The Golden Age of Basketball

The meeting with the Soviet head coach Gomorski was very smooth. After the game, the famous Soviet coach did not patronize the players to celebrate the victory of the game, but remembered the date with Gan Guoyang before the semi-finals. Go alone to the Olympic Village and talk to him about Sabonis.

Gomolsky had heard about Gan Guoyang for a long time. Although the mass media was not particularly developed at that time, and the United States and the Soviet Union were also in a state of hostility, as a professional basketball player, he was also full of interest in the NBA.

When he learned that there was a Chinese player who could gain a foothold in the NBA, he was not only surprised but also curious, and tried every means to know how Gan Guoyang was playing.

Just in 1985, David Stern sent several videos to China Central Television, including Gan Guoyang's game video. Although Sino-Soviet relations were not good at that time, they were also in a period of relaxation. Copies of these tapes were successfully obtained.

After seeing the live video of Gan Guoyang's game, he was shocked for a moment. He didn't expect that a yellow man with such excellent physical fitness and basketball skills would not only thrive in the powerful NBA, but even There is a tendency to dominate the alliance.

Of course, these videotapes shocked not only Gomolski, but also the entire Eastern European basketball world. The success of a yellow man in the NBA undoubtedly made those white men eager to go to the highest hall of the world's basketball world to try their skills.

In fact, in this Olympic Games, Gomorski promised some players to help them go to the NBA and show themselves on a higher basketball stage during the pre-match mobilization against the United States in the semifinals.

If history runs according to the original track, then Gomolsky broke his promise. With his energy, it is not enough to break the deadlock between the United States and the Soviet Union, allowing Soviet players, especially Sabonis, who was already in the 1986 draft. The center selected by the Trail Blazers went to the NBA.

But the appearance of Gan Guoyang changed history. This kind of change is not only passive. In fact, Gan Guoyang actively participated in the rewriting of history. This is why he took great risks and hoped to rely on his own strength to change the course of basketball history.

In Gan Guoyang's view, history has distorted a lot anyway. The Celtics picked Baias in the 1986 draft. It was found that he was rescued and came back. Although this caused Bias to be suspended by the league and triggered a clean-up of the league's drug abuse problems, he survived in the end.

The surviving Bias made up for the lack of athletic ability of the Blazers for the first time, allowing Kevin McHale and Larry Bird to get more rest in the regular season. Although his performance was mediocre, his existence was enough to help the Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers. They not only avenged their loss in the 1987 Finals, but also completed their first consecutive championship since 1985. Also Celtic.

But in 1988, the Celtics suffered from injuries after all. Bird's back injury, Kevin McHale's leg injury, and Walton's body injury led to their loss to the bad boy Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. , Lost the chance of three consecutive championships.

However, the Pistons with Adrian Dantley did not waste the opportunity of the finals. After taking Tianwangshan in the fifth game and taking a 3:2 lead, in the fourth quarter of the sixth game, a injured leg Isiah Thomas scored 25 points in a single quarter, and Bill Lambiel defended Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's last attack, helping the Pistons win the sixth game and winning the 1988 NBA championship in one fell swoop. As a result, the Lakers fell to the NBA Finals for two consecutive years.

All of this is inconsistent with the original history, but somewhat similar to the history that "blind" Chris told Gan Guoyang, so Gan Guoyang felt that it was time to take the initiative to fight for his championship ring.

Sabonis is an important step for Gan Guoyang. As the star of the Blazers, he went to South Korea to mediate for a Soviet player who might be in the same position as him. Everyone, including the Blazers, felt that Gan Guoyang’s actions were unreasonable. ,baffling.

Only Gan Guoyang is like a mirror in his heart. First of all, he understands that even without Sabonis, the possibility of winning the championship with the lineup after the Trail Blazers trade this year is quite high, but Gan Guoyang thinks not only about a championship, but also more many.In the current era where centers dominate, having such a super big man with a variety of styles of play, even if he and Gan Guoyang overlap, will definitely have more advantages than disadvantages for the Blazers.

Secondly, in Gan Guoyang's mind, the biggest opponent in the West is the Lakers. Although Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is 40 years old, he still caused Gan Guoyang a lot of trouble in this year's playoffs. Nice, the Blazers will definitely have more choices in dealing with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and cracking the Lakers' inside defensive strategy.

Third, after considering the Western Conference, we must consider the possible opponents in the Eastern Conference Finals. Whether it is the Celtics who defeated them in 86 or the Pistons, the championship champion this year, they all have impressive frontcourt strength, especially the Detroit Pistons. , the frontcourt combination of Bill Lambiel, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahon, John Sally and James Edwards has extremely terrifying defensive capabilities. In the 1988 regular season, the Blazers two Defeated to the Pistons, Gan Guoyang was treated in a wheel war.

