The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 380 - 1 Promise

In the sports world of 1986, two people dominated: one was NBA basketball’s Gan Guoyang, who shockingly ended a perfect season by earning the highest personal accolade, the Regular Season MVP, along with the highest team honor, the NBA Championship.

His performance in the finals was impeccable, averaging 34 points, 16 rebounds, 6.2 blocks, and 5.1 assists per game to clinch the Finals MVP. Additionally, he scored 50 points in a single game, becoming the second player after Jerry West in 1969 to drop 50 points in a finals game.

In mid-June, Gan Guoyang graced the cover of Time magazine. Before him, the Chinese figures who had appeared on Time’s cover were all influential politicians; Guoyang was the first sports figure.

That same month, without any doubt, Gan Guoyang also appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, marking his fourth time as the cover figure. That summer, his fame and popularity across America reached a peak.

However, just half a month later, another event of even greater magnitude concluded, and another individual would surpass Guoyang’s influence, heating up the sports world of the summer of 1986—that individual was Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to victory in the FIFA World Cup.

The quadrennial World Cup undoubtedly possesses much greater influence. NBA basketball, representing only a city and a state in America, cannot compare with soccer, which represents national pride.

But that didn’t stop the Oregonians from celebrating the Trail Blazers’ championship, just as fervently as the Argentineans went wild for the World Cup. Different sports bring different crowds unforgettable memories and emotions.

During the championship parade on June 20th, the entire city of Portland was engulfed in a massive traffic jam. Crowds thronged the streets along the Willamette River, and all kinds of vehicles converged on the Memorial Coliseum’s plaza.

A yellow truck bearing a "rip city" sign towed the Trail Blazers’ parade float to the heart of the celebrations.

Gan Guoyang and Wang Fuxi sat in an open-top Lincoln limousine, leading the parade and holding the O’Brien Trophy while basking in cheers and adoration from the citizens.

However, Wang Fuxi noticed Gan Guoyang seemed a bit uneasy, constantly looking around, and asked, "What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

Gan Guoyang replied, "No, it’s just that... this open-top Lincoln, it makes me feel uneasy."

When Gan Guoyang stood on the high platform at the plaza, looking out at nearly the entire city flooding the streets, he remarked, "There are barely any people here; in my hometown, it would be just the size of a county town."

It’s hard to imagine what a spectacle it would be if a Chinese city celebrated a sports championship or if the entire country went mad for a World Cup victory.

In his interaction with the fans, Guoyang was met with a resounding response. He had no doubt that if he expressed a desire to become the mayor at that moment, the people of Portland would surely vote him into office.

Of course, Guoyang had no interest in politics, and besides, Mayor Bud Clark was right there. Clark, with his big beard, was doing well for Portland, and it wasn’t right to undercut him.

This was Gan Guoyang’s third championship in his basketball career—one in high school, one in college, one in the NBA. Each was thrilling and unforgettable.

The NBA title was undoubtedly the toughest and most memorable because the NBA season is very long, the journey to the championship more challenging, taking Gan Guoyang a whole two years, the longest it took for him to win a championship.

That’s why the taste of victory was even sweeter. Especially since the Trail Blazers were the only professional team in the entire state of Oregon—their victory brought joy to an entire state, a feeling more touching than a large city like New York or Los Angeles winning the championship.

Years later, Gan Guoyang could still recall the magnificent scene when the Trail Blazers, with the O’Brien Trophy, landed at the airport in Portland, where they were treated like heroes.

In the days that followed, Guoyang couldn’t stop answering phones, making calls, giving interviews, attending talk shows, shooting ads, recording programs, and being invited to parties. There weren’t enough hours in the day.

People wished they could clone several Gan Guoyangs so that he could appear at different events; even a brief appearance would immediately draw the whole city’s attention.

Going out for a meal, the restaurant owner would quickly offer a free meal and request a photo if he chose their establishment, and their business would immediately pick up after that.

The Trail Blazers’ No. 11 jersey sold out throughout Oregon; not a single authentic jersey could be found, only counterfeit versions, which were also in short supply.

Standing on the stage and looking down, he saw fans everywhere wearing No. 11 jerseys—white, red, black. Thinking of how his victory and success could inspire so many people, making them feel joy and happiness for him, he too felt proud.

At the same time, he felt an even heavier sense of responsibility. There’s a new champion every year, but who doesn’t want to win the championship every year?

The people of Portland once had the chance to establish a dynasty. In 1978 and 1979, the Trail Blazers were unrivaled in the NBA from a strength perspective.

Whether it was the Washington Bullets or the Seattle SuperSonics, it felt like a case where, in the absence of heroes, mediocre players were gaining fame.

Today, the NBA landscape has completely changed, with super-teams rampant. The Celtics and Lakers were still at their peak, surely they would be lying in wait, ready to come back with a vengeance.

In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons, Bullets, and Bulls were all growing rapidly. In the Western Conference, the Nuggets and Mavericks were also gaining strength. The overall level of the league was continuously improving.

