The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 560 - 60 Heroic Spirit

The Trail Blazers had reached the Finals for the third consecutive year, and they had the opportunity to establish a dynasty.

After defeating the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals once again, people truly began to examine this team comprehensively and profoundly.

Why were they so powerful? Was it solely because of Ah Gan?

It seemed that it indeed was because of Ah Gan.

Why could a player in his early 20s, who had been in the league for four years, bring about such a huge change to a team that was on the edge of the playoffs?

This line of thought seemed to come a bit late, as the Trail Blazers were already contending for their third championship in three years.

It’s equivalent to debating whether to give a dowry when the girl on the other side already has a child old enough to soy sauce.

But the questioning that needed to happen, happened. In the June issue of Sports Illustrated, Gan Guoyang once again graced the cover.

The headline article was, "Why is he so powerful?"

The author of the article was the famous sports writer Rick Telander.

He had written a famous basketball-related book, "Heaven is a playground," and had profound affection for the sport of basketball.

However, Telander was not primarily a basketball columnist; his main focus was football, and he usually wrote about football.

The reason he picked up the pen to write a basketball article at this time was singular: the unexpected return of the Trail Blazers to the Finals had caused a huge shock in the sports world across America.

At the start of the season, no one was optimistic that the Trail Blazers could win the championship again, let alone reach the Finals.

The League’s rule change in the summer of 1987 was a signal, disallowing one-on-four isolation plays, forcing the Trail Blazers to change their tactical system.

During the season, the Trail Blazers were constantly plagued by negative reports: Vandeweghe’s injury, Ah Gan’s declining stats, Adelman’s departure.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers moved ahead triumphantly, defeating the Trail Blazers in succession during the regular season and gaining all the advantages.

During the playoffs, the Trail Blazers couldn’t sweep in the first round for the first time—while the Los Angeles Lakers swept their opponents for the sixth consecutive year.

In the semifinals, the Mavericks nearly pushed the Trail Blazers to the brink; in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers were leading 2:0, and everyone thought the Trail Blazers were done for.

Having achieved back-to-back championships was already a monumental feat. Let it end there; you can become a footnote of an era. Your mission has ended.

However, the Trail Blazers proved to the basketball world with their tenacity and toughness that they were far from finished; after enduring a turbulent and chaotic season, they were once again standing on the NBA’s highest stage, launching their final assault on the pinnacle of the world.

Because of Gan Guoyang’s identity as a Chinese person, people’s attitudes shifted from initial curiosity, to astonishment after the first championship, and then to complex emotions after the second victory.

Now, as he strides toward a third championship, people must re-examine this incredible player.

Over the years, the plethora of praise he received from various articles, interviews, and comments has been more than enough.

Off the court, Gan Guoyang’s influence was growing; he was becoming a symbol much like Bruce Lee.

But on the basketball court, he seemed even more mysterious, more unfathomable.

Fans were curious: what kind of magic did he possess?

In his article, Rick Telander revisited Ah Gan from a historic, lofty perspective.

He did not merely analyze how excellent Ah Gan was during the games, or how outstanding his performance was—Telander positioned himself on higher ground.

Telander said, "Ah Gan’s emergence had epoch-making significance just like Bill Russell. Before Bill Russell, people did not realize the decisive impact defense had on a game, especially that of a center. Russell redefined the center position as well as defense."

"And Ah Gan has redefined the center again, redefining both defense and offense. When I watched Ah Gan play on the court for the first time, I was amazed that a center could play like this. I’ve witnessed his transformation over four years, from a traditionally-inclined center to a player who transcends the era. His long-range threes, his mid-range game, his hook shots, and many other less known details have profoundly changed basketball games."

"Surprisingly, other teams have been so slow to react. Over the years, no one has made a real response, nor has anyone approached drafting players in the mold of Ah Gan. Perhaps he is too unique to imitate, or perhaps he is too powerful, and his changes are too rapid for opponents to counter. In any case, if Ah Gan can once again lead the Trail Blazers to victory, we must admit that the latter half of the 80s belongs to Ah Gan, this mysterious Chinese man."

America claims to be the country of basketball, yet now their strongest professional league is dominated by a Chinese man.

Some say this is a disgrace to American basketball, but others say it demonstrates the strength of American basketball.

