[{"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-933":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},1444350,1896,"Chapter 933 - 5 Georgetown Idiot_2","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-933",933,"\u003Cp>This was an enormous drain on their physical and mental stamina, especially on Christmas Day, traveling to frigid Portland to face the defending champions. The 13,000-plus spectators at the arena were all against them, and they had to face the league’s number one player. The pressure and challenge were unimaginable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the game, head coach Paul Westhead reminded everyone to give their full effort and performance. Tonight was bound to be a tough battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, Gan Guoyang stood in front of Mutombo, full of energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the senior veterans had said, he wasn’t very tall—similar to Mourning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he looked even sturdier than Mourning, who was already an exceptionally solid guy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mourning was compact and tough, but Ah Gan appeared majestic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his long arms and broad shoulders, he looked like a fearsome beast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His muscles were massive. Unlike those of Black players, they didn’t seem as explosive, yet were brimming with power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Gan Guoyang’s innate skeletal advantage. His frame was larger, and his bones were thicker than many Black players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as people had observed in his earlier years, his muscles seemed to grow within his bones, making his body incredibly rigid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many burly Black players had muscles that appeared smooth and full—like chocolate bread—which looked good but lacked the absolute strength of those of Asians or White players.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two took a moment to size each other up. Gan Guoyang, chewing gum, asked, \"Patrick seems to have mentioned you. Said your shot-blocking is quite impressive, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The game was about to start. Mutombo hadn’t expected Gan Guoyang to strike up a conversation with him. He hesitated for a moment and replied in his raspy voice, \"Oh, Patrick... uh, my shot-blocking’s decent. I think I could block one of yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo wasn’t sure why he said this to Gan Guoyang. Coupled with the way he looked down at him with flared nostrils, he came off as incredibly arrogant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang had originally just wanted a casual chat with this Georgetown junior, thinking perhaps the kid wasn’t intentionally being obnoxious with his nostril-flaring demeanor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, he went ahead and claimed he could block one of his shots?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, even Mutombo laughed—not out of arrogance, but because he found it absurd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had meant to say, \"Russell mentioned that blocking just one of your shots would be impressive.\" But since Gan had asked specifically about Ewing, his words stumbled out wrong, and he ended up blurting, \"I could block one of yours.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo’s laughter was one of embarrassment, an attempt to cover up his blunder. But to Gan Guoyang, this big guy, with his mouth wide open claiming he could block one of his shots while glaring at him through his nostrils, sure seemed full of himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang quite liked it. He appreciated rookies with guts, relished the opportunity to clash head-on with them, letting them hit a wall while pushing himself to improve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic! Give it your best shot, block me if you can!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo realized Ah Gan might have misunderstood him, but the game was about to start, leaving him no time to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, wouldn’t blocking one of Ah Gan’s shots be a good thing? They were adversaries, after all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo quickly refocused and stood in the center circle, ready for the tip-off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The referee, overhearing their banter, turned to Gan Guoyang and said, \"Sonny, have you finished schooling the youngster? Can we start now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gan Guoyang responded, \"What youngster? He looks older than me! Go ahead, start the game. You’re the referee.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tonight’s head referee was Gan’s old friend, Jack Madden. Since Earl Strom’s retirement, Madden had become the referee Gan Guoyang had the closest relationship with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two often chatted casually during games. Madden, like Strom, was a fearless old-school referee—the tough kind who’d say, \"If the fans misbehave, I’ll step up and fight them myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the years passed and retirements accumulated, referees like Madden were becoming rarer in the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madden tossed the ball into the air, marking the start of the Christmas Day showdown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the tip-off, Mutombo used his extraordinarily long arms and height advantage to make first contact with the ball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nuggets earned the first offensive possession. Mutombo was indeed exceptionally tall, effortlessly tipping the ball with a light jump.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gan Guoyang had no intention of contesting Mutombo in the tip-off; these days, opening jump balls were more ceremonial than anything else.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nuggets’ starting lineup consisted of Mutombo, power forward Greg Anderson, small forward Reggie Williams, point guard Winston Garland, and shooting guard Mark McCart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overall, it wasn’t a particularly talented lineup, which explained why Paul Westhead couldn’t lead the Nuggets to better results.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The team’s leading scorer, Reggie Williams, had been selected in the first round of 1987 by the Clippers and was later sent to the Cleveland Cavaliers as part of the Danny Ferry trade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He then played two years with the Spurs, before joining the Nuggets last season, where he became the team’s leading scorer—averaging 18 points per game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This partly explained why Mutombo, who wasn’t a notable scorer in college, was often putting up 20-point games with the Nuggets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t just Westhead’s aggressive offensive style; the lack of dependable scorers on the team was the main factor forcing the tall and somewhat offensively capable Mutombo to shoulder more scoring responsibility. It also helped build Mutombo’s confidence in competing in the league.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Nuggets’ first offensive possession was an attempt to get Mutombo the ball in the low post to challenge Ah Gan’s low-post defense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo stood in the three-second zone like a big tree branch, arms spread wide to receive the ball. The Trail Blazers naturally didn’t double-team him; if he wanted to challenge Ah Gan, they were happy to let him try.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mutombo successfully caught the ball and then attempted to back in, turn inward for a hook shot—a fundamental scoring move for him.\u003C\u002Fp>",989,"2026-06-06T01:41:39.741Z",1,"novelbin.me","fc74b43f1968f432e2a85db0eb93b931d48ecc55d5c27ad45f1ba3a3cfae53bf","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-934","the-golden-age-of-basketball-chapter-932",2033,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-golden-age-of-basketball-cover.jpg"]