The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 327 - 63: Roaring Fury

"The NBA is a huge orphanage, where the majority of people are jerks, no matter how well the media dresses them up. So if someone pisses you off, you have to strike back promptly and make him feel the pain; only then will he act somewhat decently in front of you, even if it’s all an act."

"Do you know why I’ve maintained a long friendship with Charles Barkley? It’s not because I’m so kind to him. A lot of people are nice to him, Gene Shue included. The key is that I show him my fists from time to time, letting him know there are dire consequences for crossing me."

————Excerpt from the biography "The True Story of Ah Gan" by Wu Zhixiong about Gan Guoyang, published in 2025.

Barkley helped Bol, who had fallen on the ground, get up; without assistance, it would have been tough for him to rise.

Barkley patted Bol and said, "I told you Sonny is crazy, you better be mentally prepared."

Bol didn’t respond but ran towards the frontcourt, while Guoyang turned to his teammates and asked, "Does that count as a successful poster dunk?"

Everyone shook their heads and said it didn’t count because his dunk came after knocking Bol down instead of dunking over him.

Since everyone said so, Guoyang had to concede, thinking to himself that he should not have used so much force if he’d known Bol couldn’t take the hit.

It wasn’t that Bol couldn’t take the impact; rather, any player confronting Guoyang for the first time often underestimated the strength and momentum of this 6-foot-10 center, resulting in a lack of mental preparation and getting thoroughly jolted.

After a few confrontations and being mentally prepared, although still unable to withstand it, at least the impact wouldn’t be as devastating.

During the Bullets’ offensive turn, Gus Williams controlled the ball from the outside, with Barkley and Bol both moving up to set screens.

The Bullets didn’t start with a low post play, but completely cleared the baseline, organizing plays on the high post, with Charles Barkley appearing at the high slot.

Gus passed the ball to Barkley, who paused with the ball, then surged inside to attack the basket.

But Barkley walked right into a trap set by the Trail Blazers’ defense, which was typically loose on the outside and tight inside.

The perimeter defense of Vandeweghe, Parkson, Drexler, and others wasn’t very aggressive, offering the opponent space to drive.

However, once you penetrated inside, Gan and Thompson’s speed at help-defense and shot-blocking was incredibly fast.

Gan often began his interceptions midway, and this time was no exception, swooping in from the side to block Barkley’s shot.

Vandeweghe grabbed the ball, passed it to Drexler to start the fast break, and Parkson rushed to the frontcourt to catch the ball and hit a jump shot after a quick stop.

Parkson still held onto the traditional guard’s method of counter-attack shooting.

In the games of this season, the Trail Blazers almost always managed to take the lead swiftly at the outset.

Gan’s early low post offense and fast breaks following defense were their scoring magic.

Whether Barkley was feeling short-changed or his stomach hurt again was unknown.

He wasn’t performing well at the start, with all three of his attempted offenses missing.

This included one play with a pick-and-roll with Manute Bol, which was deciphered by the Trail Blazers’ focused defense.

The Trail Blazers quickly gained a lead of 3:10, with the sole Bullets’ score coming from a three-pointer by Jeff Malone.

Gan scored 6 points over Manute Bol, including a dunk, a medium-range shot after a Cheche step, and a layup after a fake drive.

Bol realized that this guy was tougher to deal with than a lion, and most importantly, Bol didn’t have a spear in his hands, only a semi-disabled right hand.

His right hand had a congenital disability with three fingers that were difficult to flex and extend, which made shooting the ball very challenging.

Bol simply couldn’t keep up with Gan Guoyang’s pace of play, and when he tried to get the ball outside, Gan Guoyang suddenly pressed hard and stole the ball.

Then he directly dribbled to launch a counterattack, easily dunked the ball, and the Memorial Coliseum was filled with cheers for him; he was a true idol here.

As Manute Bol thought back to his arrival in Portland, he remembered getting off the plane and sitting in that Volkswagen van driving on Portland’s highways. Through the window, he could see the city’s streetscapes; the sky was somewhat gloomy, and suddenly a huge highway billboard appeared, bearing an Avia advertisement with Gan Guoyang enshrined like a deity in a massive portrait.

