

The second issue of Sports Illustrated in November 1984 featured Gan Guoyang’s hoop-breaking photo on the cover.

This was the second time that Guoyang made the cover of the magazine during his basketball career, and his shocking performances after entering the NBA were starting to garner more and more attention from the public.

However, this full-body dunk shot taken from below brought some trouble to Guoyang—because the pair of Avia Skyscrapers he wore did not comply with the League’s shoe color regulations, and after the photo made the cover, it drew the attention of even more people, leading to complaints filed with the League office.

According to the League’s attire rules in place at the time, players’ shoes had to be monochromatic, with a minor amount of other colors allowed, but the main body had to be white or the home team’s color, like the Celtics’ green, the Lakers’ yellow, purple, and so on.

One of the Avia Skyscraper designs that Guoyang wore featured a white base with a bit of red and black, and the League turned a blind eye to it.

The other design had a black base with plenty of red and a little white, which looked flashy and completely violated the rules.

In the game against the Mavericks, Guoyang wore the black-based pair, which also ended up on the magazine cover, so the League had no choice but to step in and regulate.

On November 14, the NBA office called and faxed the Trail Blazers’ management office, stating that if Guoyang continued to wear those shoes in games, he would be fined starting at $1,000 per game.

The Trail Blazers’ general manager in charge of operations, Spoelstra, approached Guoyang and informed him of the situation, asking if he wanted to switch to a different pair of shoes and stop wearing the black Avias.

Guoyang was not pleased with the League’s conservatism and angrily said, "Jordan’s wearing them too."

After Jordan signed with Nike in October, Nike quickly launched his signature shoe, the Air Jordan I.

This shoe, bearing a design and color scheme very similar to the Avia Skyscrapers, was accused of plagiarism upon its release.

However, with Avia’s production capacity and publicity not up to par, the AJ I gradually became a stand-in for the Avia Skyscrapers.

In a little over a month, they sold tens of millions of dollars, earning back the endorsement fee paid to Jordan for five years.

Spoelstra said, "Jordan’s also being fined, it’s just that Nike voluntarily pays Jordan’s fines."

Gan Guoyang immediately called Tim Hanni, and upon receiving the news, Hanni rushed over to the Trail Blazers’ headquarters with a check for $300,000, saying to Spoelstra, "We’ll pay for three seasons upfront, and if there are more fines later, we’ll pay them as they come."

Any sales director who hesitated for even a second on this matter would clearly be out of their mind.

Tim Hanni was not some marketing genius, he was just a normal guy with some decent luck.

As Gan Guoyang shone in NBA games wearing Avia basketball shoes, Avia’s sales were climbing steadily—this year was to be their most profitable fiscal year since the company’s inception.

Gracing the cover of Sports Illustrated with a smashed backboard while wearing Avia, Gan Guoyang gave Avia’s advertising department a much-needed boost.

The biggest issues for Avia now were production capacity and distribution network; they couldn’t keep up. Their operation was too new, their sales channels could not compete with those of Nike, a company with over a decade of manufacturing and eighty years in business.

Nike started with running shoe factories and sportswear sales, while Avia began with shock-absorbing shoe technology—one had powerful marketing, the other had technology but was not as skilled in sales.

Both companies headquartered in Portland, competition between them was inevitable. Hanni told Gan Guoyang that Nike recently was trying to poach Avia’s design team, and even wished to snatch away Gan Guoyang, the biggest cash cow, to pair him up with Jordan for a dual powerhouse.

"The competition between your companies is your own affair, I can’t intervene. Nike has indeed approached me, but they did not speak of poaching me, just becoming friends. During my contract term, I will stay loyal to the brand, but you should also step up your promotion and sales efforts—I don’t want to be overshadowed by Jordan’s AJ."

The competition between Joe and Gan had always been in full swing. Just yesterday, Jordan scored 45 points against the Spurs, breaking the rookie scoring record set by Gan Guoyang in ’84.

This record is bound to be continuously broken and refreshed in the future, it’s just unknown where the ceiling will be.

Hanni understood what Gan Guoyang meant; Gan was Avia’s sole superstar, a true moneymaker, and the boss would never allow him to be poached by Nike.

Nike, with its advantageous position, kept a close relationship with Gan Guoyang, maintaining regular public relations work, just waiting for Gan Guoyang’s contract to expire so they could make their move.

Five years later, barring any surprises, Gan Guoyang was likely to become a hot superstar in the league. If Avia lost the signing battle then, the company might go bankrupt or be acquired.

Hanni had discussed countermeasures with the company’s bosses and executives. One faction believed that to spread the risk, Avia should scout more stars to expand its fan base and influence, so if Gan Guoyang leaves when his contract expires, Avia could still sell products.

However, Hanni strongly opposed this suggestion, believing there could never be a second Gan; no other player could match Gan Guoyang’s influence. Instead of wasting resources on others, it was better to tightly cling to this strongest pillar, hoping he would become the brightest star.

Moreover, Hanni believed Gan Guoyang was loyal yet proud. Show him enough sincerity, and even if what is offered is not a lot, he would give his all.

