In high school, he studied and imitated Ewing’s style of play.
Last November, at Madison Square Garden, O’Neal faced Ewing for the first time.
He took the initiative to greet Ewing, saying, "Hello, Mr. Ewing."
Ewing, however, responded viciously, "I’m going to smash you, rookie."
The Knicks won that game.
But Ewing, against O’Neal’s intense defense, went 7 for 16, scoring only 15 points.
O’Neal, on the other hand, had 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
By this January, when the Knicks visited Orlando, O’Neal showed no mercy.
He went 10 for 17, with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks, leading the team to a one-point victory over the Knicks.
Ewing, facing O’Neal’s defense, went 9 for 27, his shooting percentage was shockingly low.
He scored even one point less than O’Neal, exposing his weaknesses against a top-tier low-post defender.
Although in the subsequent meetings, Ewing fought hard to reclaim his standing,
O’Neal was no longer afraid of Ewing in his heart, and his advantage over Ewing grew.
The key reason lies in their first encounter, where Ewing made O’Neal fearless.
As a senior, you neither respected me nor could defeat me.
Come to think of it, just a bully with a guilty conscience.
With such an image, how could O’Neal fear him?
Moreover, during the All-Star voting stage, Ewing was very upset because O’Neal surpassed him in votes.
With Olajuwon coming to the Eastern Conference, Ewing might very well be squeezed out of the All-Star lineup by O’Neal.
Relying on his position in New York, he expressed to the NBA officials his hope to ban rookies from participating in the All-Star Game.
They should hold a separate Rookie All-Star Game.
Such petty behavior made Ewing’s once-idolized image collapse in O’Neal’s mind.
In the future, every time he meets Ewing and the Knicks, O’Neal won’t show any mercy.
On the night of February 11, O’Neal was to face a stronger, more towering idol.
After six in the evening, both sides began entering the arena for warm-up preparations.
The Magic arrived at the court first for shooting practice.
O’Neal’s mind was completely focused on the players’ tunnel.
The Trail Blazers’ players could enter at any time.
Soon, there was a commotion from the audience seats near the players’ tunnel.
Wearing white sportswear with red and black stripes, the Trail Blazers’ players ran onto the court.
Leading them was Ah Gan.
He ran out from the shadows, chewing gum.
He looked even more robust than he did on TV.
The live audience burst into loud applause.
Although it was an away game, Gan Guoyang had exceptional popularity in any arena across All-America.
Especially in new teams like Orlando and Miami, where fan loyalty to the home team wasn’t strong yet.
Many in the audience were tourists; they were there for the spectacle.
Gan Guoyang high-fived the fans reaching out on the sidelines and even signed autographs for some of them.
He appeared more popular than O’Neal in Orlando.
A wave of jealousy surged in O’Neal’s heart.
This was clearly his home court; he was like a king here.
But why did these people seem to turn against him as soon as Ah Gan arrived?
Especially the little fans, look at them, all wearing Trail Blazers No. 11 jerseys.
One kid wore a Magic No. 32 over it, but when Ah Gan arrived, he lifted his outer clothes to reveal a black No. 11 for Ah Gan to sign.
Before the game, O’Neal, who had been thinking about honing skills and mutually respecting Ah Gan, was now thinking about defeating Ah Gan in the game.
"I need to dunk hard on his head."
O’Neal was fixated on dunking over Ah Gan’s head.
One of O’Neal’s goals was to dunk over every rival center’s head in the league.
With that in mind, he turned and jumped with the ball, delivering a powerful two-handed dunk.
The basket wobbled, and the reporters crouched below jumped up in fright.
Ever since he broke a basket in Phoenix, all stadiums have reinforced their baskets.
After landing, O’Neal looked at the frightened reporters, grinning mischievously.
He was just a big playful kid who liked to tease people.
"Shaq! Nice dunk!"
O’Neal turned and saw Ah Gan walking over with the ball.
Their first close encounter; O’Neal didn’t expect Ah Gan to greet him.
For a moment, his mind went blank, and all thoughts of dunking on Ah Gan vanished.
He wiped his hand on his pant leg because Ah Gan reached out a hand toward him, and their huge hands met in a handshake.
O’Neal thought Gan Guoyang would squeeze his hand hard.
His muscles were already tense, prepared to counter.
Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang shook hands politely and gently.
"A fearsome pair of hands, perfect for basketball. Someone must have tried to recruit you for football, right? But you still prefer basketball."
Gan Guoyang’s compliment caught O’Neal off guard.
He hurriedly replied, "Yes, that’s right, I practiced football in high school, but I didn’t like it at all. Basketball suits me better! I love basketball, I... I also..."
O’Neal wanted to say, I also love watching your games, I enjoy watching you play.
He swallowed back the words.
He feared saying it would make him sound too much like a fan.
Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang said, "I’ve watched you play, on TV."
"The NCAA games were stunning, your dunks are exhilarating."
"And your combination of agility and strength is surprising."
"It’s hard to find someone as tall as you, yet as agile and able to operate from a low center of gravity as necessary. You’re an unprecedented player."