[{"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-1373":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},1444940,1896,"Chapter 1373 - 29: Fists for Ratings (Part 4)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1373",1373,"\u003Cp>Back in the locker room, Gan Guoyang called home to explain the situation. Wang Fuxi complained a bit, but still supported her husband.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you didn’t throw a punch, O’Neal would’ve pounced on you. Can you handle a 300-pound giant? One punch is light.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Wenshan also grabbed the phone, saying to Gan Guoyang: \"Dad, Dad, you hit O’Neal, now you can’t hit me when you come back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Dad never wanted to hit anyone; hitting is wrong. But Mom’s right, with a 300-pound fat guy charging at you, it’s hard to control your fist.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finishing the call, Gan Guoyang decided to visit the Lakers’ locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the court, none of the Lakers security dared to stop him. Gan Guoyang walked straight to the home team’s locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How’s Shaq?\" Gan Guoyang asked the Lakers’ doctor, Gary Vitti.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gary Vitti had been working for the Lakers since 1984, he entered the League with Ah Gan back then, serving as the Lakers’ physician and trainer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not a big issue. Sonny, you’ve hit someone again,\" Vitti said with a helpless tone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He came at me; I had no choice. I didn’t want him pinning me down. I also didn’t want to lift him and slam him to the ground; that’d be too scary. Giving him a punch to let him sleep for a while was a good idea, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vitti remained noncommittal, while Jerry West and Lakers owner Jerry Buss also came into the locker room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Buss glared at Gan Guoyang, initially wanting to ask why he was there, but then glanced at Gan Guoyang’s fist the size of a sandbag and O’Neal lying there, and ultimately didn’t ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a cramped indoor space, fists often prove more effective than money or social status, especially when those fists pack such power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>West pulled Gan Guoyang aside, and said, \"Sonny, you...sigh... why are you so impulsive, hitting someone again?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang didn’t explain; he simply patted West’s shoulder, and left the Lakers locker room, knowing this wasn’t a place he should linger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On his way out, Gan Guoyang saw Jide sitting on a chair, icing his eye, and said: \"You’ve got guts, Jason. Gary didn’t pick the wrong man.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Gary he referred to was, of course, Gary Payton, Jide’s big brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jide didn’t speak; he didn’t know why he rushed forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normally he had an average relationship with O’Neal, but seeing O’Neal knocked down, motionless, filled him with anger, wanting revenge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unfortunately, he encountered Ah Gan, and was instantly cleared with a punch; Ah Gan’s fists are truly fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Gan Guoyang left the Lakers locker room, O’Neal suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did Ah Gan leave?\" O’Neal asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in the locker room was startled, West quickly asked, \"How are you, Shaq?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I felt heavily asleep, then... I woke up hearing Ah Gan speak. Shit, I didn’t dare open my eyes. Did I fight him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, you were hit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry Buss, quite angry, said: \"Why would you just rush in? Don’t you know what kind of guy he is?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O’Neal internally gave Buss a white-eye, thinking why are you mad? I’m the one who took the hit, and I’m the one in the fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afraid I get hurt and can’t make you money?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O’Neal and old Buss were nothing like Magic Johnson and Buss’s rapport; he always kept his distance from Buss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, although O’Neal loved to play, he didn’t engage with Buss, as per his principle: don’t get too cozy with the boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No big deal, I just wanted to hit him. What’s so great about him? From now on, I’m not afraid of him; I fought Ah Gan.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You got hit,\" West reminded him again, but O’Neal acted as if he didn’t hear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, with the second quarter over, Beelman and the Lakers players returned to the locker room to check on O’Neal’s condition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O’Neal stood up and told everyone, \"I’m fine. I’m good. I can play the second half!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vitti reminded O’Neal that it’d be best for him to get a concussion check and examine his jawbone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O’Neal, however, insisted he was fine with no issues, saying Ah Gan’s punch couldn’t do anything to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was determined to play again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was Ah Gan thrown out?\" O’Neal didn’t forget to ask Beelman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Definitely, absolutely, haven’t sold me out, have you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course not, I’ve said nothing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though hit by a punch, O’Neal’s physique could sustain it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And after being hit, O’Neal suddenly felt proud: I’m among those who’ve stood strong against Ah Gan!