Chapter 998 - 29 Layers

[When I began writing "SLAMDUNK," I had two wishes: to visit America under the guise of research to watch the NBA Finals, and to go to Barcelona to watch the Olympic basketball games.

I’m very grateful that I fulfilled both wishes, and in Portland, I was fortunate enough to get Ah Gan’s autograph. Astonishingly, he had read my manga and wrote the comment ’This is a good work, keep updating,’ which made me feel like I was dreaming.

Now I have only one wish left: I hope to see Japan’s basketball team participate in the Olympics and wonder what will happen to the kids who grew up watching SLAMDUNK and started playing basketball... I’m almost in tears.]

————1992 "Slam Dunk Master" Volume 9 Author’s Comments, Inoue Takehiko, Excerpt.

June 8th, the third game between the Trail Blazers and the Bulls at the Rose Garden Arena.

Before the game, Gan Guoyang was preparing in the locker room while others were either listening to music, chatting, or watching videos.

Gan Guoyang was reading a comic, engrossed in the "Slam Dunk Master" that his father had bought for his grandson.

The familiar storyline evoked many memories hidden deep within Gan Guoyang, memories about basketball and youth.

Yesterday, when Gan Guoyang got this comic from Gan Youwei, he suddenly understood what had been confining him all along.

From 1981 to 1992, he had been in this time and space for a full 11 years, becoming someone born in the 60s and growing up in the 80s and 90s.

He had played basketball for 11 years, trained in this era, competed in this era, always at the forefront, a pioneer of the time.

Being a pioneer was tiring; there were always people following behind, and he felt anxious, wanting to break through but unsure of how long and far the road ahead was.

But did he really not know? No, he actually knew; he was just forgetting over the long period, not memory forgetting, but the body.

His muscle memory belonged to the 1980-1990s because his training and competitions were always in the 80s and 90s.

People said he didn’t resemble a center from this era, but ultimately, he became the representative of this era.

In fact, many ideas in his mind didn’t belong to this era; they transcended time, allowing him to see the future.

No one could know his deepest thoughts; in certain fields, he fought alone, fighting until he even forgot himself.

He led the trends of the era; he could shoot threes, perform outside techniques, but he was only one step ahead. Could he really only be one step ahead?

His lead was in technique, but the real gap was in thought.

Beelman’s efficiency ideology was already a step ahead of other teams, but in Gan Guoyang’s view, it wasn’t enough.

Efficiency is cold, big data; in the playoffs, in crucial battles, focusing on efficiency could lose the game.

What is the true concept of basketball in the future?

Actually, Gan Guoyang had known in his heart all along, just as basketball’s creator Dr. James Naismith said, "The ultimate basketball game is attacking no matter where the ball is, starting from the moment you get the ball."

Dr. Naismith had a visionary insight, seeing the essence of this sport just after inventing it when basketball was still an immature sport:

It belongs to offense, scoring, everything else revolves around this, including defense.

During basketball’s development, it inevitably became divided into offensive and defensive factions. Extreme offensive figures like Doug Moe, Westhead, pushed offense to the extreme, emphasizing freedom, speed, and frantic scoring, even to a degree sacrificing defense.

While extreme defensive figures like Larry-Brown and current NBA defensive coaches elevated defense to unprecedented heights, weaving intricate traps, making every point hard-earned.

For a long time, the defensive faction dominated the mainstream, while the offensive faction won the audience, and the defensive faction won victories and championships.

In the eyes of famous basketball experts and critics, his strongest and most surprising trait was his defense.

Now the average score in the League is decreasing each year and is expected to shrink to around 90 points by the early 21st century, making defense increasingly important.

But that’s only temporary; offense and defense are yin and yang, waxing and waning, eventually reaching a balance.

By 2011, the basketball world was at the brink of transformation, and in that summer, Gan Guoyang sensed the taste of a new world.

No matter how extreme the defense becomes, scoring is ultimately necessary to win games, and offense remains the eternal main theme.

So, an ultimate player should start thinking about the offense the moment they get the ball.

At the moment the ball crosses half-court, the offensive mode should begin, not with the opponent waiting near the Three Second Zone.

If you dare to wait, I’ll make you pay the price — long shots, passes, breakthroughs — every choice is aimed at better putting the ball into the basket.

Even while defending, one should think about offense: what kind of block can make the counterattack faster, what kind of defensive rebound can make the counterattack smoother, is defending in this position conducive to counterattacking?

Offense and defense are integrated. The court should be seen as a whole to think about, every step, every pass, every attack should incorporate offensive thinking, allowing pressure to seep into the opponent’s defense like holes in a dam, until when the dam breaks, the overwhelming flood will crumble any solid defense.