The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 96 - 3: Invitation

After reaching a cooperation agreement, Fleisher, seemingly afraid that Gan Guoyang would be snatched away by another agent, immediately took out a contract from his briefcase and handed it to Gan Guoyang for review.

Gan Guoyang scrutinized the contract in great detail, discussing and bargaining with Fleisher over some of the key terms, such as the duration and percentage of earnings.

Fleisher marveled at Gan Guoyang’s meticulous mind, comparing him to Bill Bradley, who had entered politics after his retirement.

After confirming all the terms, Gan Guoyang signed his name using the principal’s pen.

The principal even had someone come to take a photograph as a keepsake, which would be kept in the university’s history museum as evidence of Gan Guoyang’s departure from Gonzaga and his official start on the path of a professional basketball player.

Fleisher told Gan Guoyang that the NBA would conduct the draft lottery in May to determine who gets the first pick.

Now that the regular season had ended, the draft order would be based on team records.

"What are your thoughts about your draft position?"

"Top three, anyone who doesn’t pick me in the top three is a fool, and they’ll regret it."

"You’re quite modest, not claiming you’ll definitely be the first pick."

Gan Guoyang thought to himself that if history remained unchanged, then it would be Houston that got the first pick.

Yao Ming’s experience had left Gan Guoyang without much fondness for the Rockets.

Besides, he had just defeated the Cougars in the NCAA finals, and people in Houston probably hated him for it now.

If they still got the first pick, it was highly likely that the Rockets would choose Olajuwon from the University of Houston.

After all, Olajuwon was a true Houstonian, and his performance in the finals was equally impressive; he was the only player who made Gan Guoyang feel a great deal of pressure.

The other two teams in the top three were the Portland Trail Blazers and the Chicago Bulls.

The Trail Blazers were an attractive choice because Wang Fuxi was at the University of Portland.

Not having to deal with long-distance relationships was nice, but that wasn’t Gan Guoyang’s primary consideration.

Gan Guoyang was wary of the Trail Blazers’ notorious curse on centers, and although his physical condition was excellent, some things still required caution.

As for the Chicago Bulls, Gan Guoyang thought of that person, the one he had always wanted to face off against and see who was better. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

It was unknown what changes history would make here.

Everything would have to wait until the lottery was over and the draft began to unfold.

For the most part, Gan Guoyang remained indifferent; having entered the fray, there was no need to worry about what might come before and after. The right path was to forge his own way.

Fleisher did not stay long in Spokane; his work was very busy, and he had to rush back to New York immediately.

He arranged a schedule for Gan Guoyang, who would have a press conference before the draft.

Then he asked Gan Guoyang to participate in some professional training camps or rookie tournaments in May and June, with plenty of such camps and competitions in Utah, California, Oregon.

After the press conference, Fleisher would carefully select one or two of these for Gan Guoyang to display his abilities and further improve his skills.

Gan Guoyang originally wanted Fleisher to meet Stockton, a player well worth signing by Fleisher, who would be a good player in the future.

But Fleisher was simply too busy. After explaining these matters and leaving the phone number of his New York office, he hurried off.

A few days into May, on a Saturday, Gan Guoyang visited Stockton’s house.

During his two years at Gonzaga, Gan Guoyang often freeloaded meals at Stockton’s place.

He would occasionally show off his cooking skills, which never failed to amaze the Stockton family.

Jack often said that if Ah Gan didn’t play basketball, he could open a restaurant, and the business would surely be incredibly successful.

On this day, Stockton’s mom was painting the kitchen. With his tall and long limbs, Gan Guoyang quickly finished the task for her.

Joining them for dinner was Stockton’s girlfriend Nada, who was the younger of the twin sisters.

Nada came from a prominent family. Her father, Mike-Stapovich, was the last territorial governor of Alaska (appointed by Eisenhower) and its first state governor. He graced the cover of Time magazine in 1957; her mother was of Slavic noble descent, an immigrant who settled in Portland, Oregon, with a mansion so grand that the family maintained the Slavic tradition of not speaking English.

Youthful Mike-Stapovich attended the University of Portland, but later transferred to Gonzaga to complete his undergraduate degree, which is why his daughters went to study there as well.

Gan Guoyang thought to himself that Stockton was a dark horse—quietly striking it rich by dating one of the twin sisters. With an influential and wealthy family background, he wouldn’t have to worry about living expenses even if he didn’t make it as a professional basketball player.

That evening, Gan Guoyang cooked up a dish of Ma Po Tofu, simple yet delicious and tailored to Americans’ taste, along with over a dozen beef dumplings, all of which were devoured in no time.

After dinner, Stockton and Gan Guoyang played basketball and chatted on the makeshift court at the front door of the house.

Gan Guoyang told Stockton about signing with Fleisher a few days earlier. Stockton admitted he didn’t know who Fleisher was but was confident that Gan Guoyang would be selected within the top three.

"I think you should go to Portland, it would be perfect for you. Fosse is in Portland; you guys could hang out often. Portland is close to Spokane, too, where Nada’s family is, and it’s a really nice city."

"I haven’t thought much about it, I just want to play games, I want to play basketball. It’s been almost a month since I played an official game, and I’m itching all over."

As he spoke, Gan Guoyang sunk a long-distance shot. Stockton retrieved the ball and passed it back to Gan Guoyang, who then moved even further out.

Another long shot, and it hit the mark again.

Gan Guoyang practiced long-distance shots every day. His shooting was incredibly precise.

Stockton tossed the ball to Gan Guoyang, who kept scoring.

He kept moving back until he was near the mailbox on the lawn.

"Hey, that’s almost 50 feet! You’re still shooting from that far!"

A basketball court is only 94 feet long. At 50 feet, that’s more than half the court.

"What if one day I could shoot and score from the mid-court line? Would the opposing center want to commit suicide? How would he guard me then!"

Saying this, Gan Guoyang attempted an ultra-long-range shot. This time it was too far, and the ball hit the rim without going in.

He took a deep breath, glanced at the mailbox, and prepared to shoot again.

That’s when he noticed that the Stockton’s mailbox was overflowing with letters, with several having fallen out.

Gan Guoyang picked up the letters, planning to stuff them back in, when he noticed one of them seemed to bear his name.

"Sonny-Gan incoming... A letter for me, why would it be delivered to John’s house?"

Stockton came over and asked, "What’s up, Gan? These letters? Most are just ads and credit card bills, along with some other junk."

"It’s a letter for me, but I don’t know why it’s been sent here."

"Is that so? Let me see..."

Stockton examined the letters and sure enough, there was one addressed to Gan Guoyang meant for Bloomington, Indiana, where Indiana University is located.

"There’s also a letter for me from Bloomington," said Stockton, pulling out an envelope that looked exactly the same, with the same sender’s address in Bloomington, Indiana.

They opened the envelopes and saw at the top: U.S. Olympic Basketball Selection Committee.