Gan Guoyang’s gaze was fixed on the entire city, watching every car that passed on the highway, from a place high, high above.

Of course, Manute Bol was not convinced. He was a proud man, especially since he had once defeated the Trail Blazers.

Ah Gan was also a foreigner, from China, a mysterious and ancient place, and inevitably, Bol was compared to Ah Gan. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

No one believed he could reach the heights of Gan Guoyang, except for himself; he was confident he could do it.

He didn’t like anyone being taller than him, standing in a higher place, looking down at him.

"Manute Bol, he doesn’t even need to jump to dunk the ball, but his layup is blocked by Ah Gan! Whoo! There’s a foul on the play, but it’s still a beautiful move. Bol is too thin, and he’s been knocked to the ground by Ah Gan again."

Bill Schonely’s voice carried a hint of pity.

Bol got an opportunity to score under the basket through a pick and roll, and he attempted a dunk.

Dunking was too easy for him; he didn’t need to jump, just a light leap with the ball was enough to slam it into the hoop.

But he was too slow, needing time to set up, and he couldn’t grip the ball with one hand, needing both hands to clutch it, which further slowed him down.

Gan Guoyang blocked him, the referee blew the whistle, and it was Bol’s second time hitting the floor that night.

Barkley pulled him up again, and standing at the free-throw line, Bol made one of two shots, while Gan Guoyang grabbed the defensive rebound.

Barkley attempted and failed to fight for the offensive rebound as the game gradually shifted to the Trail Blazers’ rhythm.

Soon, Bol was knocked down for the third time, Gan Guoyang rolled off a screen and received a pass from Kolter, knocked down Bol with a fadeaway, and scored as the whistle blew again.

The basket was good, and he was awarded an additional free-throw.

"Don’t do that, Sonny; you’re going to dismantle him."

During the free throw, Barkley came over and said to Gan Guoyang.

"How about I bump into you instead?" Gan Guoyang asked.

"Oh, forget it, I’m no center," Barkley replied.

The additional free throw was good, and in the course of half a quarter, Gan Guoyang scored 9 points, all over Bol’s head.

However, Bol also demonstrated the power of being the tallest player, as Drexler tried to drive in for a dunk over Bol, but he underestimated Bol’s height and had his shot blocked.

The Bullets launched a counterattack, and Gus Williams pulled up for a jump shot, scoring two points.

Immediately, Vandeweghe caught the ball on the wing, drove along the left baseline, powerfully charged under the basket, and scored with a dunk!

But Bol didn’t manage to help defend in time.

"Does that count as a basket for me?" Vandeweghe asked everyone.

Everyone obviously shook their heads and said it didn’t count, "Even Bol didn’t manage to defend against that."

"You dunked too fast; he should have slowed down."

"If I had been slower, I would have been blocked!"

Bol indeed had a strong deterrent effect; he really was too tall.

You had to use speed to get around him, or force to push through him.

Taking him head-on and trying to score a dunk over him was indeed very difficult.

And midway through the first quarter, Gene Shue substituted Bol out, replacing him with Rick Mahorn.

The Trail Blazers’ attempts at dunking over the opposition came to a temporary halt.

Seeing Mahorn waddle onto the court, Gan Guoyang felt it was a pity.

"Who the hell put you in?"

"Huh? Of course, it was our coach!"

Mahorn was surprised; did he think he put himself in?

By the end of the first quarter, the Trail Blazers had taken an 8-point lead, their offense becoming more in tune and proficient.

The Bullets tried to build a defensive system around Bol, but Gene Shue didn’t anticipate the Trail Blazers would aggressively target Bol, who was somewhat overwhelmed.

Meanwhile, on the power forward position, Charles Barkley’s help on defense for Bol was too little.

On the offensive end, Barkley was tightly checked by Gan Guoyang. Gene Shue tried to utilize him at the high post, looking to make plays with his shooting and pick-and-rolls, but Barkley was not happy with such arrangements by Gene Shue.

