[{"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-1539":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},1445056,1896,"Chapter 1539 - 20: The Future Belongs to the Lakers","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1539",1539,"\u003Cp>After the 1997-1998 season schedule was released, I saw the first game was against the Utah Jazz, so I circled it on the calendar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I had some unresolved issues with Ostertag. I didn’t like how he ran his mouth after beating us in last season’s playoffs, and I planned to settle that score with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During shooting practice, I found him, walked over, and confronted him. I told him, \"You should shut your mouth, focus on playing, and stop yapping.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He said to me, \"Fuck you, watch your mouth!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I said, \"You know how to watch your mouth, but what about your own mouth?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We got into an argument, and he started cursing again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So I wasn’t polite and slapped him across the face!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The slap wasn’t really that hard, but he went straight to the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like I had some kind of Chinese Kung Fu, with a slap that weighed a thousand pounds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guy was curled up on the ground moaning, \"My contact lenses, my contact lenses!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Damn, I really felt embarrassed for him. Did I slap you right on the eyeball?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I didn’t play that night; I had an abdominal injury and was still recovering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But I knew that slap brought me some trouble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The League suspended me for one game and fined me ten thousand US Dollars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the League’s fine was nothing compared to Jerry West’s anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry West blew up at me after the game, saying things like, \"I will never tolerate such childish behavior! Never!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you hear what I said? You’ve shamed yourself, your team, your parents, and the League! How do you expect others to see you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you a foolish bully or a serious basketball player? You better think it through!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You better apologize to Ostertag and the Utah Jazz team, and also to the Los Angeles Lakers. If you do something like this again, I’ll trade you away!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wow, my gosh, when West gets angry, it’s really scary.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like in the 1996 All-Star game when he refused to attend because he was quarreling with the League, determined to the core.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, the old me would have backed down, yielded, like, okay, I’ll listen to you, you’re the boss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hold a press conference, say some lukewarm apologies, promise not to do it again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time I didn’t back down, of course, I didn’t confront him either, because I knew West had a point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I just asked him one question: \"Where were you when Ah Gan hit me? When he took down so many people in Portland, where were you?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Honestly, if there had been smartphones back then, I should’ve filmed old Jerry’s expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His range of expressions was rich enough to be a textbook example at a film academy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stammered, saying, \"Ah Gan...that doesn’t count, you hit him first...wrestling doesn’t count as hitting, he...it was all self-defense, different situation...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later he said some nonsense about a center being a center, and Ah Gan being Ah Gan, but in the end, he had no way to deal with me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haha, I found a way to come out on top, all in all, Jerry found it hard to criticize me anymore, though I did correct myself not to be a bully.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still apologized to Ostertag and the Jazz team and told my teammates that I wouldn’t do anything outrageous in the future but would focus on basketball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone laughed and said they hoped I would fight Ah Gan again, and I said no problem! I’m ready to throw down!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, I won’t do that because I’m not a bully after all.]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——Published in 2011, excerpt from Shaquille O’Neal’s autobiography \"Shaq Uncut: My Story\".\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Los Angeles Lakers experienced a breakthrough in their performance during the 1997-1998 season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bobby Berman ended his four-year not-so-successful coaching stint in Hollywood and went to their longtime rival, the Celtics, to start anew.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jerry West chose Del Harris as Berman’s successor to lead the Purple and Gold Legion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harris had a rich resume, similar to Bobby Berman, starting as a high school coach and leading his teams to state championships.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then switched to college basketball, coaching for many years at Earlham College in Indiana, achieving outstanding results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Earlham College was a small school, not eligible for the NCAA, the biggest event they participated in was the NAIA All-America Basketball Championship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, without a strong enough brand, Del Harris worked two jobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the college season, he’d coach the college team, and during summer vacation, he’d coach lower leagues in Puerto Rico.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1975, he went to Europe, coaching the superstar team in Spain, Iberia, before moving on to the ABA as an assistant coach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1976, the ABA merged with the NBA, and Harris was hired as an assistant coach for the Houston Rockets, thus officially beginning his NBA coaching career.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In 1981, as the head coach for the Rockets, he led the team on an unexpected run to the finals, losing to the Boston Celtics. This was Del Harris’s breakthrough season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, Harris assisted Don Nelson with the Bucks, and with Nelson’s move to the Lakers, Harris followed him to Los Angeles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During Bobby Berman’s four-year coaching stint, Del Harris remained the team’s first assistant coach, Jerry West’s first backup plan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Berman’s resignation, Harris became the Lakers’ head coach, tasked by Jerry West to mold this talented team.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Harris did a good job; so far this season, they are the Western Conference’s second strongest team, trailing only the Trail Blazers.\u003C\u002Fp>",922,"2026-06-06T01:42:01.245Z",1,"novelbin.me","80d0a43c8b173a2d32a55b15c9e3259babb04b9fc03d4c45518182dae571336b","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1540","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-1538",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]