The Golden Age of Basketball

[Jimmy: "Ah Gan's narrative is truly moving. The departure of some people is still hard to come to terms with, but..."

(Jimmy pulls out a display board with the weather chart of Portland and Miami in June 1993.)

Jimmy (shaking his head): "But, according to our research on the weather in the two cities in 1993, Miami was raining during those final days, whereas Portland only had a bit of rain on the 16th and 17th. So there wasn't a situation of Miami being sunny and Portland being rainy."

(Laughter fills the scene, and Gan Guoyang also smiles, rubbing his nose while laughing.)

Jimmy (squinting): "Sonny, I know a lot of NBA players, and their most common comment about you is... 'This guy is the biggest fraud in history, do not believe a word he says'! Now I don't know, how much of what you said is believable? Are you deceiving us again, setting traps for us? Sonny, what's the biggest lie you've ever told in your life?"

Gan Guoyang (looking at the ceiling in thought): "Hmm... The future is yours."

(The whole place bursts into laughter, applause, and cheers continue.)

Jimmy (waiting for the applause to end): "1993 was truly a tough and painful year. That Trail Blazers team fell apart afterwards. You guys couldn't keep playing together, could you?"

Gan Guoyang (nodding): "Yes, we had reached the end. In those last few games with the Heat, we drained ourselves completely. The Heat was stronger than us, but they were completely confused, playing very... clumsily. When they won the championship in Miami, we all cried. We cried uncontrollably in the locker room. It wasn't tears of joy from victory but pure sorrow. Then we went to Maryland to visit Reggie and to Croatia to see Pete. We poured champagne on their graves in front of the championship trophy. Finally, we flew back to Portland together and said goodbye at the international airport. I had a feeling then that the Portland Trail Blazers had reached their end and we would... part ways."

(The scene becomes quiet.)

Jimmy (with a serious expression): "At that time, everyone thought you would choose to retire. Your father was suffering from early Alzheimer's, and you had so many honors; you were undoubtedly the greatest in history and could have left. Many had left. But in the end, you didn't leave. You stayed, continued to play the 1993-1994 season, and part of the 1994-1995 season before you left. Why? What kept you fighting?"

Gan Guoyang (squinting): "In Game 4 of the 1993 Finals, before I returned to the court, the President said something to me. He told me that the more difficult and harsh the time, when facing death and despair, the more you need to pursue victory and keep fighting. So when the Trail Blazers were about to collapse, others could leave, but I couldn't. I had to stay."

Jimmy: "After that, what led you to return quickly?"

Gan Guoyang: "There are many reasons, not just one or two, it's a combination of factors. But the direct reason was... the President gave me a call."

Jimmy (with a curious expression): "The President again, may I ask which President? President Klidon?"

Gan Guoyang (shaking his head): "Of course not, it was your Donald President."

(The scene fills with both applause and boos, but the cheers soon overwhelm everything, becoming extremely noisy.)]

—— Excerpt from Gan Guoyang's interview on the "Jimmy Fallon Tonight Show" in 2016.

"Ring ring~"

"Ring ring~"

A series of urgent and piercing phone rings broke the silence of the house. They echoed and wandered in the empty room, anxiously searching for the owner and trying to bring him to the phone to end the noise.

"Ring~"

Gan Guoyang picked up the cordless phone on the bedside table, pressed the answering machine button, and finally, the noisy ringing downstairs stopped.

Having just been woken from his nap, he thought he must change this ringtone to an electronic "beep beep beep," it's so noisy.

Perhaps it's age, or the aftereffects of the successive blows during the Finals, but Gan Guoyang started to have a habit of napping.

In the past, he could fall asleep anytime and anywhere; recently, he found it difficult. As soon as he closed his eyes, all sorts of chaotic thoughts and emotions filled his mind.

So he reserved the time to rest and replenish his energy for midday, taking a short or long nap after eating, giving himself a little rest.

This time, it seems he slept a bit long and deep. After turning off the phone, he turned over, still with his eyes closed, and thought for two seconds about who he was, where he was, why he was here, and what time it was...

"This is Sunny Gan, a player of the Portland Trail Blazers. You've disturbed my nap. If you don't have a very good reason, I might consider beating you up. Please leave a message after the 'beep'... Good luck..."

The voice from the answering machine reminded Gan Guoyang who he was and that he was at home, in the small room, taking a nap.

"Hi, Sonny, it's Bobby. Are you home? I'd like to see you. I'm at the community college gym, waiting for you at two in the afternoon. If that works, give me a call back or page me, or just come to the gym! See you at the usual spot!"

Gan Guoyang opened his eyes; it was Beelman calling. He had a feeling about what Beelman was looking for him for.