There are three seasoned players on the bench, one youngster on the rise, plus a few old geezers who just won’t quit.
The average age is a bit on the high side, but the core firepower is young and healthy.
Most importantly, the two veteran starters are in legitimately excellent form.
Jordan is bothered a bit by knee inflammation, but since he slimmed down in the summer, it’s not a big problem.
Gan Guoyang’s health is even better; this season the two of them set a goal to play all 82 games—whoever misses one is a dog.
To avoid being the dog, the two of them are pretty self‑disciplined off the court; lately Jordan has even cut down on his dates with women.
After finishing in Dallas, naturally they swung through Houston again; Gan Guoyang knew this was where Yao Ming was supposed to come.
They arrived in Houston on December 8. In the afternoon the whole Glory Team came to Compaq Center to warm up. Gan Guoyang asked Yao Ming, "Hey, how do you feel about this place?"
Yao Ming shook his head and said, "Not great, feels... all run‑down. Damn, the wall plaster’s coming off here."
When they came in through the players’ tunnel, Yao Ming noticed the plaster on the tunnel walls was already falling off, and in some spots there were water leaks and mold stains.
The Rockets’ current home, Compaq Center, is the old Summit Arena. Construction started in 1973, finished in 1975, and it’s been in use for almost 30 years.
With other teams having switched to new arenas through the ’80s and ’90s, the Rockets are one of the few teams in the NBA still using a ’70s building.
Right now Compaq Center can only hold 16,800 spectators, fewer than the MGM Hotel Arena, and the facilities are downright outdated.
In the locker room, the lockers are rusty, and there’s no modern massage or rehab equipment.
Supposedly the Rockets’ practice facility is some crappy gym next to a tennis court.
Houston counts as a big city, but ever since Olajuwon left and Chris Weber left, they’ve never really been good again.
The Francis–Mobley combo can only be called mediocre—better than the worst, worse than the best, stuck in the middle where it’s most miserable.
In the evening game, the Rockets were no match at all for the Glory Team in top form. Facing third‑rate NBA bigs like Kato and Taylor, Yao Ming plus Gan Guoyang completely destroyed them in scoring and rebounding.
And Francis and Mobley couldn’t really get any edge against Jordan, while Andre Miller’s extremely pesky and tough style made Francis suffer.
The bright spot for the Rockets is their rookies. In the 2002 draft, without a high pick they still grabbed Tayshaun Prince and Nachbar, these two forwards.
They really wanted an interior player, especially a center, but Yao Ming, Nene, Wilcox, and Stoudemire had all been taken by the teams picking ahead.
The Rockets still held a sliver of hope for Griffin, whom they’d gotten by trading Richard Jefferson, so they opted for role‑player types like Prince and Nachbar.
They pinned bigger hopes on the 2003 draft, a class packed with prodigies—if they could just get a slice of that, they might lead Space City back to the top.
The outcome of the game wasn’t in much doubt. The Rockets hung in and traded buckets with the Glory Team for three quarters; then in the fourth Glory suddenly cranked up the intensity, unleashed a 14–1 run, blew the game open, and took it away.
Yao Ming finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Through the Texas Triangle, he’d dropped 20+10 on all three teams; his performance was absolutely red‑hot.
Leaving Houston, Yao Ming griped again: "The fans here are really not passionate at all. The first quarter’s almost over before they show up and fill the seats. Weren’t foreigners supposed to be super punctual?"
Gan Guoyang said, "Stop reading certain magazines back home. People are the same everywhere. Houston fans especially hate getting there early."
In the NBA, Houston fans and Miami fans are like twin pillars: one loves showing up late, the other loves leaving early.
For Rockets games, even a hot matchup like this one against the Glory Team, fans who bought tickets will still be late if that’s their habit.
It’s just a game, not an exam or a job—what’s the point of being that on time? Besides, what’s so great about the first quarter? Just come watch the later part.
As for Heat fans, they’re really hyped before tip‑off, but once it’s clear the team’s losing, they’re out—what’s the point of watching a game you’re going to lose?
Of course, fans of other teams also show up late and leave early; it’s just more obvious with these two.
Plus Houston’s awful traffic really contributes to fans being late.
On the way from the evening game to the airport, the Glory Team’s bus got stuck on the highway.
They were stuck for over an hour. After they finally reached the airport, they then missed the best departure window because of the weather and had to keep waiting.
The delays on the road meant that by the time the Glory Team reached the Denver Plateau, it was already the early hours of the morning. They got to the hotel and crashed immediately.
