[{"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-1381":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},1444948,1896,"Chapter 1381 - 31: Those Who’ve Taken a Beating Are Different (Part 2)","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1381",1381,"\u003Cp>When I told him that I hardly had any contact with Michael outside the court, he couldn’t believe it; he always thought my relationship with Michael was very close.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That summer, Dennis, Michael, and I were all in great form. We were in such good shape that we could accomplish anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the start of the season, when flipping through the schedule, I told my teammates, \"I don’t think we’ll lose any game in the next three months.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, it wasn’t far from what I said. With 72 wins and 10 losses, we made history with an incredible regular season record.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the playoffs, we also faced no obstacles. No team posed a threat to us, including Ewing and the Supersonics in the finals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We led 3-0, then lost the fourth and fifth games. People said we wanted to return to Chicago to win the championship, which seemed unfair to the Supersonics and Payton.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Supersonics adjusted their defensive strategy, letting Payton defend Michael, which caused Michael quite a bit of trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, my form was terrible. At one point, we missed 20 consecutive three-point attempts; we just couldn’t hit the shots.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the sixth game, we returned to Chicago. The game was scheduled on Father’s Day, and Michael certainly had many emotions. I felt sad for him; he was a son who missed his father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a score of 87-78, we defeated the Supersonics and won the sixth game. It was our second championship in three years. Harper and I climbed onto the technical platform and shouted to the fans that we were the best basketball team in the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael returned to the locker room, holding a basketball and shedding tears. He couldn’t share the two championships he won with his father; this was his greatest regret in life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second biggest regret was that this championship still wasn’t won by defeating Ah Gan. So, during the victory parade, when Jordan was asked what his wish for the new season was, he jokingly said, \"I hope Ah Gan comes back. I want to beat him in the finals to win the championship.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hmm, truly a good wish. I think Michael might be the only one in the league hoping Ah Gan would return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scarily enough, just two weeks later, Ah Gan announced he would return in the 1996-1997 season. He was coming back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon receiving this news, I immediately called Michael and told him, \"As you wished, that guy is coming back!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Michael was silent on the other end of the phone for a while. I guessed he was smoking a cigar. He said, \"Life can be so unpredictable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——2021, excerpt from Scottie Pippen’s autobiography \"Unguarded\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game officially started at 7:30 PM Pacific Time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang controlled the ball for his team in the jump ball against Luke Longley.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>More than a decade has passed since the first Gan Qiao showdown, and the players and coaches around Jordan and Gan Guoyang have completely changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls’ starting lineup featured Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Longley, and Ron Harper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Trail Blazers’ starting lineup featured Gan Guoyang, PJ Brown, Van Exel, Riddle, and AC Green.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both teams have also changed their arenas. The Trail Blazers moved to the Rose Garden, and the Bulls moved to the United Center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only two things remain unchanged: the Bulls’ and Trail Blazers’ logos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Bulls were founded in 1966, and the Trail Blazers in 1970. The Bull’s head logo and black and red spiral logo used when both teams were founded have not been altered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Other teams update their jerseys and logos from time to time to keep up with trends and attract young fans to buy them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Bulls and Trail Blazers have made no changes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1990, the Trail Blazers attempted to modify the spiral logo to make it look more modern.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the logo, laden with championship memories, was something Portland fans were unwilling to see change.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the modification plan fell through, and the team stopped making changes, retaining the 1970 design.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second unchanged thing is Michael Jordan and Gan Guoyang’s desire to defeat each other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two have been friends and rivals for over ten years, and by 1997, their competitiveness only grew stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Gan Guoyang found that Jordan was trying to climb over him, and he was really about to climb over; the two lost years made him increasingly anxious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Jordan, having won two championships, felt that a championship not won by defeating Ah Gan was like a piece of gold lacking in quality. It looked beautiful and valuable, but there was just a bit of regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It didn’t feel like a real ring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Ah Gan decided to return, Jordan was the most excited one. He knew his chance to mend his regrets had come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, deep inside, he also held a slight worry and fear: what if he still couldn’t beat Ah Gan?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the 1997 regular season game, Jordan took it very seriously. He knew that Ah Gan would certainly seize the psychological advantage in such a game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the 1991-1992 season, he did just that. In the regular season, he took down the Bulls, bent on revenge, and ultimately won the finals by altering strategies and relying on a slight psychological edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In battles between the strongest, even the smallest advantage can determine the final outcome. This was a lesson Jordan learned the hard way from his ten plus years of more losses than wins against Ah Gan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, once the game began, both sides played very confrontationally. Jordan chased Riddle on defense; when Gan Guoyang came out to set a pick, Jordan gave Gan Guoyang a push.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Riddle returned the ball to Gan Guoyang, who drew the defense and then passed the ball to Riddle. Riddle caught the ball, drove to the basket, and scored the first points of the game with a layup.\u003C\u002Fp>",986,"2026-06-06T01:41:54.549Z",1,"novelbin.me","ba71a06bd6b30fb466090c7d54494c4ec43257e451f96d9969564c0c9218cc8b","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1382","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1380",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]