But once you are half-hearted and do not give him the respect he deserves, no matter how much is offered, Gan Guoyang won’t be interested.

This was what Hanni observed from recruiting Gan Guoyang at Gonzaga University, during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, and while signing the contract with Avia.

In the end, Tim Hanni convinced the bosses and management to allocate all limited funds into the development and promotion of Gan Guoyang’s towering skyscraper line, as well as sponsorship of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Though he had convinced the executives, Tim Hanni was still very anxious—if Gan Guoyang did not reach the height they expected, their high-stakes gamble would result in an even more thorough loss.

So, feeling the pressure from Gan Guoyang, Tim Hanni voiced his concerns, "Gan, we will put all our resources into you and the development of your shoes. But... but you know, in most cases, it’s tough to sell a center’s shoes."

Although the center is the core member on the basketball court, fans generally don’t take to the shoes designed for centers because they are too tall and clumsy, creating too much of a disconnect from the average person.

The basketball shoes with the highest sales belong to those who can fly and dunk, run and pass—the guards and forwards like Doctor J, Irving, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and of course, Michael Jordan.

Centers are not considered cool.

Gan Guoyang said to Tim Hanni, "You have to tell consumers that a center is a center, and Ah Gan is Ah Gan, got it?"

Center is Center, Gump is Gump.

Tim Hanni took out his notebook and jotted down Gan Guoyang’s words.

This would become the core concept of Avia’s promotion of Gan Guoyang’s star for a long time to come.

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Avia paid Gan Guoyang’s fines, and Gan continued to be seen on the floor of Memorial Coliseum in his black high-rise shoes, facing off against the Seattle SuperSonics on the 15th.

After the miserable defeat they had previously suffered, head coach Lenny Wilkens learned his lesson and emphasized defense before the game, coming up with a targeted approach to contain Guoyang.

This served them well in the first half, as Guoyang was tightly double-teamed, cutting off his connection with his teammates.

Mychal Thompson got more scoring opportunities, netting 17 points in the first half, but the SuperSonics didn’t target him with their defense.

They were confident that Thompson’s offense couldn’t break their defensive formation, a fact that had been proven in the game against the Lakers; Riley had provided other coaches with valuable experience:

When playing against the Trail Blazers, you must pin down Gan Guoyang; his impact on winning games is too significant.

Nevertheless, Guoyang was still a rookie. He possessed an inexplicably rich experience in competition, but there was one thing he lacked: chemistry with his teammates.

That could only be built up over time and through games.

When Guoyang faced extremely tight defense, the support from his teammates, as well as the feedback and help he could give them, were inadequate.

He hadn’t yet established that comrade-in-arms bond with the likes of Clyde, Vandeweghe, and Parkson; the differences in their playing styles, habits, and understanding of each other were still evident.

This is what makes setbacks meaningful.

Oh, certainly, the Trail Blazers didn’t lose the game.

The SuperSonics suppressed the Blazers for most of the game with their strengthened defense and high level of focus.

But in the crucial moments of the fourth quarter, they lost two offensive rebounds.

One allowed Guoyang to pass the ball to the perimeter, assisting Parkson with a shot that tied the score.

The other Guoyang passed to Thompson under the basket, who made the two-pointer and also drew a foul.

These two precious rebounds helped the Trail Blazers clinch a narrow victory over the SuperSonics with a score of 93:94 at Memorial Coliseum.

Lenny Wilkens and the SuperSonics players saw their efforts collapse in the final moments.

After the game, as Wilkens shook hands with Jack Ramsay, he said, "Jack, you’re very lucky."

Wilkens’s words had an underlying meaning, as both men shared a bit of rivalry despite being coaches of championship teams from the same era.

Wilkens coached in Portland for two years without significant success, later taking on the role of player-coach, but he did not achieve much.

Ramsay took over in ’76 and immediately won the championship, which led to many questions being raised about Wilkens.

It wasn’t until 1979 when he led the SuperSonics to a championship that he was finally vindicated. Still, there were remarks that he capitalized on the Trail Blazers’ injuries. People from Portland were not convinced.

Ramsay replied, "Luck is also part of strength."

In the last moments of the game, Jack Ramsay didn’t call for a timeout, which was not consistent with his usual coaching style.

By not calling a timeout, he also denied the SuperSonics the chance to set up their defense, and as a result, those two lost offensive rebounds cost the SuperSonics the game.

The Trail Blazers continued their positive winning momentum, and the consecutive home games allowed everyone to recover well.

However, closely following that on the 16th, they went to Los Angeles for a back-to-back game against the Clippers and unexpectedly lost 109:113.

After the loss, they had no time to debrief; they immediately went back to the hotel to sleep, catching the early morning flight, as they were headed to the Eastern Conference.

The season had been underway for two weeks, and all the opponents the Trail Blazers had faced were from the Western Conference, mainly the Pacific Division—Lakers, Suns, Clippers, SuperSonics—with two games against each.

In the fast-paced "run and gun" style, Guoyang got a taste of the wildness of the Western Conference teams.

It is said that the teams in the Eastern Conference play a completely different style.