Because Ah Gan did not display his basketball talents in China, but rather was gradually cultivated and discovered in America.

Gan Guoyang’s high school and college experiences had earned him a lot of favor among American fans.

America itself is a country of multiple races and ethnicities made up of immigrants, so a few generations back, everybody’s hometown wasn’t in the Americas—so no one could speak ill of another.

Although Ah Gan was not an American citizen, he was legitimately brought up through the American basketball system.

That is to say, he had "roots" in America—his basketball roots were in America.

This was different from athletes who grew up in Europe and then came to play in America.

Overall, before the finals began, discussion about the Trail Blazers and Ah Gan reached a peak.

It seemed like no one was paying much attention to the opponent the Trail Blazers would face in the finals—Washington Bullets.

On June 5th, the Washington Bullets survived a brutal Game 7 battle, defeating the Boston Celtics 4-3 by a large margin and making it to the finals for the fifth time in history.

The Bullets showed off their basketball philosophy throughout the semifinals and Eastern Conference finals by winning Game 7s: torturing their opponents with defense as well as themselves, to see who could outlast whom.

This team, although old, weak, sick, and filled with players of various heights and sizes, unearthed rare energy under the whipping and squeezing of Dick Motta and Wes Unseld.

It was normal for them not to be favored, as their struggle to barely make it to the finals resembled the 1979 Bullets.

Back then, the Bullets had a tough and ugly route through two Game 7s in the semifinals and Eastern Conference finals, at one point trailing 1-3 against the Spurs in the conference finals.

Finally, with their energy drained, they were swept by the Supersonics in the finals, and Wes Unseld achieved a "glorious" record of 5 wins and 15 losses in four final appearances.

Now Unseld, along with his mentor Dick Motta, using a 1970s style of basketball that relied on ugly defense and brute force offensive rebounds, had once again ground their way into the finals.

Such a philosophy of play, compared to the "advanced," "trendsetting" Trail Blazers, obviously didn’t seem quite up to par.

Even the Los Angeles Lakers couldn’t last seven rounds against the Trail Blazers, let alone the patchwork, exhausted Bullets?

However, before the finals began, not many fans were optimistic about the Bullets, but there were quite a few who supported them.

Because the Bullets’ journey to this point was incredibly inspirational, and if they won the championship, it would be considered the NBA version of "Heroic Spirit."

Old Coach Dick Motta had just lost his job; his hard work in Dallas was destroyed in an instant, and he could only return to the Bullets as an assistant coach to help his former student, Unseld.

The Bullets did not have a good start to the season, falling to the bottom at one point, with Unseld taking over the team in crisis mid-season.

It was his first time coaching, with no experience whatsoever.

Charles Barkley, as a member of the ’84 rookies, had always been overshadowed by Gan Guoyang, Jordan, and Olajuwon.

His hefty physique made him seem like a clown; what he often received was not admiration, but the fans’ teasing and ridicule.

Moses Malone had his moments of glory, but after 1983, he quickly declined alongside the 76ers and Doctor J, losing his championship competitiveness.

Still in his prime as a center, he faced doubts from all sides, with many believing his style of play relied too much on his physique and that any decline in his physicality would lead to immediate failure.

Bernard King suffered a major injury, rested for a year and a half, and after playing just four games on his return, he was discarded by the New York Knicks.

The Knicks didn’t believe he could make a comeback, and Patrick Ewing didn’t want to cooperate with a has-been star.

Moncrief was traded mid-season, and he had gone from being an All-Star and Defensive Player of the Year averaging 20+5+5, to a role player with 10+3.

Throughout his career, he was always underestimated, always suppressed by the 76ers and Celtics, never having reached the finals, never having the chance to show his worth on the highest stage.

Then there were their substitutes, thought to be sly and cunning Rick Mahorn, the tallest Manute Bol, and the shortest Muggsy Bogues—all considered oddities in the League.

In short, the Bullets making it to the finals was a miracle, as no one would have thought this team could make a name for itself at the start of the season.

No matter how little faith the outside world had in them, there was plenty of confidence within the Bullets; reaching the finals stage, no one would not want the championship.

Especially for Barkley, Bernard King, and Manute Bol, there was nothing more wonderful than beating Ah Gan to win the championship.

However, "Heroic Spirit" is essentially a tragedy, a tragedy about heroes.