The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 436 - 54 Section 5

"Sonny is an animal, no doubt about it (I can’t remember how many times I’ve called him that in my book)."

———— Excerpt from Larry Bird’s autobiography "Drive: the story of my life", published in 1989.

On the evening of Saturday, February 7, 1987, at KeyArena in Seattle, the All-Star Game’s three-point contest and dunk contest took place as the first events.

The arena, which looked like a giant pavilion, had been the home of the Seattle SuperSonics since the 1985-1986 season, and during the 80s, the venue was considered fairly modern.

Over 18,000 fans filled the arena, waiting for the start of the three-point and dunk contests.

As a prelude to the All-Star Game, the three-point contest and dunk contest quickly rose in popularity and drew attention comparable to the main event.

In the first few years of their inception, the contests were participated in by star players from the league, which everyone found very fresh, and both viewership and attendance were very good.

Just last night, the league announced that Jordan and Gan Guoyang were going to participate in the three-point contest and the dunk contest, respectively, and the topic immediately went viral.

The price of tickets for the event soared overnight, and those who obtained tickets and sold them on could make an instant profit of 20 to 50 percent.

Rick Barry, hosting the live program for CBS, said, "I’m not surprised Ah Gan is in the three-point contest, I know he’s capable, and it’s not his three-pointers that are his strongest, but his confidence. However, I didn’t expect him to dare enter the dunk contest. As for Michael Jordan participating in the three-point contest... all I can say is, good luck, Michael!"

Rick Barry had seen Gan Guoyang’s long-range shooting in San Francisco; the guy was not only highly skilled but also incredibly confident, even more so than Larry Bird.

Tonight’s three-point contest participants included not only Gan Guoyang and Jordan but also Larry Bird, Danny Ainge, Michael Cooper, Vandeweghe, Byron Scott, Schlammfeste, Dale Ellis, and Craig Hodges.

Ten people in total, paired off in groups of two, competed on opposite sides of the court simultaneously, with the winners moving on to the next round. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

The five winners of the first round were ranked based on their scores, with the top four advancing and the fifth being eliminated. In the event of a tie, a 24-second tiebreaker round was played.

Before going on stage, everyone made preparations in the locker room, and Jordan was unusually nervous because he wasn’t really good at three-point shooting.

Gan Guoyang kept reassuring Jordan, "It’s alright, it’ll be over in a bit, just relax, you won’t get dizzy."

Jordan said, "Fuck, I wasn’t even this nervous playing in the NCAA finals."

Bird was walking around in the locker room and said, "You’re really asking for trouble, falling for Sonny’s tricks."

Gan Guoyang said, "Larry, why don’t you join the dunk contest?"

"Go to hell, I’m not as dumb as Michael."

However, once Jordan actually stepped onto the court, he wasn’t quite as nervous.

After all, the basketball court was his domain. As long as he held the ball in his hands and stood on the maplewood floor, he felt calm.

During the introduction for the three-point contest participants, Jordan and Gan received the loudest cheers and applause from the fans.

And Larry Bird, who made his entrance last, was without a doubt the star that drew the most attention on the three-point stage.

"Larry, you’re done for this time, first place will be mine," said Gan Guoyang next to Bird, chewing gum.

"I don’t care about that, but you brought Michael here to take first place over him, right?"

"Exactly, you’re smart. I also want to win the dunk contest."

"You son of a bitch."

However, Bird didn’t believe Gan Guoyang could win the dunk contest.

Regarding the three-point contest, Bird was uneasy because his condition wasn’t as good as it had been the previous year.

In the first round of head-to-head matchups, Gan Guoyang and Danny Ainge were grouped together, taking the third spot to compete.

Jordan and Schlammfeste were in a group, taking the second spot to compete, the first group to go on was Vandeweghe and Dale Ellis.

They each used half of the court and started the three-point competition simultaneously with one minute on the clock; 20 regular balls, five money balls, each regular ball worth 1 point, and each money ball worth 2 points, for a total of 30 points.

In the end, Dale Ellis scored 13 points in one minute, while Vandeweghe scored only 12 points, leading to his elimination.

After being eliminated, Vandeweghe shook his head and exited, and Gan Guoyang gave him a high-five, saying, "You looked a bit nervous, Cheche, relax next time."

Vandeweghe said, "Not everyone is like you. Xie Te, I really am a bit nervous."

Vandeweghe’s usual practice and gameplay weren’t at this level, but in a real big competition, what mattered was the player’s mental quality.

