The Glory Team’s training camp lasted for a week, just as other teams’ camps were beginning.
But even a week’s head start wasn’t enough for the Glory Team because other teams in the league had core lineups that had been gelled for one or even several years.
During the summer offseason, each team’s main players would also train together to prepare for the new season.
In comparison, the Glory Team’s early start was hasty, much like the team itself, like driving ducks onto a perch.
Gan Guoyang always believed that you can’t wait for perfect readiness before starting something; instead, you plan as you go. If the timing is right, you jump in, solve problems as they arise, and gradually everything falls into place.
If you’re like a perfectionist and insist everything must be perfectly prepared, you might just miss the opportunity.
Moreover, there’s no such thing as perfect preparation in this world. Everyone sets up their stage somewhat hastily and gets the play going.
Just like the Glory Team, Gan Guoyang seized the moment of 9/11, determined to establish the team in Las Vegas, forcing the NBA to change the game schedule and division rules to accommodate the new team.
If we missed that timing, no matter how much preparation was done later, the opportunity might not arise again in twenty years, and Las Vegas would not have its first professional team.
Therefore, in training, Gan Guoyang also showed unprecedented tolerance, no longer demanding as strictly as he did with his teammates when he was younger.
Of course, another reason is that at 37, Gan Guoyang understands he is no longer young enough to single-handedly cover for the entire team.
He is more of a team player than ever before, relying more on his teammates and tactical cooperation.
Of course, in important and critical moments, he would still transform into Superman and have a decisive impact on the game.
In the second week of the training camp, the Las Vegas Radiance started preparing for their preseason games.
With the addition of the Glory Team, the total number of league teams increased to 30, prompting the NBA to make significant division adjustments.
From the previous 29 teams, two major Eastern and Western divisions, and four small divisions, it was adjusted to six small divisions.
Each division now has exactly 5 teams: the Atlantic Division, Central Division, and Southeast Division in the East, and the Northwest Division, Pacific Division, and Southwest Division in the West.
Located in Nevada, Las Vegas, being close to California, was assigned to the Pacific Division.
Along with the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, and Golden State Warriors.
This made the Lakers and other teams very unhappy; being in the same division means they have to play four games each season, and fight for the top division spot for a chance to be in the top three big divisions for playoffs.
Competing in the same division with Ah Gan has always been a painful thing. Even at 37, his dominance is still deeply intimidating.
Having been gone for just one season, he’s coming back again, what’s the deal with that?
Terminator? Or First Blood? Are the sequels never-ending?
Among the 29 teams, the Los Angeles Lakers reacted most intensely to the establishment of the Las Vegas Radiance.
From owner Buss to head coach Phil Jackson, they criticized the NBA for setting up a team in Vegas.
The underlying reasons are, firstly, the reigning champions hold a deep-rooted fear of Ah Gan. Over the past decade, the Lakers missed countless championship opportunities due to Ah Gan and the Trail Blazers.
Secondly, Vegas being so close to Los Angeles, this gambling capital would inevitably challenge Los Angeles’s entertainment hub status on the West Coast.
Now with Gan Guoyang and the Glory Team, Vegas’ influence is even greater. More tourists, especially from East Asia, have enough reasons to visit the gambling city and experience its charm, positively boosting the city’s tourism, gaming, dining, and hospitality sectors.
The new season opener at the MGM Hotel Arena, also the Glory Team’s first-ever game, had its tickets pre-sold out long ago, with prices skyrocketed again.
Besides the home MGM Hotel Arena, the Glory Team mimicked the Trail Blazers’ strategy back in the day and set up a second home court at UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, selling tickets at a lower price, allowing fans who couldn’t buy tickets for the home games to watch the Glory Team’s historic first official game on a big screen at the second venue.
Tickets for this venue also pre-sold out, with many overseas tour groups now including trips to watch the Glory Team play in Las Vegas as part of their tour packages, quickly becoming a hot travel item.
All of this boosts Vegas’ economy, forming a significant threat to Los Angeles.
The Lakers can’t openly oppose this but are quietly very troubled. One Portland Trail Blazers was enough for them, and now here comes another Las Vegas Radiance.
And because both teams are in the same small division, the Radiance’s first preseason game and the regular season opener are both against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Anyway, the league’s vice president for scheduling wanted to stir up some excitement, quickly coming up with a new schedule by tweaking the old one. He knew what everyone wanted to see: the defending champions facing off against the new league team right out of the gate.
Letting last season’s unstoppable force, the playoff’s god-slayer, Shaquille O’Neal, clash with the true legend once more—hype and attention soared instantly.