The Golden Age of Basketball

Sabonis was surprised and said, "Why? Isn't Portland good? I plan to keep working here unless I'm traded."

Petrović replied, "Portland is great, it's just too good, I've almost got everything here."

"Then you're planning to be like Drexler, and leave to change teams if you can't be the boss after winning a championship."

"Oh no, I wouldn't go to another NBA team, I... I'm just saying. I love it here, with Ah Gan, with Reggie, and with you, Porter, playing basketball together, I'm very happy."

"Then don't leave, even if we don't get a championship, playing together is a joyful thing, right? We can play together until the 21st century, until retirement."

Petrović nodded, he also couldn't understand why he had the idea of leaving Portland to play in Europe.

This wasn't a new thought, it had been there for some time, but is it really because he can't be the boss or win an MVP, like Drexler?

He refused to admit this internally, but if he had such thoughts, then what's the difference between him and Drexler?

Or perhaps what Clyde did was right, one can't be under someone else forever, but now at the Heat, Drexler is still overshadowed by Olajuwon.

Olajuwon is the true boss of the Heat.

In this regard, Petrović somewhat envied Reggie Lewis, Reggie was very satisfied with his own positioning, team status, being the second or third option, he didn't care much.

After being traded to the Trail Blazers in the 1990-1991 season, Lewis took on many defensive responsibilities, changing from a future Celtics leader to a definite second or third in the Trail Blazers.

But he had no complaints about this, nor any desire to push forward, but rather calmly doing what he should, steadily moving forward, now his influence in the team is no less than Petrović's.

If you consider defense and rebounds, Lewis's comprehensive status is higher than Petrović's.

Perhaps the Trail Blazers' coach also thought so, Reggie Lewis's seat was closer to Ah Gan's position.

The relationship between Lewis and Petrović remained a subtle teammate connection, they weren't close friends.

In fact, Reggie didn't have many close friends in the Trail Blazers, unlike most black players, he was well-behaved and quiet.

The imprint of black culture wasn't deep on him, he valued family and preferred spending most of his time at home with his wife and kids.

This season the on-court relationship between Lewis and Petrović warmed up, Petrović was promoted to the starting lineup, and their coordination increased.

By mid to late season, everyone saw Lewis and Petrović as the hope for the Trail Blazers' future, two major outside players supporting Ah Gan.

At this time, the plane passed through thick rain clouds and gradually descended, they had arrived over Miami, this sunny city on the South Coast was experiencing a summer rainstorm.

Like all major cities in America, Miami's night was brightly lit, yellow, green, red, and blue lights decorated the night, adding a hazy mist due to the rain, like an oil painting.

The Trail Blazers' advance team had long arranged everything in Miami, and after the players got off the plane, they immediately took the bus to leave the airport for the hotel.

The waiting journalists at the airport signaled to Miami fans on site: The people of Portland have arrived in Miami, the battle is imminent.

Of course, this isn't Boston, this signal was merely a signal, without any other meaning, not meant to incite the Miami fans to harass the Trail Blazers players.

The team's logistics had arranged everything very thoughtfully, the Trail Blazers had the best support team in the league, not only because Tang Jianguo invested enough funds to form the team, but also because the staff were experienced.

The longest-serving among them had participated in eight finals, starting from 1977, they were familiar with everything and the players didn't have to worry too much.

Lewis settled into his room, sharing it with Mario Ely.

He called his wife and mother to report his safety, they didn't follow them to Miami because they couldn't get tickets.

Besides, it was the third time in the finals, the families just wanted to stay home and watch the live TV broadcast, waiting for the games to return to Portland to attend live.

After finishing the call, Lewis looked at the dense rain outside the window, opened the window, and took a deep breath, feeling somewhat stifled.

"Rainy days are stuffy... might as well go for a walk." Lewis decided to go out for a spin, to get some fresh air.

During the entire season, Lewis often felt stuffy and short of breath, and testing showed some heart issues.

However, after multiple checks and treatments, he was still able to continue playing without any severe incidents occurring.

Lately, the stuffiness was more frequent, but he thought it wasn't a big deal, not wanting to miss out on the chance for a fourth consecutive championship.

Championships are addictive.

Since being traded to the Trail Blazers, Lewis had tasted the sweetness of constant victories.

Once you start, it's hard to stop.

He went downstairs alone, as Ely had already showered and gone to bed early.

In the lobby, Lewis saw Petrović sitting on the sofa making a phone call.

He was using a mobile phone, seemingly calling his girlfriend, Lewis smiled faintly.