This was a road back‑to‑back. After waking up during the day they ate lunch, went to the Pepsi Center in the afternoon for a light shootaround, then had to play again at night.
After three straight strong outings, Yao Ming really couldn’t hold up in this one; before the game even started his legs already felt weak.
Denver’s home is still a high‑altitude court—it’s a real test of an athlete’s blood oxygen, and having a road back‑to‑back scheduled here is just devilish.
Luckily the Nuggets team weren’t that strong, and they were fully committed to tanking. Before the game, Vandeweghe even dropped by the Glory locker room.
If it weren’t for Vandeweghe, the Glory Team never could’ve traded for Van Exel, and last season they wouldn’t have pulled off that eighth‑seed upset.
Gan Guoyang shook Vandeweghe’s hand, and Vandeweghe said, "Sonny, don’t hold back in the game!"
The Nuggets’ goal is next year’s number‑one pick—they’re hoping to land LeBron James.
If they don’t get James, Carmelo Anthony is also a terrific option.
In this era, a star means everything to a team, especially a small‑market one.
It’s not just about raising overall strength; it’s a guarantee of ticket sales and the local market.
For fragile teams like the Nuggets, Hornets, and Grizzlies, whose profitability hovers around the break‑even line, having an outstanding young star is decisive for the franchise’s fate.
Carter revived the Raptors, whereas the Grizzlies have nothing and can only keep moving house.
Gan Guoyang is someone who really values loyalty; Vandeweghe helped him on that trade, so how could he slap a friend in the face now?
And it just so happened Yao Ming clearly wasn’t in peak shape tonight, so Gan Guoyang took over the low post on offense, scoring 14 straight by himself to rip apart the Nuggets’ interior.
The Nuggets team’s starting power forward was Nene, a Brazilian power forward dubbed the "Brazilian Ah Gan."
These days there are just too many "Ah Gan this, Ah Gan that." Any country that produces a roughly 6‑10, talented, fairly versatile big immediately tries to slap the Ah Gan label on him.
Nene is indeed quite gifted, with excellent physical tools, one of the standouts in this rookie class, but overall there’s still a big gap between him and a true cornerstone big man.
Whenever he runs into one of these so‑called "Next Ah Gan," Gan Guoyang never shows mercy; he always uses physical play to knock some sense into them, make them see reality.
He opened the game by absolutely pummeling him, beating the starting Nene until he was dizzy. When Nene tried to fight back by forcing the issue on offense, he got blocked several times in a row.
After that he quieted down, peacefully becoming a blue‑collar guy—grabbing rebounds, catching and shooting from outside, keeping his head down and not sticking his neck out.
To be fair, Nene is actually pretty smart, and he exudes that relaxed, laid‑back Brazilian vibe.
After a few possessions he could tell something was off, so he immediately backed down—Ah Gan’s vicious reputation is well‑known, why butt heads? Besides, the team isn’t trying to win anyway.
Gan Guoyang led the Glory Team in crushing the Nuggets team by halftime, and finished with 46 points and 22 rebounds, carrying the team to a 110–85 blowout win by 25 points over the Nuggets.
The Nuggets fans didn’t leave early. Even as their team was getting hammered by the Glory Team, they still stayed until the final buzzer and applauded Gan Guoyang’s long‑overdue monster double‑double.
When the game ended, the big screen in the arena started replaying footage and stats from 1984–1985, Gan Guoyang’s rookie‑year trip to Denver as a visitor.
points, 33 rebounds, 7 blocks—those insanely explosive 44–33 numbers marked the beginning of Gan Guoyang’s domination of the Nuggets.
Almost 20 years have passed, and this man still has that kind of dominance. The Nuggets’ home court has changed, and the fans have turned over completely.
Confronted with those astonishing historic stats, the fans cheered and applauded once more, paying tribute to one of the greatest legends.
Gan Guoyang waved to the crowd as he walked off and thought, "This isn’t great... did Kiki put that video together for me? Are all the teams going to start doing tributes and retire me by applauding me out of the league? I still want to keep playing."
Gan Guoyang’s worry wasn’t unfounded, because from here on out, wherever he went, there were basically ridiculous stat lines by him in every arena.
If all the teams start honoring him one after another, who knows, he might get swept up in the emotion again and retire on the spot.
This time Gan Guoyang didn’t plan on walking away so easily. He’s not like Jordan or Ewing—he’s going to keep going.
This is just the beginning.