The Golden Age of Basketball

The Warriors players warming up on the other side of the court all stopped their movements.

All eyes were on the other half, where Gan Guoyang solidly blocked Bernard King's turnaround jumper.

After turning right, King tried to use his body to bump Gan Guoyang off-balance and then shoot smoothly.

Generally speaking, even if the defender is a heavy, powerful big man, it's very difficult to remain unmoved when being hit head-on.

Unless it's a giant with a large mass, like the 7-foot, 250-pound Paul Mokeski, then King would choose to counter him with speed.

However, what King didn't expect was that when he collided with Gan Guoyang, Gan didn't use his chest to take the hit head-on but instead turned sideways, using his left arm and shoulder to absorb King's impact.

By turning sideways and using his shoulder, one's center of gravity is much more stable. Then, Gan Guoyang jumped up in response, pressing his hand on the ball before Bernard King could shoot, blocking him.

Al Artest, on the sidelines, watched Gan Guoyang's offense and defense with a solemn expression. He said to Sermonde beside him, "Nate, I'm not joking, maybe next year we can really sign this guy."

Sermonde replied, "Don't think about it, Al. He's still a work in progress, Moses is a lesson. This guy won't do that; he's smart and sensible, can't you tell from this defense?"

"Indeed very smart, withstood King's turn and confrontation cleverly. Plus, it seems that even Larry can't push him around. Is this guy really an Eastern Biochemical Warrior?"

"How could you believe such ridiculous talk? He's just an ordinary basketball prodigy."

"Ordinary basketball prodigy? How ordinary?"

"I think about as ordinary as Wilt."

"That's damn ordinary."

Al Artest was not tall, only about 6 feet, and he looked like a dwarf standing beside the tall Sermonde.

The two of them, one tall and one short, watched with great interest as Gan Guoyang, Bernard King, and Larry Smith practiced under the basket, and slowly other Warrior players also gathered around.

Flynn and Carroll started making bets on whether Gan Guoyang could block King again, with the wager being who would pay for tonight's late night snack after the game.

The spectators put pressure on King and Larry Smith, who both got serious and started to approach this practice with a more earnest attitude.

King wasn't blocked by Gan Guoyang again; having battled in the professional league for many years, he knew lots of offensive moves and details.

His turning steps were not flashy, but they were swift and practical.

Nevertheless, he still felt pressured by Gan Guoyang's long arms.

Gan Guoyang's strength and physical toughness exceeded Bernard King's expectations, causing him to incorporate more skills to avoid the block, even using feints.

"Xie Te, Gan, you're trying too hard, the referee will call a foul on you for that!" King complained after failing to score twice in a row.

Larry Smith on the side said, "That wasn't a foul at all. Your details are off, Bernard, your footwork is too rough."

"Bullshit, Larry, there's no forward in the League with better offensive details than me, my ability to attack the basket is first-rate."

As a small forward, Bernard King averaged 21.6 points per game last season, and his shooting percentage was 58%, which was higher than many centers.

King often faced defenders taller than himself, and producing such scoring and shooting percentages clearly required skill.

The competitive spirit of the professional player was ignited; King began concentrating on offense and defense against Gan Guoyang, providing detailed guidance after each attack.

"Many people use the front part of the foot when turning, but let me teach you a secret; I use the heel of my back foot. This makes your turn faster and keeps you closer to your opponent, helping with the confrontation. It requires practice, you need to master the balance, or you will fall."

"When I shoot, I always aim directly at the basket, never considering using the backboard. Many people like to use the backboard, and sometimes it's very useful, but there's a problem—it makes you hesitate, making you choose between two options. In that instant, once you hesitate, your shot will be affected. That's why some people's shots end up hitting neither the board nor the hoop, terribly off.

I choose to cut out the backboard option completely, never use it, always shoot for the hoop directly, so I won't hesitate."

"I also have four different offensive modes for various defenses; I'll teach you if I have the chance. You're going to play center or power forward in the future, right?"

King taught meticulously; he didn't skimp on these skills because many of them were public secrets. The key to utilizing them well requires tons of sweat.

