[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-golden-age-of-basketball":3,"chapter-the-golden-age-of-basketball-the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1145":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","The Golden Age of Basketball",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1444562,1896,"Chapter 1145 - 17: The Last Spot","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1145",1145,"\u003Cp>As the NBA is in full swing, both MLB and the NFL are still experiencing the threat of lockdowns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 1993 Salt Lake City All-Star Game was a great success and captured the attention of All-America.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the Eastern and Western Conference brought out their elites, offering a suspenseful and unpredictable battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That year, the All-Star Game reached its highest viewership in history, setting a new record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not just the All-Star Game, but the NBA’s regular season and the upcoming playoffs also received significant attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both the Eastern and Western Conference had at least two teams with championship contention involved in the competition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Suns, Trail Blazers, Heat, and Bulls were all strong contenders for the Eastern and Western Conference championships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the MVP leaderboard, Jordan, Ah Gan, Olajuwon, and Charles Barkley were fiercely competing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The golden generation of 1984 began to completely dominate the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were in their late twenties, and their individual skills, form, and experience had all reached their peak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teams were fully constructed around them, with each team having three or four good players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the Trail Blazers’ competitiveness declined, the suspense of who would win the championship this year increased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even who could make it to the finals became a hot topic of interest for fans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1993, there were no Olympics, World Basketball Championships, World Cup, European Cup, or any major sports events of worldwide attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The NBA became the focal point of everyone’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People fervently discussed whether the Portland people could maintain their dominance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People also eagerly anticipated who could end Ah Gan’s dominance over the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Possibly influenced by the NBA’s impact and threat, by March 1, the NFL was set to conclude its labor negotiations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the new labor agreement, the NFL emulated the NBA by introducing a brand-new free agent system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Players who had served four years could join any team they wanted after their contract expired, without restrictions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This allowed players to move more freely between teams without too much constraint or limitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The effect of this on improving the League’s viewership and competitiveness was undeniable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The NBA provided a good example, as the Heat had already plucked talent from the Trail Blazers multiple times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They paid no price, treating Portland as their talent development Base.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It is conceivable that in the future North American professional sports market, players’ rights will become increasingly significant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They can choose the cities and teams they want to go to, with the highest bidder obtaining them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Teams wanting to attract talent have to wave their checkbooks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like the Boston Celtics relying on moral coercion and contract constraints no longer work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old system and old morals of the basketball world disintegrated in 1993.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The NBA is about to enter a new era filled with the scent of money and billion-dollar contracts flying around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, before any new era arrives, the old things do not disappear completely right away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the 1993 season, some players who grew up in the 70s were still hanging on in the League.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some were doing it to support their families, some to win a championship, and some just to stand on the basketball court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the All-Star Game, the Trail Blazers went aboard a special plane, embarking on an Eastern road trip before the trade deadline.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On February 23, their first stop was New Jersey, facing the Nets away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nets had shown little progress over the years and hired championship coach Chuck Daly this season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daly ended his cooperation with the Detroit Pistons and began his new coaching journey.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, lacking talent in New Jersey and facing the new wave of the 90s, Daly seemingly had few solutions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Daly’s basketball career and coaching experience, it was evident he was not a naturally gifted or extremely intelligent person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daly’s success with the Pistons was a convergence of the right Time, place, and people; once out of that environment, that era, that group of players, Daly struggled to adapt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially since New Jersey is not a place suitable for player development or for authoritarian coaches to survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being too close to New York, in the heart of the bustling world, players found it challenging to keep their attention focused on basketball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The talented inside player Coleman, who the Nets had high hopes for, still displayed steady performance—contributing 20+10 every game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that wasn’t what the Nets initially hoped for; they wanted Coleman to become another Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many later examples proved that not every 6-foot-10, versatile, three-point shooting inside player is Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By his third career season, Coleman had already shown many bad habits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, skipping practice, refusing to play in games, not paying attention to controlling his weight, among others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this regard, he very much resembled Charles Barkley, especially recently when he got into a fight at a New York bar, accused of assaulting three teenagers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, his court performance was noticeably inferior to Barkley’s, who was smarter and put more into training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During Bill Fitch’s tenure coaching the Nets, the foul-mouthed veteran coach constantly clashed with young players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a certain game, Coleman and Fitch had a severe conflict.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Fitch wanted Coleman to take to the court, Coleman refused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sat motionless on the bench, reasoning that since Fitch subbed him out when he was doing well, he wouldn’t play again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This season, Chuck Daly’s arrival did not significantly change the situation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daly strived hard to bring the Detroit Pistons’ team culture to New Jersey.\u003C\u002Fp>",915,"2026-06-06T01:41:50.199Z",1,"novelbin.me","5b45ccd899beec6bae9d5aae07208a05aa98a3b85a6813ec0b7c24fe2f1da9bc","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1146","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1144",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]