"I came back from outside and saw you practicing three-pointers. That’s great, but how far can you really go with it?"
Jordan shrugged and said, "Probably a bit worse than you."
"A bit worse than me? Do you know what your three-point shooting percentage was last season? 18%! Even Barkley was better than that!"
"Don’t get worked up. Three-pointers are important, but not that crucial. I could still win a championship back then."
"But right now, the Glory really needs three-point shooters. You can’t shoot much, but you need to have some."
"So what to do? I’m already working hard! Should I have a complete makeover?"
Gan Guoyang looked at the stone by his feet and said, "In terms of tactics and playstyle, you have to follow my lead completely."
"We agreed that whoever scores more gets to be the boss."
"Yes, we agreed, so now I’m telling you again, aren’t I?"
The so-called dual leadership is what they say in public when asked, "Who’s the boss of the team?"
On the surface, both Gan Guoyang and Jordan agree, because Gan Guoyang has to give Jordan face. He didn’t come here to play second fiddle.
But privately, Gan Guoyang needs to have full control; otherwise, if Jordan continues with his old ways, the new season will definitely be tough.
Jordan laughed and said, "Sonny, you’re getting older, but your heart is getting smaller? You think I really want to compete with you for being the boss? Come on, what do I have to compete with you? Since I chose to come to Las Vegas, I’m obviously going to follow your arrangements and adhere to the tactical discipline. I’m quite curious to see how you, as the boss, lead. Everyone praises you as a leader. I think you’re just a little petty."
Gan Guoyang readily admitted, "That’s right, I’m petty, and a control freak too. You better be prepared mentally. I heard you go crazy criticizing your teammates when they underperform. I want to tell you, so do I."
In front of friends, Gan Guoyang was more candid. He never relaxed his control over the team.
The bigger the opportunity, the tighter the control should be. When opportunities are smaller, it’s better to loosen up and let the young players develop freely.
By now, Jordan was completely in Gan Guoyang’s grasp.
When he first joined Glory, there was indeed debate about status, especially from Jordan’s team, who were very worried that his collaboration with Ah Gan would lower his standing, thereby reducing Jordan’s commercial value.
Although the two have significantly different achievements, in publicity, both are always compared as the twin stars, as rivals.
Moreover, Ah Gan indeed had more championships and always won against Jordan, but Jordan also had championships and played extraordinarily well.
Becoming a demi-god is already a huge honor.
The Glory management was also worried that if Jordan and Gan Guoyang competed for dominance, it would cause internal turmoil.
Especially if Jordan wasn’t convinced internally, slacking off in games, scoring only 7 or 8 points in crucial matches, what would happen to the victory?
Gan Guoyang firmly believed that Jordan wouldn’t do such a thing, but hierarchies must be clarified: externally, we’re dual leaders to give Jordan sufficient face.
Internally, Gan Guoyang is indisputably the boss. How to play, how to arrange things, it’s all up to him.
Jordan is proud, but this time, he compromised, willing to save face and give in.
Gan Guoyang wasn’t clinging to the boss status. He understood that a team could only have one head.
If he gave up his position for friendship, the result could be both being hurt, and at forty years old, they don’t have room for trial and error.
Gan Guoyang caught more and more fish, and when he felt he had enough, he suddenly said, "By the way, let’s have dinner with Porter tonight. This guy wants to retire again, and I need to talk him out of it."
"It’s a miracle Porter can still play. How did you convince him to keep playing with you?"
Jordan genuinely wanted to learn. The disbandment of the Bulls in 1998 was mainly because Jordan couldn’t rally everyone to keep playing.
Otherwise, given Pippen and Jordan’s condition, reaching the finals in 1999 wouldn’t have been difficult, although they most likely still couldn’t beat the Trail Blazers in the finals.
Gan Guoyang has been dominating the league for twenty years, and many old buddies keep playing with him. Everyone seems willing to play alongside him.
Gan Guoyang got up, tidied up the fish, and then picked up a big rock from the ground and put it into the fish basket.
"If he stays to continue playing, I’ll give him some fish. If he doesn’t want to stay, I’ll give him a rock. It’s that simple."
