Chapter 887 - 53: Welcome to the Finals_2

A lot of people would consider their lives complete with even just one championship, let alone four. After all, winning an NBA championship is no easy feat.

Think about the Trail Blazers from back in the day, think about Bill Walton, think about the 76ers’ Moses Malone and Julius Erving. To shine like a meteor even once is already quite extraordinary.

For someone like Gan Guoyang, who repeatedly claims the highest honors, his greatest opponent is not the ones he faces on the court but himself. Overcoming various temptations, inner fatigue, and the emptiness after reaching the peak is always a major challenge for athletes.

Even Bobby Berman felt a bit deflated after winning the 1990 championship with outstanding performance and a smooth journey.

Last season, he stayed tense the entire way, pushing himself and the Trail Blazers to the limit to eventually secure the crown.

This season, though? He’s still strategizing meticulously, but his mindset has clearly relaxed a lot.

The most obvious sign: This guy actually started dating.

The man who once swore he’d commit to basketball for life couldn’t resist temptation and began dating a female lawyer from Portland.

"Hey Bobby, need a ride?" Gan Guoyang asked Berman as he grabbed his luggage, ready to head out. He knew Berman didn’t drive.

"Oh, no, someone’s picking me up."

"Ho ho, is it that lawyer? You never learn, huh? Aren’t you afraid of getting married again and going bankrupt a second time?" Gan Guoyang joked.

"No, Sonny, I’m not getting married. I’m already married to basketball."

"So what is this then? An affair?"

"We’re... just in a normal relationship! You ask too much, Sonny."

"Don’t mess around too much and forget about training. The morning after tomorrow! I’ll be there first."

With the finals teams confirmed, the schedule was set.

Besides resting, training, and preparing for the games, Gan Guoyang still had plenty of things to take care of.

For example: arranging tickets.

This year, the Trail Blazers were still holding the finals at Memorial Coliseum, and its limited seating was a real problem.

When he got home, Gan Guoyang immediately called the ticket manager, John White, to prepare the tickets.

"20 tickets, get me at least 20 tickets."

"Sonny, this year... this year might be tough. I can only give you about 15. It’s really tight. Everyone else is getting a maximum of three tickets!"

"Alright, 15 it is. You guys really should sell standing tickets; there’s so much space around the glass curtain walls."

"I actually have that idea—build balconies outside the glass wall and sell seats there. I’m practically losing my mind over these finals tickets."

John White had managed the Trail Blazers’ PR and ticketing since the 1970s, but with the NBA’s rising popularity in recent years and the Trail Blazers frequently making it to the finals, his job had gotten increasingly harder.

The Memorial Coliseum only had so many seats, and with the Trail Blazers’ status being so prominent, there weren’t many tickets left to sell after accounting for season ticket holders.

Owner Tang Jianguo would take a batch for dignitaries, celebrities, and friends. Players on the team would take another batch for their families to watch the games.

Gan Guoyang, for example, needed 20 tickets each time for high school and college classmates, friends, family, and for obligations.

This time, the Trail Blazers vs. Chicago Bulls had attracted unprecedented attention, and ticket prices at Memorial Coliseum had skyrocketed, making it truly difficult to get a ticket.

In fact, just after Gan Guoyang called John White, Wang Fuxi came over to tell him: "Juanita just called."

"Juanita? Jordan’s wife? Why’d she call? Trying to plead for Michael?"

"No, she’s asking for tickets. She wants to trade them with tickets for Game 3 and 4 in Chicago."

"I only managed to get 15 tickets right now; I’m not even sure if it’s enough for my own circle. But I do want some tickets for Chicago... I’ll think of something. By the way, why didn’t Jordan call me directly?"

"Not sure. Probably because you guys are about to play in the finals; he doesn’t want to talk to you and be influenced."

Gan Guoyang soon received another call from Bobby Berman, who said on the phone: "Sonny, I need three tickets."

"Fuck, you’re the coach. You don’t need tickets to sit courtside and watch the game."

"Shit, I need them for friends! My tickets aren’t enough; figure something out."

"Friends? Your lawyer girlfriend, right? You could promote her to assistant coach."

"Stop joking, Sonny. You must have tickets."

"I’m the Trail Blazers’ starting center, not a ticket seller! I... I’ll try to think of something."

In the end, Gan Guoyang scrambled, nagging and pulling favors to get three extra tickets from John White, bought some more at high prices from the market, and added to the four sets of season tickets Wang Fuxi had stockpiled, barely managing to have enough.

Gan Guoyang felt helpless. This time, leading up to the finals, the most troubling issue wasn’t the game itself but the tickets.

Last year against the Detroit Pistons, there wasn’t anything like this. This year is truly different, so very different.

Gan Guoyang had been anticipating this matchup for a long time. Back when he first entered the league, he had already been waiting for this showdown with Jordan on the grandest stage.

Deep down, he always knew that to become the true king of this era, he had to dethrone the king of the era before.

Later on, meeting in the finals became a promise between the two, with "See you in June" becoming the catchphrase of their friendship.