During the break between quarters, Barkley told Gene Shue he wanted to go to the low post, down to the basket, to fight for offensive rebounds.

"That’s not to your advantage, Charles," said Shue. "You should create some plays on the perimeter; you have that skill."

"I dominated the Trail Blazers in the paint in the last game!"

"The situation is different now."

"I don’t see any difference!"

Gene Shue wanted to tell Barkley that in the last game, there was Ruland, whose three-pointers and perimeter offense helped create space.

Bol didn’t have that ability yet; his development into a three-point shooter would come later.

Gene Shue valued Barkley highly and had been focusing on cultivating the big man since the previous season.

But to tell the truth, their personalities didn’t quite mesh; Barkley didn’t like Gene Shue’s disposition.

He was also disinterested in some of Gene Shue’s unorthodox strategies. Shue often wanted him to play on the perimeter or at the high post, but Barkley preferred to fight in the low post within the three-second area.

As long as they were playing well and winning, it was okay, but whenever there were setbacks, the two would often argue.

In the second quarter, both Barkley and Bol were on the court; Barkley, disregarding his coach’s plan, told Bol to leave the inside to him and started barreling his way in.

However, Gan Guoyang was in great form that night, gifting Barkley two big blocks under the basket; Barkley couldn’t move Gan Guoyang.

The score gap widened slowly, and on a counterattack, Gan Guoyang received the ball, shooting a 45-degree three-pointer from the left over Bol, and scored!

Bol didn’t expect this guy to shoot threes; he looked up at the scoreboard to see the Trail Blazers leading by 15 points.

It was terrifying. Finally, Bol experienced a hint of fear in his heart, like facing a lion in the night.

Previously, he hadn’t felt this feeling; at the pre-game press conference, he even said, "I can handle Ah Gan."

Bol always attracted a lot of attention in each city; every away game would see the locker room crammed with reporters before the start.

Mark Pray, the Bullets’ PR Director, had to travel with the team to manage media interviews.

Bol remembered how Mark Pray’s face changed color when he said that before the game; he signaled to Bol to tone it down.

Bol couldn’t understand; they had beaten the Trail Blazers before. If they could win once, they could naturally win again.

Now Mark Pray was sitting courtside, next to the assistant coaches on the bench.

Barkley’s shot from the outside did not go in, and Drexler secured the defensive rebound.

Barkley’s performance tonight was terrible, and Drexler attempted to charge at Bol again.

With the ball in his hands, he used a dribbling move to get past Jeff Malone, and headed straight for Bol!

Bol stepped up to meet him; Drexler jumped but then realized he couldn’t get over this African mountain.

He had to change from a dunk to a layup to avoid Bol’s block, and the ball bounced twice on the rim before popping out.

Bol wanted the rebound, but he heard Barkley’s voice, "Watch out!"

Bol felt his hair stand on end. Watch out for what? A lion?

Then, a massive force like a crushing weight descended from above. Gan Guoyang slammed the ball into the basket over Bol!

Bol was so tall, and to get over him, Gan Guoyang had jumped high, losing his balance, but he succeeded nonetheless, then fell to the ground and slid out of bounds.

"Ah Gan’s put-back dunk! Riding on Manute Bol! Rip-city!"

Schonely’s voice was filled with passion as the entire Memorial Coliseum erupted in joy.

The Trail Blazers’ bench was also booming; the players all jumped up and rushed over to lift Gan Guoyang off the floor.

Gan Guoyang raised his right hand, asking, "Does that count? Does that?"

This time, nobody could deny it; Gan Guoyang had succeeded, he had dunked over the tallest player’s head.

Meanwhile, Bol stood at the basket, hands on hips. He thought of the nights facing lions; most of the time, he had run away.

As for killing a lion, had he really done it? Many people had asked him, and he had told the story many times, but each time seemed slightly different.

It was a story from when he was 15 years old; the lion had been asleep, and some details had faded from his memory. But this lion was different; it was roaring.

When Bol was substituted out of the game by Gene Shue, he said to Mark Pray, "Sorry, My bad."