The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 616 - 18: Looking with Elbows Propped

"Loyalty" as a trait isn’t applicable to every player.

For most players, the relationship with the team is simply one of employment; contracts are signed, today you play here, tomorrow you play there, just like switching jobs—there’s no talk of loyalty or faithfulness.

Only superstars might form an emotional connection with a team that goes beyond employment—this connection is essentially not with the team, but with the local fans and the city.

This is what distinguishes competitive sports from regular jobs; they carry the hopes and feelings of many people. Otherwise, what gives you the right to represent this city?

For stars in the ’70s and ’80s, unless absolutely necessary or if the team decided to part ways, they would not easily leave their home team.

Olajuwon came to America from Nigeria; the first city he reached was Houston. Once in the NBA, he continued to play in Houston, and it’s been almost ten years. His feelings for the city are deep.

Even when times are tough, even when the Rockets management often does inexplicable things, Olajuwon never thought about leaving or requesting a trade.

However, Gan Guoyang’s words after the game, like a tiny seed, fell into a crack in Olajuwon’s heart—a crack that Drexler had opened.

Maybe this seed would rot over time, but it might also take root and sprout under the right conditions of temperature and humidity.

Of course, Gan Guoyang appreciates the quality of loyalty, the older you get, the more you feel the value of loyalty.

Being loyal to emotions, family, country, ethnicity, and one’s own beliefs can give a person immense strength.

It’s just that in the NBA, "loyalty" has never been pure, especially since teams often operate on double standards: one moment loyalty, the next ’business is business,’ adjusting the standards of loyalty flexibly according to the situation.

So, what harms players is not loyalty, but the treachery, incompetence of the team management, and the fans who turn their backs on you.

With NBA’s commercialization ever deepening, future disputes between stars and teams will undoubtedly increase. Players themselves must grasp the balance between emotion and money, finding the equilibrium between loyalty and their own future.

If you have the strength, you can have the best of both worlds; if not, you can’t have it all—you have to choose.

Of course, if you’re brazen enough when lacking strength, directly revising the standard of loyalty is not off the table.

Securing three consecutive wins, the Trail Blazers flew out overnight, heading to their next destination, San Antonio.

This away trip is a stroll through the Texas Triangle: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas.

The second stop in San Antonio attracted huge attention because the San Antonio Spurs finally welcomed their No.1 Pick, the long-awaited Admiral, David Robinson, after two years.

This game is significant not only because it’s Robinson’s first showdown with the league’s top center Gan Guoyang but also because it’s his second time facing Arvydas Sabonis on the court.

Both men are substantial challenges for Robinson.

Losing to the Soviet Union at the 1988 Olympics is a shameful moment in the history of American basketball.

Although Robinson performed better than Sabonis in that match, no one cares about the process, only the outcome matters.

As the dominant Team USA lost, being the core of the American team, you, David Robinson, are considered as having lost to Sabonis.

As for Ah Gan, any new center entering the League has to face his challenge, just as they all had to face Jabbar’s test back in the day.

Because of the schedule organization, this is the fourth game for the Trail Blazers while it’s only the second for the Spurs.

Between these two games, the Spurs had ample preparation time, allowing their head coach Larry-Brown to carefully study how to deal with the Trail Blazers.

Last season, the Spurs achieved a poor record of 21 wins and 61 losses, the worst in the League.

Larry-Brown’s first season with the Spurs wasn’t successful, but it wasn’t their fault.

The roster was too awful; Robinson was serving in the military, and they had nobody else to use.

Waiting for Robinson, the Spurs refrained from bringing in any outstanding centers for the past two years; they lacked even a proper interior player above 6-foot-9.

In the NBA of the ’80s and ’90s, without a center on the inside, you simply couldn’t continue, so a 21-win record is understandable.

The Spurs have transformed into a completely different team this new season, with David Robinson joining, and the draft bringing in the No. 3 Pick, Elliott.

During the offseason, the Spurs traded for Terry Cummings as their interior reinforcement, centered around Alvin Robertson from the Bucks.

By August, the Spurs sent out Johnny Dawkins and Jay Vincent, trading from the Philadelphia 76ers for the veteran Morris Cheeks.

You could say that, overnight, the Spurs changed entirely, nearly completely swapping out their starting lineup—all for David Robinson.

Two years ago, knowing that Robinson had two years of military service left, not only did the Spurs use their precious No. 1 pick to draft him, but they also invited Robinson and his family to visit San Antonio.

This was because Robinson was unsure about entering the NBA; he could have continued serving in the Navy.

The Spurs spent $16,000 on a private plane to fly him and his family, and a large crowd of fans gathered at the airport to welcome Robinson.

