The meeting of two generations of national team players was slightly awkward.
Because Zhang Weiping left the national team due to factional struggles, and he was on the losing side.
Hu Weidong, on the other hand, was a young player promoted to the national team by the winning side, so to put it bluntly, they were not on the same side.
Moreover, Zhang Weiping left China for America in 1988, essentially stepping away from the national basketball system.
Hu Weidong joining the Los Angeles Lakers was a renowned event in basketball circles, and despite Zhang Weiping being in Los Angeles for so long, he had not tried to contact Hu Weidong.
Because there was always a hurdle in his heart that he couldn’t get over.
However, with Gan Guoyang acting as an intermediary, the awkwardness quickly dissipated.
Despite the generational difference, meeting a fellow basketball person in a distant foreign country felt like finding water in a desert, a moment to savor.
The usually reticent Hu Weidong found his words, and Zhang Weiping, after years of ups and downs and challenges abroad, also gained perspective on the past struggles.
After all, the national team was developing in a good direction, and the victors of those past struggles had not achieved satisfactory results, leaving early due to illness and paving the way for successors.
Talking about interesting stories from the national team, each had their perspectives and views.
Discussing experiences in America, Zhang Weiping’s words were more profound and poignant, while Hu Weidong talked about his unique NBA experiences.
When it came to their distant homeland, both coincidentally drank a toast and sighed softly.
"It should be snowing in Beijing now," Zhang Weiping said, knowing there was no snow in Los Angeles.
When talking about the future, both couldn’t help but feel pessimistic, longing for home.
Hu Weidong needn’t say much, while Zhang Weiping pondered if he would really spend his life selling beer in a foreign land.
Despite being very successful in this job with a highly-ranked position from the company, Zhang Weiping, who once made waves in the national team, still felt his soul belonged on the basketball court.
Zhang Weiping said, "I had an opportunity earlier, Central Television invited me back to do basketball commentary. But honestly, there are many young people doing commentary, and at almost 50, I really lack the confidence to compete with them."
NBA had cultivated Chinese fans for years, starting with game broadcasts in the 80s and nurturing a large base of loyal viewers by the 90s, which led to the emergence of China’s first batch of sports commentators.
At that time, the best commentators on television sports programs came from the basketball channel, given the high demand from a large audience, training a group of specialists.
With Gan Guoyang’s return, the viewership for China’s NBA games soared again, increasing the demand for commentators and reporters.
Central Television aimed to emulate America’s sports channels by inviting retired professional basketball players as guest commentators, with Zhang Weiping being one of those invited.
However, Zhang Weiping wasn’t confident about appearing on TV. His current job was stable, a result of his hard work; is it worth giving it up to go back to commentary?
Even though commentary is related to basketball, Zhang Weiping wasn’t sure if that was the life he wanted.
Like Hu Weidong, he was filled with indecision about whether to return or stay.
Both turned to Gan Guoyang, hoping this basketball hero could give them a clear answer, like a Bodhisattva.
But Gan Guoyang couldn’t give them an answer; even if he believed Zhang Weiping could have a place in the commentary world, who knows what the present holds? Would staying in America be better for him?
To be or not to be, in the end, it’s a decision one must make for oneself.
As they parted, Gan Guoyang reminded them to watch him take on Jordan on January 4th next year, on TV.
"Basketball will eventually give you the answers," Gan Guoyang said.
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The Trail Blazers, in the absence of Gan Guoyang, defeated the Los Angeles Clippers on December 27th away from home.
This game held special significance for Bird, as the Clippers’ coach was his mentor, Bill Fitch.
Veteran coach Fitch took over the Clippers in 1994, and Sterling showed unusual patience, letting Fitch coach the team for two seasons.
By the 1996-1997 season, the Clippers had developed some competitiveness and made it to the playoffs.
However, the series of high draft picks the team amassed over the years from poor results had mostly failed to produce talent.
Either traded away or wasted, countless young players and stars spent their youth in vain there over more than a decade.
The Trail Blazers, however, demonstrated that they had competitiveness even without Gan Guoyang.
Ben Wallace, following his stellar visibility in the previous game, gained significant playing time in this game and made an impact.
Wallace was gradually moving from the end of the bench forward.
After the game against the Clippers, the Trail Blazers left Los Angeles and headed to San Francisco, while Gan Guoyang stayed alone in Los Angeles.
On December 31st, the last day of 1996, Gan Guoyang spent New Year’s Eve with his good friend Michael Jackson at Dream Manor.
Jackson was thrilled to see Gan Guoyang, while Gan Guoyang was worried seeing Jackson’s vitiligo worsening.
Moreover, he seemed addicted to plastic surgery, as his facial features, muscles, and especially his nose, appeared increasingly unnatural and strange.
However, his temperament and voice remained as gentle as ever. After a sumptuous dinner, Jackson and Gan Guoyang took a walk in Dream Manor.