The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 502 - 5 New Coach

Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi had planned a wedding long ago.

The two originally hoped for a simple, intimate small wedding, inviting only their closest relatives and friends for a modest celebration.

However, Gan Youwei and Wang Zhengmin from both families disagreed, insisting on a grand event, demanding a wedding in both San Francisco and Los Angeles Chinatown, making sure the entire Chinese world knew their basketball hero was getting married.

The ideas of Gan Youwei and Wang Zhengmin received support from relatives, as well as numerous well-known Chinese chambers of commerce and foundations, with preparations for Gan Guoyang’s grand wedding starting in Chinatown since June.

Gan Guoyang had no choice; there were some things he just couldn’t argue with his stubborn father about, so he had to agree with his thinking.

Thus, when the three of them returned to their ancestral home to worship and offer incense, they asked the master to pick an auspicious date for the wedding, which was set for some day in August.

On that day, Chinatown in San Francisco was just like during a festival, but Gan Guoyang wasn’t celebrating his wedding in some restaurant. Instead, the entire Chinatown district was involved, with each restaurant setting up banquet tables along both sides of the streets, each serving their specialty dishes.

In addition to the guests invited by the main families, anyone passing by who wished to could find a seat at a table and have a bite.

Dragon and lion dances, parade floats, and firecrackers, the celebration was truly like the Lunar New Year, with various performances and activities lasting from dawn until the lanterns were lit at night.

Many people ate from morning until night at the wedding feast, yet they never saw the bride and groom the whole time.

It wasn’t until the evening, when the wedding officially started, that Wang Fuxi, carried by a grand bridal sedan, toured Chinatown in a large circle. After arriving at the grand hotel to complete the wedding ceremony with Gan Guoyang, both were carried around Chinatown in a "parade" to accept heartfelt blessings from the people.

The local San Francisco TV stations broadcasted this unprecedented Chinese-style wedding live, and virtually every notable Chinese person in America attended this grand occasion.

The wedding, rich with Chinese elements and complex Chinese ceremonial rites, was an eye-opener for Americans and also wore out Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi quite a bit.

However, receiving such an abundance of blessings for their union was surely no simple matter, especially the blessings from strangers that kept their hearts filled with joy and sweetness, as they felt the kindness of the world.

Three days later, they held a second ceremony in Los Angeles.

This wedding wasn’t as large as the one in San Francisco, with the whole Chinatown turning out.

But in Los Angeles, figures from both the black and white societies came to congratulate them.

In particular, a formidable crowd of gang members, allegedly coming from places like Taiwan, gave Gan Guoyang quite a scare.

What was this? A mobster’s daughter getting married?

Wang Fuxi comforted Gan Guoyang, "They’re just friends of my dad. You treat me right, and there won’t be any problems."

In any case, the wedding in Los Angeles was another all-day affair, a huge spectacle that shook Los Angeles.

The two weddings left people utterly exhausted. Gan Guoyang, with his formidable physique, had no problem bearing it, but Wang Fuxi was somewhat overwhelmed.

They rushed back to Portland overnight, sleeping a whole day to recover. Upon waking, Gan Guoyang said, "Only this once, I’m never getting married again."

"You’re thinking of marrying again? Dream on."

Gan Guoyang laughed and said, "Though getting married is a joyous event, once is enough. It’s not like winning championships, where after winning once, you want to win a second time, a third time, and keep on winning."

"Right now, all that’s on your mind is championships, championships! Today you’re mine~"

"Not today, I’ve already missed several days of training, and I must get ready to train immediately."

Wang Fuxi, who had just been coquettishly interacting with Gan Guoyang a second ago, had no objections once he said this.

Getting up to wash up, she prepared breakfast for Gan Guoyang, and started on lunch, supplemental nutrition meals, and dinner.

Gan Guoyang wanted to gain weight; working out was one aspect, but eating was the most important, with his goal being to increase his weight to over 260 pounds.

This would give him stronger physical confrontation under the basket to face the increasingly stronger bodies in the NBA and the more intense battles in the paint.

Moreover, that summer, the NBA introduced new regulations prohibiting isolation plays, also known as illegal offense rules.

The rules would no longer allow a single player to be present on the strong side with the ball; receiving the ball with a spread formation would become a thing of the past.

This meant that the Trail Blazers’ offense needed major adjustments, as comfortable low-post isolation plays would leave the stage.

With the easy, high-efficiency isolation play no longer a fallback option, Gan Guoyang would face multiple double-teams and even triple-teams in every game.

If he ventured further into the paint, being surrounded by four, or even five players, would just become routine, as the monstrous power of this beast was there for all to see.

The establishment of this illegal offense rule was specifically aimed at Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers, as well as the Bulls and Michael Jordan.

It was designed to prevent them from wantonly engaging in one-on-one plays and to bring basketball back to a more team-oriented tactical collaboration.

Therefore, Gan Guoyang had to further increase his weight and toughness to prepare for the new season.

The wedding was essentially a vacation for Gan Guoyang, after which he plunged into rigorous, systematic training.

He attended the "big-man" camp hosted by Newell as usual, continuing to improve his tactical skills.

He knew that in the new season, he had to create more connections with his teammates.

The Trail Blazers did not make many adjustments to their lineup, as they were still a very young team overall.

Drexler, Kossie, Hornacek, and Dell Curry were all in the growth phase.

Even their MVP, Gan Guoyang, was still growing. With this lineup, they were strong contenders for the championship.

Other teams, meanwhile, were racking their brains trying to challenge the Trail Blazers.

The Los Angeles Lakers were, of course, at the forefront of this challenge.

The 1987 season was extremely disappointing for the Lakers.

They had performed very well and were full of confidence.

With their record, performance, and determination, they would have been champions in any other year.

But they faced the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan, and those two home defeats directly caused the Lakers to lose control of the series.

During the entire summer, Buss and West applied pressure to the League to change the rules and ban isolation plays.

Gan Guoyang’s individual ability had dismantled the 1987 Lakers, a team that was near perfect.

Riley left, and the system he built crumbled. The Lakers needed a new helmsman.

Buss wanted West to take up the coaching reins again, but West declined, knowing he was not cut out to be a head coach.

After scouring around, Jerry West set his sights on a special candidate: Don Nelson.

When West proposed this person, the other members of the Lakers’ management immediately disagreed.

After all, Nelson had been a Celtic, and in the 1969 Finals, his crucial shot had cost the Lakers the championship.

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However, Jerry West thought that Nelson was an experienced and charismatic coach with tactical thinking that matched the Lakers’ team configuration well.

Don Nelson wanted to play "run and gun," and the Lakers were undoubtedly the most suitable team for it.

As for the old Lakers vs. Celtics rivalry, Jerry West as a victim himself didn’t hold it against Nelson—what grounds did anyone else have to complain?

Besides, Bill Sharman, who led the Lakers to the championship in 1972, was a seasoned Celtic and Celtics legend.

During his coaching tenure with the Bucks, Nelson had fought tooth and nail with the Celtics, so one’s allegiance as a player was not an issue.

Sports are not political battles; players are loyal to their teams, and changing jerseys means playing for a new team—what’s past is past.

After West’s persuasion, and personally meeting with Don Nelson to discuss the prospect, Nelson, just like ten years earlier, consulted with his family on whether to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.

This time, they made the decision at a McDonald’s, and Nelson called Jerry West to accept the challenge.

"I don’t want to watch the Portland Trail Blazers win three championships in a row," Nelson stated his reason.

"I feel the same way. Let’s work together, Don," said West.

Thus, the Lakers had their new coach, a Celtic who had once also been a Laker.