During the Christmas Day match against the 76ers, O'Neal demolished the 76ers' inner line again at Staples Center with a performance of 40 points and 14 rebounds, helping the team secure the victory.
Dikembe Mutombo was once again crushed by O'Neal in the interior.
Allen Iverson tried his best and scored 31 points, but was unable to recreate the miracle of scoring 48 points single-handedly in the finals and achieving a victory at Staples Center.
The thing about miracles is that if they happen all the time, they're not miracles anymore.
To be honest, both games were exciting enough, and the topics were also full. The NBA has already done its best in topic marketing and scheduling.
But it still couldn't match Gan Guoyang's "decision" marketing, absorbing almost all the attention on Christmas Day.
The single "Baby," collaborated with Michael Jackson, was a sensation across America, and even the commentators hummed two segments when the sports channel aired the match news.
David Stern was very dissatisfied with Gan Guoyang's actions. On Christmas Day, instead of shooting something related to the NBA to draw attention to the league, he ran off to sing! Why not go and sell alcohol?
However, NBA players crossing over into singing is nothing new. Especially for African American players, recording rap albums in the summer is routine. Albums by O'Neal, Allen Iverson, and others have sold quite well.
Kobe even met his current wife Vanessa during the process of recording an album, so for Gan Guoyang to sing is very normal.
What's abnormal is that the song sounds so good, and he was able to collaborate with MJ, plus its influence is so damn huge.
So huge that later when Gan Guoyang went to participate in matches, fans often asked him to sing or hold a concert.
Moreover, Gan Guoyang gained a bunch of music fans who then transformed into his basketball fans, effectively contributing to expanding the NBA's customer base.
With Christmas over, 2001 was almost gone, and time was about to enter 2002.
For Gan Guoyang, for America, or for China, it was a very special year.
Gan Guoyang welcomed a new chapter in his career; America encountered a historic turning point.
On the other side of the ocean, opportunities arose. By the end of that year, people concluded that 2001 had three major events for China.
One was related to economic development, and two were related to sports.
In terms of economic development, China officially joined the World Trade Organization, becoming a part of the global trade system.
At that time, many ordinary citizens didn't understand the significance of joining this organization as most Chinese people were still quite ignorant about capital, market economy, and global trade.
A small number of people simply thought that after joining the World Trade Organization, they wouldn't have to spend money to buy things, or they could buy them much cheaper because, well, trade.
Actually, this understanding would be acceptable for Americans—'Made in China' products that are good quality and low price will spread all over the world.
On the sports side, one event was successfully bidding for the 2008 Olympics, with China hosting a comprehensive sports festival in 7 years.
The other was that after years of struggling, Chinese football finally broke into the 2002 World Cup, achieving a historic breakthrough.
Many Chinese people who didn't understand football or watch it regularly participated in the celebrations that day.
Gan Guoyang included, who watched the live broadcast at home, Shenyang Wulihe Stadium, belonged to the carnival of Chinese football.
Merely entering the World Cup finals, becoming one of the 32 participating teams, and very likely the weakest one, was enough for Chinese fans to be so excited and celebratory, comparable to the scene of 2000 when Gan Guoyang led the Chinese Men's Basketball Team to a championship.
The influence and charm of football are indeed too immense, and of course, the disappointment it brings is also huge.
Gan Guoyang originally hoped his son Gan Wenshan would pursue a career in football to contribute to Chinese football.
But as he grew older, mixing with Curry and Thompson all day, Gan Wenshan lost interest in football and devoted himself to basketball.
In the future, he is most likely to take the basketball path, with such a historic first father; whether it's a blessing or a curse for Gan Wenshan remains to be seen.
Gan Guoyang does not interfere much, letting him grow wild, offering a push when needed.
As a parent, Gan Guoyang has always believed that instead of having the child strive, it's better for himself to strive.
Because having parents control the child to strive is uncontrollable; if he has a career, striving can yield immediate rewards.
So it's better to strive himself, leaving some room for error for the child, and the rest is up to them.
Gan Guoyang thinks this way and also acts this way, leading the entire Glory Team forward one step at a time.
By the end of December, as 2001 was about to end, their record was 16 wins and 15 losses, ranking ninth in the Western Conference, with the same record as the eighth-ranked Utah Jazz and tenth-ranked Phoenix Suns, temporarily at ninth place due to win-loss relationships and other factors.
Although the overall record is the worst result at the start of the new year in his career, Gan Guoyang is quite satisfied as he sees the team's progress.
On the court, matches where Gan Guoyang has to turn the tide single-handedly are becoming less frequent, and the progress of young players is visible to the naked eye; Glory Team provides them with a very relaxed growth space.
Despite being constantly monitored by various media outlets, Gan Guoyang has always acted as the protector of young players, never criticizing anyone in public, even if their performance was really poor, only speaking negatively in the locker room.
Off the court, Glory Team's publicity, logistics, marketing, and media work are becoming increasingly improved.