Now, the Blazers have gathered Gan Guoyang, Buck Williams and Kevin Duckworth in the interior, and they can already fight the Pistons. If they can recruit Sabonis again, as long as they work well, their frontcourt will be the world. Peerless.

It is precisely based on these three considerations, plus interest and confidence in Sabonis, that Gan Guoyang persuaded the Blazers management, and even reached out to the top management of the league, hoping that they could give Sabonis the green light to enter the NBA. contacts.

The United States is easy to deal with, but the real problem is the Soviet Union. Due to the bad political relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, Sabonis’ club CSKA Moscow proposed a sky-high transfer fee to make things difficult for the Portland Trail Blazers. Gan Guoyang is now going to meet Gomo. Erski is the head coach of the CSKA Moscow team, and after the Olympics, he will become the president of the CSKA club.

If Gomolsky can be dealt with, then Sabonis's journey to the United States will be half successful.

Meeting Gomolski was not as difficult as Gan Guoyang imagined. He didn’t know that Gomorski wanted to see him more than he wanted to see Gomorski. He wanted to see Gan Guoyang play a game on the court. Contest.

The place where the two sides met was in a Korean barbecue restaurant near the Olympic Village. Behrman still felt a little bit "envious when the enemy met" when he saw Gomolsky. After all, half an hour ago, Gomolsky ruled The USSR defeated the US team.

But soon, Gomorski, who is proficient in English, chatted happily with Gan Guoyang and Behrman, because they have the best common language-basketball.

The conversation lasted nearly two hours. Gomolsky and Gan Guoyang not only talked about the transfer of Sabonis, but also talked about a lot of insights and ideas about basketball.

Gan Guoyang's thoughts on the future development of basketball, especially his thoughts on three-pointers, made Gomolski very interested, and Gomorski's profound basketball knowledge and unique insights into European basketball also made Gan Guoyang feel Refreshing.

In addition, Behrman is also a little basketball madman. The three of them chatted enthusiastically in the barbecue restaurant, and almost forgot about Sabonis.

Gan Guoyang is still clear-headed after all. He never forgets to emphasize the benefits that Sabonis will bring after going to the NBA. The most important point is that Gan Guoyang "revealed" to Gomolsky that the United States will send Real NBA professional players will participate in the Olympics. By that time, if Sabonis has flourished in the NBA, the Soviet Union will have more confidence in fighting the United States.

Although what Gan Guoyang said was true, he did not dare to "disclose" to Gomolsky that the Soviet Union would not live for that year. Of course, Gomolsky would not believe it. Nice tricked me to come to the United States to talk about it.

In the end, Gomolski said: "Being able to go to the United States to accept the challenge is definitely the most important thing in his destiny for Avidas. This will have a huge impact on his basketball career. He will face For a whole new world, as a basketball player, I'd love to see him take that step. But..."

Gomolsky's "but" put Gan Guoyang's heart in his throat.

"I'm the No. [-] Blazers star who came all the way here for my substitute. If you're one of them, you'll just reject me. Even if Sabonis really comes to the NBA in the future, I'll explode every time I see him." Gan Guoyang was also a little upset. He has really achieved the extreme in one thing, so extreme that other players said he was a fool, and Barkley laughed at him as "a loyal fighter of communism, all for the purpose of expanding the power of the socialist camp in the NBA."

If Gomolsky can't even pass this level, Gan Guoyang will probably be ridiculed to death by people like Ba Fatty when he returns to the United States.

"However... I can try my best to mediate for Avedas to go to the United States, but whether he wants to go to the United States or not depends on Avedas himself. If he doesn't want to go, then even if I push him, it will be useless "From the meaning of Gomolsky's words, Sabonis himself does not seem to be that interested in the NBA.

Gan Guoyang did not expect that the biggest problem might come from Sabonis himself. Indeed, as Gomolsky said, if Sabonis himself does not want to come, even if the Soviet Union and the United States shake hands and jointly defend the earth now, the pioneers will not be able to get it. he.

"Well, thank you Mr. Gomolsky, I think I will try my best to persuade Sabonis, if I have the opportunity to meet him."

"After the final is over, we will have no games. To be honest, my players all want to see you. I didn't dare to tell them that you were in the stands during the game just now. I was afraid they would be distracted."

"No problem, when the time comes, I will give him a reason that he cannot refuse."