The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 569 - 1 1988-1989

[I like my surname—T-rump.]

I named many things after my surname.

At the T-rump Hotel that bears my name, you can slip on T-rump slippers, apply T-rump shampoo, dab a bit of T-rump conditioner, don a T-rump shower cap, take out T-rump brandy from the fridge, sit on a T-rump sofa, turn on the T-rump TV, and watch a game of the Portland Trail Blazers on ESPN.

Sorry, but I couldn’t change the Trail Blazers to the Portland T-rumps, though the idea is nice with both starting with the letter T.

Moreover, when I acquired this team in 1988, in an effort to curry favor with Portland’s superstar, I swallowed my pride and let him give me a Chinese name.

He gave me one and then extended his hand as a sign of acceptance.

I liked this name as it heralded my future destiny, and I am very grateful for it.

I believe it was a gift from God, just delivered to me through His messenger.

In 1988, Ah Gan was God when Portland won the three-peat.

I remember him sitting half-naked in the locker room, cradling the gleaming trophy, his physique like a carved Greek statue, the golden cup shining brightly in his arms.

I was brought into the locker room by former Trail Blazers owner Larry Weinberg, I was nervous. I went over to extend my hand to him and told him we are going to create an even greater era!

He just looked at me, indifferent. I knew that selling a team that had just won a three-peat was puzzling, and he was wary of me.

I was puzzled too!

Weinberg was a gentleman, like me, started with real estate. He loved basketball, but everyone’s passion has a limit; he was tired, he just wanted to be a pure fan.

He hoped the person taking over the team would also be a pure fan.

When I became one of the bidders, I wasn’t trusted.

Initially, Weinberg favored Paul Allen from Seattle, who had made a fortune with Microsoft, a nouveau riche.

But during the playoffs, when plans to purchase the team were leaked, Weinberg called off the deal with Allen.

Some said I had leaked the plans, sabotaging Allen’s acquisition of the Trail Blazers. I completely denied it; integrity is the foundation of my business and my life. I don’t need such methods to achieve my goals.

The leak was by someone else; evidence pointed to Miami Heat’s head coach Pat Riley, who had recruited many former Trail Blazers players.

He is the most cunning, the most deceitful conspirator in the league; he used many underhanded tactics to undermine the Portland Trail Blazers.

Luckily, I appeared, I was the one to take over the Portland Trail Blazers, to build on the three-peat and create an even greater dynasty!

was a year of significant business expansion for me; I had ample funds. I planned to buy a casino hotel in Atlantic City, then assemble a luxury air fleet to fly wealthy people into the hotel for premium services.

This would consume about 600 million US dollars of capital, a highly risky investment. Many people advised against it.

But I had full confidence in myself; I believed there would be no problem.

The only problem was, I heard Weinberg wanted to sell the Trail Blazers.

My heart was completely stolen by the Trail Blazers; I’m a die-hard sports fan, in love with football, basketball, boxing.

I always wanted to own my own professional sports team.

In 1981, I attempted to purchase the NFL’s Baltimore Colts but was rejected, in 1983 I switched to acquiring the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, to take on the NFL.

In the end, the USFL dissolved. Many people blamed my antitrust lawsuit against the NFL for this outcome, a baseless accusation. The USFL died because of the NFL’s monopoly and the loopholes in this country’s legal system, serving only certain classes of people.

However, the Portland Trail Blazers could compensate for all my regrets, this legendary team, they were on the path to an amazing three-peat, who wouldn’t want them?

In the end, I took the lead in the bidding war by being willing to add an extra 50 million US dollars, pushing its price to a record-breaking 200 million dollars.

million dollars, for an NBA team, remember that just a few years earlier, this league was on the verge of bankruptcy.

I only spent 6 million dollars when I bought the New Jersey Generals, but the Trail Blazers were worth it, completely worth it.

This price made Paul Allen back off; he only had 175 million US dollars in cash after selling part of his Microsoft shares.

Larry Weinberg was a gentleman, a fervent fan, but ultimately a businessman; he accepted this perfect price.

Well, I easily dealt with the 200 million dollars, the simplest part of running an NBA team.

Then I witnessed the Trail Blazers complete the three-peat at the Memorial Coliseum, a sight that remains vivid in my memory, as if the whole world was celebrating their championship.

After that, I was in the locker room facing Ah Gan, the first challenge I had to deal with, how to get along with the team’s star player.

Everyone knew he was the most incredible player in the NBA, a miraculous wonder, some Chinese people even worshiped him as a deity.

The moment I actually saw him, I knew it was true, and I even felt the urge to kneel before him.

So I asked him, grant me a name, a Chinese name.

Thus, the title of this book—"My Name Is Tang Jianguo".]

————Published in 2017, an excerpt from T-rump’s autobiography "My Name Is Tang Jianguo".

In the summer of 1988, in June, after the Trail Blazers completed their three-peat, a series of events unfolded.

On the day of winning the championship, Tang Jianguo held a press conference in the locker room, announcing that he was the new owner of the Portland Trail Blazers.