On July 17, 2002, the NBA trade market officially opened.
Prior to this, the preparations by each team were in place, negotiations were almost complete, and they awaited the time to officially finalize the deals, signaling the onset of roster battles for the new season.
Ten months ago, at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Gan Guoyang announced his second comeback to all of America, shocking the world and giving a boost to the American stock market, which had been in a slump since the events of 9/11.
Today, ten months later, Las Vegas has another earth-shattering basketball bomb exploding at the MGM Hotel: Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing will sign with Glory and join forces with Ah Gan to form a team aiming for the championship.
The cover of Sports Illustrated used a photo of a nuclear explosion in Nevada, leading fans to think the magazine had turned into a military journal.
This is indeed a basketball nuclear bomb, possibly involving the greatest two players in NBA history teaming up in the twilight of their careers.
From 1984 to 1998, the matches between Ah Gan and Jordan were always the most thrilling.
Their skills far exceeded those of other players, and their confrontations were earth-shattering, battling from the regular season all the way to the finals.
Although Jordan often fell short, he was undoubtedly the closest to Gan Guoyang and closest to defeating God in the finals.
In the eyes of fans, Ah Gan is a god, and Jordan is a demigod. Now with the two gods joining forces, the sensation caused can be imagined.
Due to its explosive nature, Ewing’s joining and Yao Ming’s trade seem overshadowed, although their arrivals alone would also be earthquake-level news worthy of headlines, now they can only be embellishments to the cooperation of Jordan and Ah Gan.
On July 18, Jordan, Ewing, Yao Ming, and Andre Miller made their debut together at a press conference at the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, showcasing their new jerseys and being interviewed by the media.
Journalists from all over America and even worldwide crowded the hotel, with many arriving in Vegas two days early after hearing the news, booking rooms in the hotels, and boosting local consumption once more.
In the summer, the Chinese National Team and many NBA summer league teams are set to have summer league games in Las Vegas.
It could be said that with the establishment of the Glory Team, Gan Guoyang’s comeback, and the joining of Jordan and Yao Ming, Las Vegas is becoming the basketball center city of the Western Conference, replacing Los Angeles and Portland.
During the 2001-2002 period, many brand-new basketball training facilities, gyms, and therapy centers were built here, providing comprehensive training and living services for professional players during the offseason.
Apart from professional players, many amateur players, basketball enthusiasts, and fans choose to spend a full vacation in Las Vegas during the summer.
During the day, there are various basketball leagues, big and small, to participate in or watch, and at night, as long as you have money in your pocket, several large casino hotels offer all-inclusive services, allowing people to truly relax.
In contrast, the decline of Atlantic City on the East Coast seems inevitable; it’s too old, with gambling as its only attraction, and its consumption-driven capability is far inferior to the comprehensive offering of Las Vegas.
When Oscar Goodman became the mayor, his strategy of introducing professional teams was undoubtedly correct because the job creation, consumption driving ability, and cyclical vitality of the sports industry far exceeded that of mere gambling.
The positive effects brought by the Las Vegas Radiance encouraged Goodman to continue bringing in teams from the MLB and NFL to further broaden the scope of Las Vegas’s sports industry.
Of course, the standing of the Glory Team in Las Vegas is already unshakable, at least for the 2002-2003 season, as they are set to become the most watched professional team in all of America, second to none.
At the signing conference, Jordan and others showcased the Glory Team’s latest designed red jerseys. These were the new away uniforms for the new season, redesigned to be more aesthetically appealing than last year’s.
Gan Guoyang also attended the press conference, along with Jordan, Yao Ming, Ewing, and others, wearing the new jerseys and taking promotional photos.
From late June, when the draft concluded and their joining was confirmed, to now officially signing, over half a month, the Glory Team had everything settled in Vegas for the two veterans and two newcomers.
They don’t have to, like last year, have the team barely standing where players could only stay in hotels after arriving.
Glory established its own real estate company, Glory Properties, operating real estate development and second-hand property sales business in Las Vegas.
Glory Team players can buy or rent properties locally at cheaper prices through internal channels and sell or rent their houses at better prices after leaving the team.
In the future, those baseball and football players coming to work in Las Vegas will handle their real estate through Glory Properties, becoming part of the Glory Team’s income source.
Early establishment indeed has such benefits.
Las Vegas is a young city, famous yet not very large.
With a population of over 500,000 and all of Nevada having 2.1 million people, it doesn’t match a county or a second-tier city in China.
Here, each person has a place, and with Glory’s early presence, they have already occupied many ecological niches.
With their current reputation and expansion speed, it won’t take long for Las Vegas residents and tourists to see the Glory brand in various aspects of life, entertainment, and more.
This is also one of the reasons attracting Jordan and Ewing to join Glory, not just basketball, but a true industry.