The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 257 - 140 I slipped

On May 16, the NBA officially announced the Rookie of the Year for the 1984-1985 season.

Gan Guoyang and Michael Jordan shared this honor, becoming the second pair of rookie players to win the award simultaneously, after Dave Cowens and Geoff Petrie in 1971.

Thus, Gan Guoyang became the first Asian in the history of American professional sports leagues to win such an honor.

According to Stern’s new policy at the time, all award ceremonies would take place on June 24 in San Francisco.

Gan Guoyang received a call from Larry Fleisher at noon, informing him of the good news. Gan Guoyang appeared calm on the surface, but he clenched his fist tightly.

The weight of the Rookie of the Year award is not as significant as the MVP, but there is only one chance to win Rookie of the Year, and after the rookie season, it’s no longer possible.

Although Jordan also won it, meaning Gan Guoyang didn’t manage to widen the gap in this award, at least he didn’t fall behind.

Moreover, the fact that he made it to the playoffs first has already caused Jordan to dare not answer his phone.

"You must attend the award ceremony in San Francisco on June 24. It’s your second hometown, fantastic."

"Can I also win the regular season MVP? It would be even better to win both."

"I don’t know yet, but it’s somewhat risky. You winning Rookie of the Year is already not easy, basketball is the most open, least conservative sport. Of course, your performance is impeccable and the Rookie of the Year is well deserved."

"I know. Anything else? If there’s nothing more, I’m hanging up. I need to go and train."

"There’s one more thing, the summer tour in China is taking shape. Because Bernard King is injured, the team lineup has been changed to the Trail Blazers, Celtics, 76ers, and Lakers. Sponsored by Avia and Converse, with strong support from the Chinese side, the Trail Blazers will be the focus. Get ready for it."

"No problem. By the way, aren’t Nike and the Chicago Bulls participating?"

"Nike and the Bulls? They are your competitors. They started exploring the Chinese market earlier than Avia. If we let them go, won’t we be fostering their growth?"

"Larry, I think instead of opposing Nike, we should cooperate as well as compete. The Chinese market is huge, nobody can monopolize it. If you don’t include Nike in the China tour, they’ll set up there regardless. Nike has a head start in China, and collaborating with them lets us share resources and grow the market together. A win-win collaboration is the way forward, rather than fighting each other before we’re ready. Michael and I are opponents on the court, but off the court, we are friends. I believe Chinese fans would also like Michael a lot."

After pondering for a while on the other end of the line, Larry Fleisher said, "Gan, your vision is more far-reaching than ours; perhaps you’re right. I’ll try to discuss things again with Avia, Converse, and Nike. You focus on getting ready for the Western Conference Finals."

After hanging up the phone, Gan Guoyang went to the training gym in the afternoon to get some extra practice in, standing on the court and continuing to ponder how to contend with the Lakers, constantly simulating various situations of playing against them in his mind.

The reality was more difficult than he had envisioned, but Gan Guoyang composed himself to find the best solutions.

He knew the chances of winning the series against the Lakers were slim; the Lakers in the playoffs and the Lakers in the regular season were like two different teams.

They had no way to deal with Magic Johnson at the Trail Blazers, and Valentine was already shut down on both offense and defense after three games.

But in this long war, this was merely a starting point. Gan Guoyang had the patience to hone himself and seek the Lakers’ weaknesses.

On May 17, in the fourth game of the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers swept through Memorial Coliseum like a storm, with Jabbar and Magic Johnson both performing normally.

James Worthy and Byron Scott stepped up, one inside and one outside, one scoring 27 points and the other 31 points.

Byron Scott hit 3 out of 3 three-pointers, Michael Cooper 2 out of 2. The Lakers hit six three-pointers in total. With a score of 127:109, they defeated the Trail Blazers by a huge margin again.

The total score reached 3:1. The Lakers’ powerful offense, their exceptional talent, and their ample stamina showed an overwhelming advantage during the game.

Although Gan Guoyang scored 27 points with 15 rebounds and Vandeweghe contributed 21 points, the overall gap between the teams left the Trail Blazers with almost no room to fight back.

Fans who came to the Memorial Coliseum to support the Trail Blazers felt hopeless. The Lakers were indeed the stronger team, and the Trail Blazers were left with a bewildering uncertainty on where to begin.

At this time, the Boston Celtics had already defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4:1, advancing smoothly to the Finals, with the Boston Garden awaiting their arrival.

