The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 332 - 68 The True Battle

On April 13, the Trail Blazers played their final regular-season game in San Antonio.

Since the outcome of the game had no bearing on the Trail Blazers’ standing in the League, Coach Ramsay let the starting players play only two quarters to ensure they got plenty of rest, substituting them early with bench players.

The Spurs had already secured the eighth spot in the Western Conference, and after this game, they were set to head out to Portland to face the Trail Blazers in the first round of the playoffs.

Without the pressure of records, both the Trail Blazers and the Spurs, set to clash in the first round, relaxed and put on a decent exhibition game for the fans in San Antonio.

Drexler, Kossie, Gan Guoyang, and others took turns dunking during fast breaks, while Alvin Robertson, Mike Mitchell, and Gilmore also scored repeatedly.

It was a performance before the battle, the calm before the storm.

As the game neared its end, the Trail Blazers were significantly behind, and they had let it go.

In the last moments, Ramsay sent in Bill Walton to stroll on the court for one minute.

With that, Bill Walton completed the first and only season of perfect attendance in his professional career.

Not missing any of the 82 games was nothing short of a miracle for Walton.

It was related to the Trail Blazers’ improved medical care and Ramsay’s reasonable use of Bill Walton.

Ramsay strictly controlled Walton’s playing time, keeping it under 20 minutes per game on average.

No matter what the game situation was, Walton had to be subbed out when the time came.

If facing a tough opponent, Ramsay would reduce Walton’s playtime in the first three quarters and bring him on during the critical moments of the fourth quarter.

When the game ended, the score settled at 118-125, with the Spurs defeating the Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers’ record was set at 63 wins and 19 losses, the best in team history, ranking second in the league, just behind the Celtics with 68 wins and 14 losses.

After the match, Walton and Ramsay embraced tightly. Being able to play an entire season healthy was a huge victory for him.

"Coach, I made it through March," Walton said to Ramsay, his voice tinged with emotion.

On February 28, 1978, Walton was injured during a game against the 76ers. At the time, the Trail Blazers had a record of 50 wins and 10 losses, just one day shy of March.

He didn’t return for the rest of the regular season. He played injured for two games in the playoffs before he was out for the season, which eventually led to a fallout with the Trail Blazers and his departure.

It had been eight years since that day in March before the Trail Blazers’ dynasty dream collapsed.

With tears in his eyes, Ramsay holding Walton said, "We will keep going, keep going, all the way to June."

The Trail Blazers’ 1985-1986 regular season came to a successful close, with Gan Guoyang exploding for an average of 33.6 points per game to become the regular season’s scoring champion.

With a steady average of 16.1 rebounds, he took the regular season’s rebounding title and also contributed 2.9 blocks, 2.2 steals, and 2.5 assists per game.

That year, he was only 22 years old, ready to take a shot at his first championship trophy in his professional career.

Five days after the end of the regular season, on April 18, the playoffs’ first game was about to begin, with the Trail Blazers facing the Spurs again.

In the early morning, just as dawn was breaking, Quentin Stephenson drove his Dodge Ram to the front of a detached villa in Lake Mountain Park and parked it on the front lawn.

Getting out of the car, there were many items placed at the doorstep. The first thing to catch his eye was a large bunch of roses, followed by red wine, chocolates, a box of apple pie, and two albums from Michael Jackson.

Stephenson took out a large cardboard box from the car, carefully packed these items into it, and placed it back in the vehicle.

Then he took off his oversized coat in the car, put on a tracksuit, and replaced his leather shoes with a pair of Avia running shoes.

About five minutes later, the door of the detached villa opened and Gan Guoyang came out in his tracksuit, snapping his fingers at Quentin Stephenson.

Eagerly, Stephenson got out of the car and said, "I’m all set, Sonny."

Gan Guoyang nodded and responded, "Good, let’s get going. You’ll have an easier run today since there’s a game tonight, so we’ll reduce the running."

"My stamina’s fine right now."

"Oh, is it? But can you keep up with the pace?"

"I... I can’t keep up, Ah Gan, could you slow down a bit?"

"Haha, I’ll slow down, let’s head out."

The two of them took off, one after the other, starting from Lake Mountain Park, heading north along the Willamette River towards Downtown Portland.

Recently, Stephenson finally lost weight to 250 pounds, achieving the goal in less than two months.

The amount of sweat he put into this job speaks for itself. It was also the first test Gan Guoyang had for him.

After arriving in Portland, Gan Guoyang put Stephenson on a trial period, arranging accommodation and a vehicle for him.

The first task for Stephenson was to drive to Gan Guoyang’s house every morning and go running with him.

He had to arrive earlier than Gan Guoyang, tidying up the gifts from neighbors and citizens left on Gan Guoyang’s doorstep—there were nearly always items there every day.

The passion and affection of the Portland fans for Gan Guoyang were self-evident.

Then he had to accompany Gan Guoyang in a run from Lake Mountain Park to Downtown Portland, and from there to Portland Community College, where he would train with Gan Guoyang.

