The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 601 - 11 The 13th Person
Time flew by, and the Trail Blazers’ one-week rookie training camp was about to end in the blink of an eye.
For the newcomers attending the camp, this week was quite torturous.
Three hours of training a day was not long, but the intensity was maxed out.
Anyone who could make it to the training camp and be selected by the teams was a standout among their peers in their teenage years.
At the very least, they were the unbeatable geniuses in their neighborhoods during high school and then selected for college, where even if they weren’t the top geniuses, they were among the best in All-America.
The three European players, Divac, Petrović, and Sabonis, were basketball heroes in their own countries, household names, and superstars.
But after finishing the rookie training camp, everyone started to question their life, wondering if what they played before was really basketball? Could they survive in the NBA?
Petrović would crash and sleep as soon as he got back to his apartment, where he used to be affectionate with his girlfriend every day, but had no thought for it this week.
After Sabonis got back to his apartment, he called his wife several times, telling her, "I might not be able to last a year, I’m struggling to hold up."
Divac, on the other hand, was very optimistic. He believed he was young enough to hold on for two years.
Then there were some players on ten-day contracts, some of whom couldn’t hold on for ten days, quitting after just five.
Go home, get another job, play basketball somewhere else to earn money—it’s life-threatening here.
In the end, even Rick Adelman said to Gan Guoyang, "Ah Gan, you need to lower the intensity a bit, not everyone has the stamina you do."
But Gan Guoyang replied, "If a newcomer can endure such torment, he will be able to survive whatever difficulties he encounters during the season. Besides, I’m not forcing them to follow the training. If they can’t take it, they can stop, and I won’t say anything."
Adelman knew there was reason in what Gan Guoyang said. Playing in the NBA was very tough, glamorous on the outside, with big contracts, flying around in planes, and becoming the center of attention in the spotlight.
But behind the scenes, it required not just sweat but also a toll on one’s health.
Injuries, fatigue, pressure, daily training, games, travels—it was a tremendous strain and torture on one’s physical and mental being.
If one couldn’t withstand a week of high-intensity training, an 82-game season would torture the player beyond recognition, leading to an early elimination.
By the end of the week, only Petrović managed to keep up with Gan Guoyang’s training pace.
Although it was very challenging and exhausting for him, he gritted his teeth and trained from dawn to dusk every day.
By the time the training camp ended, he had slowly adapted to such intensity, at least not vomiting anymore.
Sabonis and Divac also persisted. Like the players from the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, the national team training was very tough.
Sabonis’s willpower was especially commendable, having played injured numerous times.
However, the team doctor advised him not to follow Ah Gan’s training, as his body couldn’t take it.
On the last day of the camp, the team played a training scrimmage.
Gan Guoyang didn’t play on the sidelines, with Rick Adelman acting as the referee, calling the game while observing the players’ performance.
Head coach Bobby Beelman, general manager Jerry West, and a few other team executives were present to watch.
Petrović was on the same team as his teammate Divac, while Sabonis teamed up with Cliff Robinson and Mark Bryant.
With some other fringe players, the game was lively and intense.
Starting this season, the NBA increased the regular-season roster spots for each team by one, from 12 to 13.
It was effectively adding over twenty stable job positions for professional basketball players across All-America.
At the moment, the Trail Blazers had exactly 12 players nailed down on contracts, leaving one spot for the 13th man, the water cooler attendant.
Today’s scrimmage would determine who got to stay with the Trail Blazers, securing a temporarily stable job and a decent paycheck.
If these players couldn’t stay and play in America, they would have to look for opportunities in the European leagues.
Although playing in Europe was also good in many ways, it was ultimately not the same as staying in America, especially for those players with dreams and ambitions.
Gan Guoyang sat with Beelman, West, and Buckwalter in the stands observing the newcomers; there was no question that this year’s rookie scrimmage was very interesting and exciting.
Petrović and Sabonis were newcomers with NBA starting caliber. Divac also had great potential and had a very good understanding with Petrović.
They were already rivals in Europe, had played in the Olympics finals, knew each other well, and had strong competitive desires. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
Although Cliff Robinson was a bit lazy, had weaker willpower, his talent was not an issue.
He would complain bitterly after training with Gan Guoyang for an hour and a half every day, saying he couldn’t take it anymore and needed a break.
Gan Guoyang didn’t demand too much of him, allowing him to rest on the sideline, because he performed well during the training.
His height for the interior, long arms and legs, versatile skills; he could play both inside and outside, much like Pistons’ John Salley.
The two teams were evenly matched. Divac’s side played faster, while Sabonis’s side had more set offenses and played more steadily.
"This year’s rookie training camp quality is quite good. Apart from the three European players and Cliff Robinson, Mark Bryant, the rest of the players are also of good quality. Picking someone to stay is not easy."