The family was taken to the best hotel in town, staying in a presidential suite with a fireplace and enjoying the finest dinner.

The next day, the Mayor of the Holy City and the owner of the Spurs took them on a helicopter ride to overlook the entire San Antonio, went to the most famous country club for lunch and golf, and even took a boat tour of the famous San Antonio River. Their sincerity was full to the brim.

In the end, Robinson was moved by this sincerity and agreed to sign the contract.

The Spurs organized a grand signing ceremony at their home court for the signing of David Robinson.

The contract was worth $26 million over 8 years and included a $2 million signing bonus, setting a record for the NBA at the time.

After signing the contract, Robinson returned to Jacksonville, Florida, to continue his service, and Spurs fans began to wait.

A team like this was undoubtedly worth the emotional investment of its players.

Four days ago, in the Spurs’ season opener at home, they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers.

With a performance of 23 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks, David Robinson proved to the San Antonio fans that their two-year wait was worth it, and that all the investments made by the team could be rewarded.

Tonight, facing the Trail Blazers, the San Antonio fans were all eagerly anticipating, hoping David Robinson could overthrow Ah Gan’s reign of terror in the Western Conference.

At seven o’clock in the evening, at the San Antonio Convention Center Arena, both teams were fully prepared.

During the pre-game warm-up, Gan Guoyang was laughing and chatting with David Robinson.

The two had known each other for quite some time, beginning during the 1987-1988 pay negotiations.

At that time, the Players Union had some players file an antitrust lawsuit against the NBA in court to force the owners to make concessions.

As the No.1 Pick of 1987, although still serving in the Navy and having never played a game for the Spurs, Robinson had stepped forward as one of the player representatives, submitting the lawsuit to court.

Later, as the vice president of the Players Union, Gan Guoyang had many interactions with David Robinson, discussing the lawsuit and union issues.

They had dinner together during the 1988 Olympics, and after the semifinals, Gan Guoyang consoled Robinson, saying he would challenge Sabonis one-on-one to take revenge for you.

Later, when Larry Fleisher passed away, David Robinson was also present to mourn and gave Gan Guoyang a lot of support.

In 1989, Robinson finally entered the league, and he was somewhat nervous about the upcoming confrontation with the two.

He knew Guoyang’s strength and had seen many of Guoyang’s game tapes; Guoyang’s boldness and cunning were well known.

Robinson was psychologically prepared to be dominated by Gan Guoyang in the first game.

However, Guoyang didn’t really want to compete with Robinson; Robinson’s personality was completely different from Olajuwon’s.

Olajuwon was fierce and passionate with a strong belief in basketball. The first time he faced Gan Guoyang in the NBA, sparks flew.

Robinson was different, his life experience not typical of African Americans, but more like that of a white elite.

He had excellent grades from childhood, was very intelligent, and joined the Naval Academy with high test scores.

In his sophomore year, he had the option to transfer to another prestigious basketball school, which could avoid the Navy’s service requirement and allow him to play in the NBA sooner.

But after struggling, he announced publicly that he would not leave the Naval Academy and would stay, even if it meant serving five years of active duty.

His decision was widely praised by American society; he disregarded fame and fortune, was loyal to his convictions, and was willing to serve his country.

His excellent character was one of the reasons for his decision; another was that David Robinson didn’t like basketball as much.

Robinson had a wide range of interests, with basketball being just one of many. His exceptional height and athletic ability led him to a professional basketball career.

In high school and college, he didn’t enjoy training and found it too hard; he would have preferred to play the piano.

When making the decision to stay at the Naval Academy, he said, "My life would be quite fine without basketball."

So whenever Gan Guoyang talked privately with Robinson, they never discussed basketball; they talked more about music and history.

For such an opponent, Guoyang didn’t have a strong desire to conquer. He couldn’t provoke the deepest godliness within Guoyang’s heart.

As they laughed and chatted during warm-up, Guoyang, as a senior player, passed on some of his experience in surviving the league to Robinson.

Just then, someone shouted, "David! David! Come over here!"

They turned around to look and saw the Spurs’ head coach, Larry Brown, with a stern face, gesturing to Robinson.

Robinson jogged over and asked what was wrong, and Brown said, "It’s almost game time; don’t talk to Ah Gan. That guy is a master at sowing discord."

"But we were just..."

"You are the core of the team, and you should be determined to kill your opponent, not laughing and joking with Ah Gan!"

Brown said sternly, and Robinson didn’t say anything more. He gave Gan Guoyang a look and ran back to his basket.

Gan Guoyang guessed what had happened and thought, "You sure are overstepping your bounds, old man. Let’s wait and see what happens in the game; we’ll elbow it out."