Or simply pass the ball, missing a good scoring opportunity.
Basketball is a game about timing and opportunity selection, just like life.
Sometimes you catch others at their most vulnerable, and when they lose balance, you suddenly exert yourself and step up.
You are in a strong position, the opponent is in a weak position, and you have the upper hand, finding ways to use the advantage to defeat your opponent.
Of course, you can’t always be in a strong position, as basketball always has wins and losses.
Perhaps in the next round, it’s the opponent’s turn to be strong, and you have to deal with their attacks.
The league’s games are full of scenes of players dunking over each other’s heads.
I’ll have someone dunk over my head, then turn around and dunk over someone else’s head in return.
And ultimately, the result depends on whether you can seize each opportunity.
Embrace your period of strength, and try to avoid your weaknesses as much as possible.
In the 1992-1993 season, we were very strong, and I was also very strong.
At the start of the season, without Drexler, we achieved a 10-game winning streak.
We created the best start in the team’s history—of course, the Heat’s history is very short, and we were practically making team history every day.
I was awarded the league’s Player of the Month in November, something I hadn’t received for a long time.
In December, we defeated the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls, and crushed the Phoenix Suns in the Christmas game.
At that time, we welcomed Drexler’s return, and we were in great shape.
Our defense was outstanding, and I supported the team’s offense.
My average points per game reached a career-high of 26.8 points.
I was keenly aware that my team and I had entered a period of strength.
For a player and a team, it is essential to make good use of this phase.
Because this phase is often short, and you never know when it will abruptly end.
An injury, a trade, a conflict, an accident, any of these could end everything.
Just like in 1986, we all thought it was a good beginning.
The Twin Towers that Sampson and I formed drew much attention and were full of potential.
No one expected that it would end just as it was beginning.
Injuries and drugs put an end to it all.
Now I’m nearly 30, and I must seize the time.
Everyone is discussing the gap between me and Ah Gan.
He has climbed to the peak six times, overlooking everyone like a deity from the mountaintop.
Even Michael Jordan couldn’t defeat him.
People are revisiting the 1984 draft, believing that Houston made the wrong choice.
While Portland people hit the jackpot, they profit greatly from it.
The second overall pick was like the Celtics using a second pick to get Bill Russell.
Ah Gan may be Russell, or even better.
But I’m not Si Green (the 1956 top draft pick).
In recent years, it seems the NBA discussion centers around only one topic:
Who can defeat Ah Gan and the Portland Trail Blazers?
When arriving at the Heat in 1992-1993, I was sure that person would be me.
———— Excerpt from Hakeem Olajuwon’s 1996 autobiography "Living The Dream".
"You know, when a person starts writing an autobiography, it usually means they’re finding it hard to achieve a breakthrough in their field. They have to stop, look back at their rather spectacular life, and write something while they can still remember, to earn some money for their later life."
"You’ve been a bit harsh recently, Sonny. Let me guess what you’re reading. Winston Churchill’s biography?"
"No, Bill Russell’s first biography, the 1966 edition. He’s an exception; after 1966, he won two more championships. But I guess he had a premonition, publishing a book after winning eight consecutive championships, then losing to Chamberlain in 1967 right afterward. It seems publishing an autobiography is not a good idea."
"Have publishers been contacting you to write a book?"
"They’ve always been in contact, constantly. But as long as I’m not sure I can’t win a championship, I won’t do it."
On the flight from Charlotte to Miami, Gan Guoyang was reading Bill Russell’s first autobiography, the 1966 publication "Go Up for Glory".
At that time, Russell had just completed the feat of eight consecutive championships, creating a legendary Chapter in the history of American professional sports.
Even though the league had only a few teams back then, winning the championship for eight consecutive years, constantly surpassing stars like West, Baylor, Chamberlain, and Robertson, was by no means simple.
At that time, Bill Russell was already in an invincible state, surrounded by nothing but his own loneliness.
Auerbach retired from his coaching position.
Russell became the first black head coach in history.
Also served as a player-coach, embarking on a new challenge.
More than twenty years later, only Gan Guoyang could understand Russell’s mindset.
In this era, winning three consecutive championships has become immensely challenging.
Winning four consecutive championships is almost comparable to winning eight straight.
Because the number of series one has to win is almost as many as eight championships.
"Want to watch Olajuwon’s games with the Heat?"
"Hakeem? Oh, no need, I’m too familiar with him."
"Hakeem is not quite the same this season."
"I know, he’s stronger and harder to deal with. I’m psychologically prepared for that."
Compared to the meticulous preparation before facing O’Neal, Gan Guoyang was much more relaxed facing Olajuwon.
He had battled Olajuwon for many years, starting from the NCAA.
The two were still quite familiar with each other.
He watched some videotapes of Olajuwon from this season.
The Big Dream is indeed reaching his own peak.