A grand basketball night, there's no more perfect script than this.
37-year-old comeback, first game, 50 points, three-point buzzer-beater, early celebration.
Even in Gan Guoyang's vast repository of classic footage, this ranks among the top five scenes.
After the frenzied celebration, Gan Guoyang simply spoke a few words into the microphone and shouted, "Welcome to Las Vegas, NBA," pushing the atmosphere to its final climax.
Later, Gan Guoyang and his teammates returned to the locker room, and the entire backstage was in a jubilant uproar.
Countless people high-fived and bumped fists with Gan Guoyang along the way, and in the crowded commotion, he barely made it back to the locker room.
Here too, plenty of reporters were waiting for him, taking pictures, interviewing him, with blinding flashlights that Gan Guoyang had to deal with one by one.
Finally, half an hour later, as the adrenaline gradually dissipated, Gan Guoyang finished his shower and could sit alone in the newly renovated therapy room, legs soaking in an ice bucket, shoulders and arms wrapped in ice packs, enjoying a brief moment of quiet.
As the adrenaline faded, there wasn't a spot on his body that didn't ache.
His lungs felt like they'd been squeezed and rubbed, and his knees and ankles burned with swelling pain.
What's worse, Gan Guoyang didn't feel fatigued; he'd rather be tired enough to sleep.
But he was exhausted, yet not sleepy, as the excitement from the victory and the game still reverberated through every cell, keeping him awake to keenly feel the fatigue from excessive exercise.
Someone gently knocked on the cubicle door, and Gan Guoyang exhaled, saying, "Let me be alone for a while."
"It's me." It was Wang Fuxi's voice.
"Come in," Gan Guoyang said.
Wang Fuxi pushed open the cubicle door and came inside, dressed in a well-tailored coffee-colored women's blazer and trousers, stepping in flat-top high heels, her delicate makeup slightly smudged with time, and a hint of fatigue in her eyes.
She had been busy preparing for this opening game for a long time, and today she was even busier the entire day.
As the first female owner in the League, her workload and pressure were similarly high.
Fortunately, the opening game was a success, they made a strong start, and Wang Fuxi felt proud of everyone's performance.
But upon entering the therapy room and seeing her husband bound in ice packs and soaking in an ice bucket, so fatigued it was a stark contrast to the hero on the court earlier.
Her eyes suddenly grew misty, she stepped forward and hugged Gan Guoyang tightly, burying her head on his shoulder.
"Easy... the shoulder hurts quite a lot."
Wang Fuxi raised her head, stroked Gan Guoyang's face, and with a tearful voice said, "I told you not to come back, yet you insist on continuing to play... How old are you now?"
"Today's opening game was an exception, a game we had to win. I'll take it easier in the remaining games. Besides, what can I do other than play basketball?"
"Just stay with me, doing nothing, can't you?"
"That'd be so boring; one must do something in life, especially the things one excels at."
Wang Fuxi wiped away tears, took off her shoes, pants, and socks, and wanted to sit in the ice bucket too.
"Hey hey hey, this water's too cold... Are you trying to take advantage of me here? There are people outside!"
But Wang Fuxi still sat in, next to Gan Guoyang, asking, "How long are you planning to play? This is only the first game, and you're already exhausted. What will you do later?"
Gan Guoyang replied, "I said it, the first game was an exception; I'll control it later. I'm planning to find a specialized medical team, to treat my body with some anti-inflammatory therapies, to maintain health and prevent major injuries."
"Do you mean you want to play for another four or five years?"
"I don't know either, I'll keep playing as long as I can. My second retirement was forced; it's not easy to get a chance to come back. Now my father's health is pretty good, the condition hasn't worsened much, and it's well controlled, so I don't have any worries."
"No worries, but you don't consider why you have no worries."
"Oh, I know it's because of you. You've even become my boss now, aren't you satisfied? What else do you want, for me to be your secretary, serving you every day?"
"Forget it, if you're by my side, I would probably serve you. If you want to play long-term, we must make better plans. Maintain a stable, potential roster, a harmonious locker room, and a good team culture."
"Hey, why bother with all those things, as long as I'm here, along with the people I've chosen, and unless there's unnecessary trouble, just wait for success and profit. You'll be the richest and most relaxed owner in the NBA."
Speaking of which, Gan Guoyang held Wang Fuxi's legs and suddenly lifted her from the ice bucket, startling Wang Fuxi into a scream, splashing water everywhere.
Outside, the players and coaches acted like they heard nothing and went about their business.
Porter listened and shook his head, thinking that a certain player relied on improper relationships with the owner to advance, even engaging in public intimacy in the locker room, truly...
Due to Gan Guoyang's brilliant buzzer-beater, the first day of the new NBA season successfully attracted widespread attention across All-America.
Gan Guoyang's photo celebrating after making the three-pointer became front-page headlines in major media, spreading to every corner of All-America through newspapers.
In fact, Michael Jordan also had quite a performance with the Seattle SuperSonics.
In their first home game, the SuperSonics defeated the visiting Portland Trail Blazers. Jordan scored 27 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 6 assists, and made 3 steals, even outshining Kobe in their contest.
However, Gan Guoyang's performance of 50 points plus a buzzer-beater against the Lakers was too dazzling, once again overshadowing Jordan's brilliance.