Especially when making consecutive long-range shots, it posed a tremendous test for the shooter’s stamina and mentality. The further you went, the worse the physical condition became. As time passed, the urgency to shoot increased, and once a player got hasty, their accuracy would plummet. Missing shots caused even more desperation, creating a vicious cycle.

That’s also why long-range shots are so unstable in games; even the best shooters can have both brilliant and terrible days, putting all aspects of a player’s condition to the test.

It was the second group’s turn, and Jordan took a deep breath, taking to the court amid the cheers of the fans.

Gan Guoyang loudly cheered for Jordan from the sidelines, "Michael! You have to make them! If you get five, consider it a win!"

Jordan wished he could kick Gan Guoyang. Couldn’t this guy just keep quiet and die? What’s this about making five and considering it a win? Was he here for an exhibition match?

After adjusting his mood, Jordan moved to the corner, looking at the hoop with a bit of trepidation.

The corner three was the hardest. Jordan didn’t practice long-range shots from the corner much, and the extra practice he had put in the night before did not go well.

If he could choose, he would have preferred to start shooting from the top of the arc to build up his shooting rhythm, rather than waste energy in the corner.

But he couldn’t choose the sequence, and the competition began. Jordan started shooting—the first one didn’t go in, and it was quite a bit off.

The second one missed too, his shooting form wasn’t designed for threes; the arc was too flat, hitting the rim’s outer edge.

The third didn’t go in, the fourth didn’t, and the fifth, the money ball, also missed... At the first station, Jordan hadn’t made a single shot.

At the second station, the 45-degree angle, the first shot still didn’t go in. The second, the third, until finally on the fourth, Jordan sank his first shot.

Gan Guoyang was almost dying of laughter at the sidelines, but he didn’t dare to laugh out loud for fear of being caught on camera and used as evidence. After all, they were good friends. It wasn’t good to sabotage someone like this, was it?

So he had no choice but to feign a worried look, his face full of concern, and when Jordan finally made his first shot, he clapped and cheered for him, although inwardly he was almost splitting with laughter.

Jordan fared a bit better at the top of the arc, making two shots and earning 3 points!

By the fourth station, Jordan was getting discouraged, cursing Gan Guoyang and himself inside his head.

He cursed Gan Guoyang for dragging him to show up and embarrass himself in the three-point contest, while also cursing himself for not seeing through Ah Gan’s trap and still jumping into it.

In the dunk contest later in the second half, he had to regain some face by any means necessary.

He made just one shot at the fourth station, and by the final corner, Jordan took a deep breath, missing three in a row!

Finally, on the fourth shot, he fluked a three-pointer, and then missed the fifth, the money ball, again.

When he had shot all his balls, Jordan himself laughed. Damn it, 5 points!

The television cameras showed Jordan, whose expression was a mix of bitterness and helplessness.

Meanwhile, Gan Guoyang used all his might to hold back his laughter. As for Bird beside him, he didn’t bother to restrain himself and was beaming more than anyone.

"Michael, after I shoot at the first station, I’ll probably have more points than you," Bird said to Jordan without any mercy.

Jordan pursed his lips without retort, then sat back on the bench and laughed at himself again. It was too humiliating.

Opponent Schlammfeste scored an impressive 19 points in the first round, nearly four times that of Jordan, knocking him out with ease.

Schlammfeste was in top form.

Then it was Gan Guoyang’s turn to go on in the third group. Before taking the stage, he patted Jordan, saying, "Michael, I’ll avenge you."

Jordan thought, Damn it, who needs your revenge? You’re my biggest enemy!

Gan Guoyang took to the stage and started shooting from the corner. At the first station, he scored 3 points, then at the second station, the 45-degree angle which was his sweet spot, he hit all five shots, earning 6 points!

After two stations, he had already surpassed Jordan. Continuing with good form, he scored 4 points at the top of the arc. After finishing all five stations, he had 17 points, eliminating Danny Ainge.

Danny Ainge actually shot well, scoring 14 points, which would have been enough to advance in another group, but unluckily he was up against Gan Guoyang.

In the next group, Bird only scored 13 points but knocked out Michael Cooper. He then beat Dale Ellis, who also scored 13 points, in a tiebreaker.

So, Gan Guoyang, Bird, Hodges, and Schlammfeste moved on to the second round semi-finals.

That marked the end of Jordan’s journey in the three-point contest; there wouldn’t be a second time. There would never be.