Within the West Team, Kobe and Gan Guoyang's rivalry seemed more intense than the competition between the Eastern and Western sides.
But soon, Kobe realized what it means when people say "the older the ginger, the spicier," and Ah Gan's formidable presence in everyone's minds.
Later, the West Team revolved completely around Gan Guoyang, even Jordan had to step aside.
Moreover, the cooperation between the two increased, playing pick-and-rolls fluidly, irresistible.
How did they seem like two 38-year-old veterans, their details were maxed out, always coming up with some clever ideas.
Similar to those Pong experts who could use frying pans, cleavers, or spatulas to play.
In a less intense match, the two were practically performing tricks.
There weren't explosive dunks or exceptional speed, mostly the control of technical details by old veterans.
At first, Jordan made quite a few mistakes, hadn't found his rhythm, got scolded twice by Gan Guoyang, started talking back, arguing, but felt better and better.
Thus, fans witnessed a peculiar scene.
On the West Team side, three guys were arguing with each other.
Yet on the court, their cooperation was excellent, playing beautifully.
Jordan originally intended to play casually, but Gan Guoyang's seriousness provoked him.
Also, the All-Star voting and the fans' neglect made the veteran realize it's time to show his presence.
We're just old, not dead, we can play, and can play better than your idols.
Not to mention, us two old fellows are very healthy, still fighting on the court at this age.
What about the young players? Like Carter, Hill, have missed more games in a season than Gan Guoyang has in his career.
Players must always win love and respect based on their performance on the court, this point is never wrong.
In the first half, when Don Nelson substituted Gan Guoyang and Jordan out for rest, the audience gave a warm applause.
The two veterans bumped fists, sat on the bench together to rest.
"Michael, can you pass the ball more seriously? How many mistakes did you make? I hate mistakes the most."
"Don't you think your positioning is problematic? Why are you now slow as a turtle?"
"You're just presbyopic, thinking I'm slow."
"Presbyopia has nothing to do with speed!"
The cooperation on court was good, but they kept arguing off court.
Theoretically could coexist peacefully, but once playing, with high demands, there are always flaws.
Moreover, these two have been competing for more than a decade, impossible not to nitpick each other's flaws.
This nitpicking led them to become more competitive, by the second quarter and second half, they started intensifying personal offense, aiming to outscore and outperform each other.
Jordan, as a guard holding the ball, started showcasing his skilled jump shots, the speed he lacked.
Heating up, he hit four consecutive fadeaway jumpers.
With this, he scored four consecutive shots, and the audience began to cheer for him.
Gan Guoyang couldn't bear it, actively came to screen for Jordan, but when Jordan used the screen to drive inside, he reached out and stole the ball from Jordan.
Then rushed toward the basket, single-arm dunk over Mutombo!
Mutombo got posterized unexpectedly, the fans roared with excitement.
But Jordan was baffled, what kind of person is this? Snatching a teammate's ball to dunk?
Next time Gan Guoyang came to screen for Jordan, Jordan gestured with his hand, indicating Ah Gan to get lost, he didn't need the screen.
With these two legends leading, both sides played more leisurely and attractively, contributing many exciting moments.
For example, Tracy McGrady's self-alley-oop, Jide's behind-the-back bouncing pass, Kevin Garnett's block (goaltending), Wei Bo's no-look back pass, Kobe's gliding reverse dunk, Duncan's windmill dunk (didn't dunk)...
Initially competing with Gan Guoyang, Kobe gradually gave in, actively handing the ball to Ah Gan, this eternal idol.
In the end, the score was fixed at 138:125, West Team winning over East Team by 13 points, not letting the All-Star Game MVP go to Allen Iverson.
David Stern, during the award ceremony, announced the stars among stars were given to Sunny Gan and Jordan.
"You are the eternal legends, the forever idols, the true stars among stars!"
Stern spoke these words with great sentiment because in the 1984-1985 season, the two won Rookie of the Year together, times have changed, now they could jointly win an AMVP, truly miraculous.