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a curious psychological shift; though a punch knocked him unconscious, it felt like some kind of honor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it was a punch from some minor character, O’Neal’d be humiliated, and certainly go some place to retaliate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Ah Gan’s different; in the NBA, those worthy of Ah Gan’s fists are famous enforcers; he never hits nobodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So now, having taken a punch, O’Neal joined the ranks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, O’Neal returned to the court in the second half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Great Western Forum Arena erupted in cheers, as if welcoming a hero’s return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after getting socked by Ah Gan does one achieve such effect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>O’Neal, seeing Jide’s swollen eye, felt touched internally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Turns out, when hit, Jide was the one who stood up for me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their relationship thus shifted, becoming much warmer than before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Gan Guoyang, the Trail Blazers instantly became a scattered team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially on the inside, PJ Brown couldn’t withstand O’Neal at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the third quarter, O’Neal wreaked havoc, scoring in low-post plays continuously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a single quarter, he drew three fouls on PJ Brown and pinned him to the bench.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bird, seeing the inside crumble without Ah Gan, could only swap in Little O’Neal and Ben Wallace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two rookies couldn’t stop O’Neal’s rampage in the Three Second Zone, while Little O’Neal seemed as fragile as a ribbonfish in front of Big O’Neal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the duo didn’t resign, instead in some plays, defended O’Neal and Thorpe rather awkwardly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially Ben Wallace, despite significant height deficit, relied on keen defensive intuition to deliver three blocks within limited playtime!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This seemingly ordinary young man hadn’t relaxed his self-training since entering the League, patiently waiting for opportunity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight, the conflict between O’Neal and Gan Guoyang unexpectedly provided him the chance to shine, which Bird firmly remembered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, the Lakers, at home, defeated the Portland Trail Blazers by 102:98, claiming victory in the Christmas showdown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Post-game, Gan Guoyang’s punch still stirred quite a storm, with the League office sharply criticizing Ah Gan’s violent act.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This isn’t Ah Gan’s first time using violence on the court, we’ve been patient, but this time we’re giving strong punishment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stern aimed to shape the NBA free from violence and drugs for middle-class families, but Gan Guoyang, as the League’s jewel, kept throwing heavy punches, always defying Stern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon seeing the ratings—Lakers vs. Trail Blazers’ ratings surged when Ah Gan swung his punch, far exceeding Bulls vs. Heat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, during the chaotic minutes when Gan Guoyang knocked down O’Neal and punched Jide, the ad fees surged to sky-high prices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang’s punch even influenced the combat sports market; late December and early January boxing event ticket prices rose 40% because \"Ah Gan’s punch ignited people’s interest in boxing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing such results left sociologists curious: why did Ah Gan’s violent behavior yield more positive outcomes than negative ones?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>People even jokingly dubbed Kermit Washington’s punch \"the punch of evil,\" while Ah Gan’s punch was \"the punch of justice,\" \"the kind punch.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the NBA and broadcasters, Gan Guoyang’s punch was \"the punch of ratings,\" \"the punch of money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to calculations, from the 1995-1996 season to the 1996-1997 season, the salary cap only increased by 1 million US dollars, indicating limited NBA revenue growth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet with Ah Gan’s return in the 1996-1997 season, the salary cap expectedly might increase by 4 million US dollars or more in 1997-1998, even without new broadcasting contracts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ah Gan’s viewership and monetary effects were unparalleled; even if he hit someone or simply farted, it was sought after.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ultimately, the League made a big fuss but did little, fined Gan Guoyang some money, suspended him for three games, and that settled the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Gan Guoyang’s 1996 had to end in rest due to the suspension, rather than on the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>passed in such manner, and 1997 was about to arrive.\u003C\u002Fp>",1400,"2026-06-06T01:41:54.549Z",1,"novelbin.me","85134a1f65f74818b3a62a4e5eeaa21d14272c3cdeca78ebd7187c2c21e5f5ec","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1374","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1372",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]