[In 1982, my friend Gus pointed out in a data analysis report that the weakest part of the Philadelphia 76ers was Offensive Rebounding. As a result, with the addition of Moses Malone, who was relied upon for Offensive Rebounds, the 76ers immediately won the 1983 championship in a dominant fashion. Since then, I have maintained collaboration with Gus, continuously using data to analyze and guide the team’s defense and offense. At that time, I was coaching at Gonzaga University, and even after Ah Gan left for the NBA, I still led the team into the NCAA national tournament."
"After working at the university for another two years, I felt it difficult to achieve greater things here. I thought of Ah Gan, who was facing some challenges with the Portland Trail Blazers — their defense needed improvement. At that time, I was focused on defense and found Ah Gan, talked to him, and told him that my data model at Gonzaga would stir a revolution in basketball tactics. Ah Gan listened and agreed, hoping I would come to coach at the Trail Blazers. I said I would consider it carefully..."
——Published in 1999, written by Bobby Berman, excerpt from "The Sun Rises from the West".
"What nonsense! Bobby is really shameless, when the hell did I ever hope for him to come to coach at the Trail Blazers?"
"It was clearly him wanting to defect, coming to me to complain about how good and advanced his defense system was, wanting to use my connections to introduce him to work!"
"This guy is really shameless, beautifying himself in the book. I bet the old chap lost too much money in the divorce and now is trying to earn it back by publishing books."
"This crappy book is strangely selling so well recently..."
In a rare moment of leisure, Gan Guoyang lay in bed reading the recently popular book about himself, "The Sun Rises from the West".
This book was published in October as the NBA season approached, possibly affected by espionage cases, so the publisher and booksellers did not heavily promote it.
However, as the NBA season unfolded, basketball topics became a hot trend, and more importantly, Bobby Berman leading the Celtics to deliver a whirlwind performance, causing this book’s sales to gradually increase.
Later on, after Gan Guoyang attended several hearings, booksellers revised the subtitle, adding "The greatness and secrets of Ah Gan", making people feel this was a book unveiling Ah Gan’s secrets, thus boosting sales.
By December, before Christmas, this book had climbed to the All-America bestseller list and became a hot topic at the time.
Gan Guoyang was already aware of Bobby Berman’s plan to publish a book; actually, over the years, countless books surrounding Gan Guoyang were published, from which he receives some royalties.
Initially, to settle Jordan’s golf gambling incident, Gan Guoyang sold his autobiography’s publication rights to Random House, receiving a $5 million signing fee without writing a single word.
In America, a society with highly developed media and commodity economy, fame equates to money, and anyone with fame will likely publish books to profit.
For someone like Gan Guoyang, a superstar icon in sports, a peculiar symbol in American pop culture, at the level of Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, there will undoubtedly be an overwhelming number of books about him in the future.
If Gan Guoyang were to read each one, he simply couldn’t finish them all, so he doesn’t bother; if you want to write, go ahead, just remember to share the profits with me.
However, Bobby Berman’s book was indeed special; the relationship between Berman and Gan Guoyang goes without saying, from high school to university, and to the NBA, Berman has always been Gan Guoyang’s coach, their bond is truly deep.
Other sports stars usually have a mentor in high school, a benefactor in university, and new collaborators in the NBA.
While Bobby Berman, like a legendary charm, always stayed by Gan Guoyang’s side, growing from an unremarkable assistant sacked for gambling, to a person who holds every honor in American basketball history, and then coach of the Dream Team.
Each honor is related to Gan Guoyang, even the Olympic gold medal in 1992 was earned by defeating Gan Guoyang’s China Team.
People mock Bobby Berman as a parasite on the beast known as Ah Gan, yet are curious about the story between Berman and Gan.
Thus, in 1999, "The Sun Rises from the West" satisfied many fans’ curiosity.
Berman is well aware of this point, so he didn’t make this book his autobiography, but rather chose to observe and interpret Ah Gan from his own perspective.
Starting from Beiqiao High School in 1981, there are countless stories and classic events between Berman and Ah Gan to tell.
It can be said, a thick book is full of solid content, all topics people are interested in, and later, sales picked up, making it naturally do well.
Now everyone in the League has a copy, everyone’s buying it, partly following the trend, and partly because it indeed helps to understand Ah Gan and the Portland Trail Blazers better.
Gan Guoyang initially wasn’t going to read it, but his wife bought a copy, and after reading it, suggested Gan Guoyang read it too, saying it was well-written.
So Gan Guoyang took some time to browse it, and as he did, he stumbled upon Berman’s face-saving parts.
"This traitor, really sparing no effort to save face, I’m going to call him." Gan Guoyang feeling "angry", wanted to confront Berman.
Wang Fuxi, beside him, said: "Forget it, publishing books are like this, they beautify themselves, isn’t that normal? Moreover, doesn’t Bobby praise you enough in this book? He practically idolizes you, and considering the current media climate, he’s giving you quite a platform with this book, that’s really decent of him."