After King's instruction, Gan Guoyang practiced again against Larry Smith's defense.

Smith was eager to block Gan Guoyang, but aside from a few times making Gan miss his shots, he was unsuccessful.

Gan Guoyang was quite adept at confronting, and with his height advantage, it was very difficult for Smith to block him.

For Gan Guoyang, the real difficulty was in footwork, figuring out how to be as fast as King, how to establish a pivot foot quickly, and how to spin using the heel of the back foot were all details that required further contemplation.

After more than half an hour, the three men were drenched in sweat, indicating the intense level of their confrontation.

Seeing Gan Guoyang's performance on offense and defense, Flynn urged Carroll to go one-on-one against Gan Guoyang for a few rounds.

Carroll shook his head, saying he didn't want to bully a kid.

Flynn mocked him, asking if he was afraid of being at a disadvantage and that being blocked by someone like King would be embarrassing.

Al Artest interrupted the trio's practice, saying, "Warm-up is over; we have a game tonight. If you keep playing, you'll use up all of today's energy. You want to sit on the bench all evening?"

It was then that King and Smith realized their practice clothes were completely soaked.

They originally thought they were just playing around, giving a few pointers and teaching a lesson to the younger generation.

Little did they know it would turn into a serious offense and defense confrontation.

Bernard King and Gan Guoyang shook hands, saying, "You've made an impression on me. If you ever have any questions, feel free to come to me for advice."

King, having overcome alcoholism and various troubles, had become very friendly, and he genuinely appreciated Gan Guoyang.

This 6-foot-9 giant had extraordinary agility and an excellent shooting touch.

His strong, fast style of play was very much to King's liking; he had no love for those big but slow, clunky guys.

Gan Guoyang gained a lot, sincerely thanking Bernard King and Larry Smith and inviting them to his family's restaurant for a meal, on the house, when they had time.

By 7:30 in the evening, The Warriors' new season home opener kicked off, with Gan Guoyang seated in a very forward position, where he could look up and see the empty seats above the Oakland Arena.

Tonight's opponent for The Warriors was the Utah Jazz Team. No wonder the opener wasn't very popular; a team like the Jazz just couldn't stir much interest among Bay Area fans.

Their star player was Adrian Dantley, with his unappealing style of play, which made him hard for fans to like.

Before the game, there were no cheerleaders, no mascot, and the proceedings were by the book, lacking in entertainment.

Not spotting any cameras at courtside, Gan Guoyang asked Sermonde if the game wasn't being televised.

Sermonde told Gan Guoyang that CBS and NBC's broadcasting contracts with the NBA had expired this summer and that the two parties hadn't reached an agreement on a new contract yet.

Until a new broadcasting contract was signed, forget about live broadcasts; there wouldn't even be recordings.

Fans wanting to follow the game had to listen to play-by-play commentary on the radio.

The game progressed without much fanfare, with The Warriors achieving a 17-point lead in the first half.

In an era when the three-point shot wasn't widespread, space on the court was tight, and player confrontation was intense.

Because zone defense wasn't allowed and the offensive time was 24 seconds, the pace of offense and defense was very fast.

Guards were cautious with the ball, accustomed to protecting it by backing up or turning sideways.

Forwards all had decent backing down skills and close-range scoring abilities.

Long-range shots were rare; the Jazz attempted six three-pointers all game without success.

Clearly, they had no three-point strategy; it was all just desperate flings.

On The Warriors' side, Joe Haslett managed to sink two three-pointers, but those came during garbage time.

By the end of the third quarter, The Warriors were leading the Jazz by 20 points, draining the suspense out of the fourth quarter.

In the end, The Warriors won 106:91, defeating the Jazz easily in the opener and starting their home games with a victory.

The pre-game confrontation and warm-up with Gan Guoyang had not affected King's performance; he scored an easy 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting.

After the game, King said in a post-game interview in the players' tunnel, "I felt good today, unlike last game. I had a very thorough warm-up preparation which really got me in the zone."

From then on, Gan Guoyang became a regular at Warriors training camps.