Moreover, as reigning champions, they would be targeted by every opponent in the new season. The team cohesion and competitive spirit tended to decline after a championship win—since the Celtics in 1969, it had been 17 years since any team had successfully defended their title.

In this situation, Gan Guoyang made a promise to the Portland people, "I guarantee that next season, I will continue to bring a championship trophy back home. Next year, this time, we’ll meet here again!"

After these words were spoken, the celebration reached its climax. The whole city erupted into deafening cheers, and the staff at the venue released streamers in coordination, driving the atmosphere to its peak.

However, from the players to the coaching staff to the management, everyone in the Trail Blazers felt unnerved by Gan Guoyang’s statement. Was this guy really that confident? Winning consecutive championships just like that?

A lot can happen in a season. The lessons from 1978 were still fresh in their memories, and they were bloody ones.

After the parade and celebration, Bill Walton spoke to Gan Guoyang, "Sonny, you’re too confident. There will be more difficulties next season. I think I won’t be able to play much. I plan to undergo surgery to fix my ankles and knees; they’ve reached their limit."

Walton, having endured a season, couldn’t hold up anymore and had to undergo surgery in the summer. He was already considering retirement.

"Who cares, just blow your own trumpet. At worst, I’ll be slapped in the face. So what?"

Gan Guoyang’s openness and confidence made Walton feel envious. He thought that if he had been as thick-skinned as Ah Gan, he wouldn’t have had such a fallout with the team and left.

Jack Ramsay left with his family after the celebration without paying any attention to Gan Guoyang, which left Gan feeling somewhat embarrassed.

Some inquisitive reporter asked Ramsay during an interview what the Trail Blazers’ pre-game slogan meant, and Ramsay explained the origin of wishing for the Buddha’s blessing.

Unfortunately for Ramsay, this reporter knew a bit about Chinese culture and recognized a scholar of Chinese culture at the university. After asking around, they figured out what wishing for the Buddha’s blessing really meant.

After finding out, Ramsay was extremely angry and decided not to deal with Gan Guoyang anymore, at least not until the new season started. This devout Christian didn’t want to speak to Ah Gan anymore.

Ramsay’s wife, Jane Duffy, apologized to Gan Guoyang when parting, saying that her husband was a stubborn man and to forgive his rudeness.

Gan Guoyang said, "No... no, I understand him. Anyway, we have channels of communication. You don’t have to worry."

Of course, their channel of communication was Adelman, who called Gan Guoyang the day after the celebration to discuss the next season’s issues.

Naturally, the Trail Blazers wanted another championship, so they hoped to make some moves in the draft and the free market during the offseason.

The 1986 playoffs had exposed a huge gap in their backcourt, so the Trail Blazers focused on backcourt players in the draft.

On the 17th of June’s draft day, the Trail Blazers, holding the 21st pick, traded up by offering Steve Colter plus their 21st pick to acquire shooting guard Dale Curry, who was selected 16th overall by the Utah Jazz Team.

Gan had played with Curry during the Olympic trials and considered him to be a talented shooter who would be highly competitive in the backcourt.

Although Colter had kicked his drug habit with Gan’s help, he didn’t play a significant role in the playoffs. As a traditional guard, he couldn’t make much impact playing alongside Gan.

At the same time, the Trail Blazers selected the Soviet center Arvydas Sabonis at the 24th pick (previously acquired from the Clippers), strongly endorsed by Bill Walton.

Last season, the Hawks had picked Sabonis in the draft, but due to age issues, the pick was invalidated; this season, the Trail Blazers, having tasted great success with international players, decisively picked the legendary talent, even though they knew this giant couldn’t play in America just yet.

They hoped that when Sabonis arrived in Portland, he could take Walton’s place and form a Twin Towers with Gan Guoyang.

The pairing of Gan Guoyang and Walton had already proved to be extremely powerful, and the expected combination with Sabonis was equally exciting.

After consulting Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers continued to focus on guards in the second round of the draft, selecting the white shooting guard, Jeff Hornacek from Iowa State University with the 34th pick.

The reason for choosing him was simple, sharp outside shooting, exactly the kind of perimeter shooter Gan wanted, a new-era scoring guard.

Thus, the Trail Blazers acquired two guards and one center in the 1986 draft, with the center not arriving till the next season.

That meant adding two rookie guards; the Trail Blazers were now hoping to pick up some quality inside bench players in the free market, just in case Walton aged out or retired.

On behalf of the coaching staff and management, Adelman communicated with Gan Guoyang, inquiring whether they should refresh the team’s frontcourt, like trading Vandeweghe for a good backup center.

Gan Guoyang replied, "With Mitchell Thompson and Jones, even without Walton next season, I could still hold the fort. Let me tell you, the League is entering the era of centers and guards, and stacking up the frontcourt is going to be useless soon. Curry and Hornacek are good players. Train them well during the summer rookie camp. By the way, I’ll join the rookie camp too after I return from Italy."

The 1986 championship would soon become a pleasant memory, as Gan Guoyang needed to immediately look forward to fulfilling the promise he made for 1987.