This outcome spurred the entire Lakers team; they were eager to defeat the Trail Blazers and end the series at the Great Western Forum, looking forward to going to Boston for a rematch.

However, maybe Gan Guoyang would perform even better at the Great Western Forum, or perhaps Los Angeles was truly his lucky place.

On May 19th, Gan Guoyang scored 25 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, blocked 11 shots, and made 4 steals at the Great Western Forum, turning the Lakers’ dazzling show time into a chaotic and fragmented battle.

Jack Ramsay changed his strategy, using a tall lineup with Drexler, Gan Guoyang, Thompson, Kenny-Carl, and Vandeweghe, with Drexler playing as point guard against Magic Johnson to slow down the Lakers’ pace.

Gan Guoyang completely stopped tangling with Jabbar, letting Thompson guard him, while Gan Guoyang matched up against James Worthy, pressing down on this swift cobra, dragging the Lakers into more set-piece offenses.

In the skirmish, Jabbar’s glasses were knocked off by Kenny-Carl, and he punched Kenny-Carl, which got him ejected from the game by the referees.

110:107, the Trail Blazers tore out a game at the Great Western Forum, with Gan Guoyang playing the full 48 minutes. This was the fourth consecutive game he played the entire game without resting for a minute.

On May 21st, the anxious Lakers returned to Memorial Coliseum, to Portland; they did not want the series to be dragged to a seventh game.

The risk of a Game 7 was simply too great, with Gan Guoyang’s win rate at the Great Western Forum being shockingly high. Los Angeles was hardly the Lakers’ home court; it was a crematorium.

Before the game, Jabbar led his teammates in yoga and meditation in the locker room to calm everyone’s anxious moods. This was the first time Jabbar did this, like a true captain, soothing the hearts of all.

And this was the most brutal match of the Western Conference Finals, with Mychal Thompson getting injured in the first half and leaving the court, followed by Rambis being knocked down by Gan Guoyang for the third time this season, carried back to the locker room by the team doctor.

Vandeweghe received his first technical foul of his professional career—during the third quarter he punched James Worthy in a skirmish and was ejected from the game by the referees.

Jerome Kossie, who replaced Vandeweghe, flew out of bounds to save the ball, knocking over the technical table and equipment, but he immediately jumped up to continue playing.

The seasoned blue-collar worker Kenny-Carl exerted his full strength in guarding Jabbar, passionately trash-talking with Jabbar, showing no fear of this former Sky God, almost coming to blows.

Drexler risked landing on his head to dunk a flying slam, narrowing the gap to 3 points against the Lakers in the final moments of the fourth quarter.

Jim Paxson made a crucial steal, double-teaming Johnson to grab the ball.

Gan Guoyang hit a mid-range jumper that brought the difference to just 1 point, scoring a total of 33 points for the night.

But the Lakers didn’t call a timeout.

Magic Johnson quickly inbounded, took the ball and charged towards the basket. Gan Guoyang fiercely chased after him to block but couldn’t touch the ball. He landed, his foot suddenly gave out, and he crashed to the floor.

Johnson scored with an underhand layup, but as Magic landed, his eyes were filled not with joy but with a desperate exhaustion.

Ramsay quickly called for a timeout, and the team doctor checked and inquired about Gan Guoyang’s condition. Sitting on the bench, Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "I’m alright, I just slipped."

When Ramsay came over and touched Gan Guoyang’s shoulder to ask him how he was feeling, Gan Guoyang said, "I’m sorry, Coach, I’m a bit tired."

That was the first time this season Ramsay had heard Gan Guoyang say he was tired, with only a few seconds left for the Trail Blazers.

There was still a chance for a miraculous turnaround, but the opportunity dwindled as Gan Guoyang grew tired.

Ramsay set up his first, and only, three-point play of the season.

The strategy was not at all clever; they had never practiced it together, relying purely on understanding; it ended up with Gan Guoyang taking the shot from behind the three-point line.

As soon as he shot, it was clear it was off. Jabbar got the ball under the basket, and as the buzzer sounded, the Los Angeles Lakers won the game 115:112 with a 3-point lead.

With a series score of 4:2, the Lakers defeated the Trail Blazers and advanced to the finals.

Gan Guoyang stood outside the three-point line for a long time. He reached out, making a shooting gesture at the air.

"Next time I’ll make it in, Ah Gan," Gan Guoyang told himself inwardly.

His 1984-1985 season had ended.

(End of Volume Three "Beat it".)