While his main job was to provide security, when the team was not training, Quentin also had to take on the responsibility of being a practice partner—playing defense and collecting balls.

It was a grueling job, as the training sessions with Gan Guoyang were very lengthy, and defending against him was tormenting; you wouldn’t gain any sense of achievement.

Not even Quentin who hadn’t attended a prestigious university and lacked the talent, but even Trail Blazers’ players like Kenny-Carl and Jones couldn’t stand being rivals with Gan Guoyang for an extended period.

It was high pressure, high intensity, and sometimes involved enduring trash talk.

But none of these seemed to be a problem for Quentin.

Quentin had lost 30 pounds before, not only by controlling his diet but also through extensive exercise.

He ran and swam every day, and with his athletic background, he had plenty of stamina, especially since he was still young.

Playing basketball with Ah Gan was even simpler for him because he had no sense of competition against Gan Guoyang.

Every time Gan Guoyang scored, he would say, "Good shot, well played."

When Gan Guoyang practiced a particular technical move, Quentin would point out, "That move is so graceful, you look too elegant, Gan."

Having Gan Guoyang score on him repeatedly was nothing to him; he genuinely clapped his hands and didn’t feel any pain.

If he managed to score on Gan Guoyang’s head, he would be overjoyed, jumping around and saying, "Snagged one, snagged one."

Such a positive attitude and good physical condition allowed him to pass Gan Guoyang’s initial trial period.

Before the regular season ended, Gan Guoyang signed a contract with Quentin, hiring him as his personal assistant.

Wang Fuxi was very satisfied with Quentin as the personal assistant because he was a 6 foot 8, over 200-pound big black guy, not some beauty bodyguard.

Quentin was still on probation, following Gan Guoyang closely, running hard, and always watching the road for any contingencies.

Along the way, almost every car that passed by would slow down, either honking at Gan Guoyang or rolling down the window to greet him.

When the sun rose and the eastern sky turned white, they had already run to Downtown Portland, where they encountered even more people on the roads.

As they entered the main city area, they would pass a small train station, where commuters, the elderly, and students were waiting for their trains.

Since Gan Guoyang always ran by here, many Trail Blazers fans would wait in the morning to cheer him on as he arrived.

Sometimes, some irrational female fans would rush toward Gan Guoyang; at those times, it was Quentin’s job to stop them.

He carried a gun with him, and if someone had malicious intentions towards Gan Guoyang, Quentin was his last line of defense—of course, Portland’s public safety was very good in 1986.

By the ’90s, Gan Guoyang wouldn’t be able to use this running route to the city anymore, as the area around the small train station had become a haunt for vagrants and drug addicts, littered with trash.

With the playoffs approaching, there were especially many people at the station this morning, and the fans even brought banners: Trail Blazers for Champions!

Gan Guoyang waved to them; most of these young people wouldn’t be at the game in the evening. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to watch the game, but they simply couldn’t get tickets.

Because the Memorial Coliseum had limited seating and Trail Blazers games were always sold out, it was very difficult for casual fans to get a ticket unless they were season ticket holders.

Since they couldn’t see Gan Guoyang in the arena, they could only catch a glimpse of Ah Gan on his running route.

As the sun climbed higher, they entered the city area, slowed down, and finally walked to the Memorial Coliseum.

Everyone who saw Gan Guoyang greeted him, smiled at him, and cheered him on.

Quentin, with a stern face, followed behind Ah Gan, feeling as if some of those cheers and smiles were shared with him.

It was like being shone upon by the sun, receiving a share of the radiance and warmth.

This was one of the reasons why Quentin was willing to work so hard and sweat so much to follow Gan Guoyang’s lead.

When he felt his life was in darkness and couldn’t find a way forward, there was a sun guiding him.

The other reason was that Ah Gan paid well.

Gan Guoyang went directly to the Memorial Coliseum for his warm-up training, where it was empty except for him and Quentin.

He stood under the basket, immersed and focused, with Quentin’s assistance, catching the ball, shooting, turning, releasing, three-pointers, jump shots.

Only the sounds of thump-thump-thump and swish-swish-swish could be heard.

People began to arrive slowly, and the team’s staff came in.

Some teammates came over, including Bill Walton.

Jim Paxson also arrived.

Jack Ramsay and the coaching staff arrived.

Drexler’s arrival indicated that the Trail Blazers team was almost fully assembled.

People started to trickle into the stands.

The San Antonio Spurs players arrived, warming up.

As time passed, more and more spectators arrived, and the arena grew livelier.

The fans carried small props designed to make noise.

Bill Schonely arrived and sat by the court to adjust the microphone.

NBA official technicians arrived, and the staff tuned the venue.

The referees came out of the locker room, holding the ball.

The performers for the opening show and the national anthem singing were ready.

Gan Guoyang stood by the court with his hands behind his back, looking up at the ceiling.

The 1977 championship banner was fluttering.

playoffs, the real battle has begun!