Jordan thought, this guy is truly ruthless. If I hadn’t agreed to be his sidekick earlier, would I have been given a rock too?
Jordan shook his head. Impossible, Ah Gan isn’t that kind of person.
-----------------
Time flew by, summer passed, autumn arrived, and the 2002-2003 preseason was just around the corner.
After Jordan announced his joining of Glory in June, he spent nearly three months staying in Las Vegas training with Gan Guoyang.
During this time, Juanita sent him divorce papers, discussing divorce matters, leaving Jordan "homeless" and preferring to distract himself with training and beautiful women in Las Vegas.
He hadn’t trained for such an extended period in the offseason for a long time, successfully bringing his weight down to 220 pounds.
In October, Glory’s training camp officially kicked off, players returned one after another, assembling a powerful Las Vegas Glory.
On the first day of training camp, Tomjanovich was surprised to see the physical condition of Gan Guoyang and Jordan.
"I can’t believe it. These are two veterans nearing forty. Father Time seems to have forgotten them, or maybe someone cast a spell on them." Tomjanovich never held back on lavish praise.
It’s not magic; it’s scientific, disciplined training.
Because of their age, Gan Guoyang and Jordan no longer engaged in extremely intense training, instead opting for long-duration, moderate to low-intensity practice.
The two, along with Ewing, started a Las Vegas version of the "Breakfast Club," strictly monitoring their diet and maintaining a consistent training intensity.
Using computer software and data models to analyze physical conditions, weighing weekly, conducting tests, and using the latest cryotherapy methods to maintain muscles and joints.
These technologies were cutting-edge, and many teams hadn’t adopted them yet. Gan Guoyang was forward-thinking, emphasizing scientific training over blind reliance on intensity.
Jordan benefited tremendously from these two-plus months of extensive recovery training, with much of the inflammation in his knees alleviated, and many minor injuries healed.
Ewing properly dealt with his knee issues, not merely maintaining them but using advanced equipment for treatment and strengthening his leg muscles.
Overall, scientific training and advanced equipment can’t turn back time, but they can delay decline and restore good condition as much as possible.
These are all contributions Gan Guoyang brought to Glory. The money earned last season, aside from distribution to other league teams and casino owners, was used by the team to purchase equipment to enhance Glory’s training and logistics.
Gan Guoyang increased his weight to 256 pounds because he plans to run more pick-and-roll tactics in the new season, needing more weight for screens.
Of course, in terms of playstyle, he’ll still favor the perimeter, taking lots of mid to long-range shots to provide the team with long-range firepower.
Only in critical moments will Jordan and Gan Guoyang bring out their trump cards to deliver deadly blows to their opponents.
On October 7, Glory faced their first preseason game, playing at home against the Phoenix Suns.
This year, the Suns are also strong, with Grant Hill returning from injury, in great form after a season of rest.
On the guard line, rookies Tony Parker and Joe Johnson showed great potential. The Suns traded Anfernee Hardaway for Kurt Thomas from the New York Knicks, reinforcing the center position.
On the wing, Antoine Walker is already one of the best scorers in the league, and the team selected Amar’e Stoudemire in the draft.
The Suns originally aimed for Yao Ming, but unfortunately, their efforts were in vain, and Yao Ming was sent to Las Vegas amidst a series of well-known maneuvers.
Now, the Suns’ lineup is quite good, potentially becoming a formidable Western Conference rival in time.
Currently, the Suns appear a bit immature, with too many rookies.
In the first quarter of the game, Glory made a slight effort, hitting the Suns with a 15:0 run; Jordan and Gan Guoyang took turns scoring, hitting 15 points without missing.
Although it’s just a preseason game, it was evident that they were in great shape, showing they hadn’t wasted the summer.
The arena was packed, which is rare for a preseason game, and Gan Guoyang and Jordan didn’t disappoint the audience.
They played 15 minutes each in the first half and another 15 minutes in the second half. Core players playing thirty minutes in the preseason was giving football fans some face.
Their scores were about the same, with Jordan scoring 21 points and Ah Gan 20 points.
As they were about to come off, Jordan drove and assisted Gan Guoyang for a mid-range jumper, scoring 22 points, surpassing Jordan.
The two high-fived and headed to the bench together for a break.