He’d seen how terrifyingly strong Ah Gan used to be, knew how they were unstoppable in the past, always a powerhouse in the title race every year, with no one able to stop them.
Now Ah Gan was old, but still very strong. Yet as head coach, after three years he still couldn’t reach the biggest stage. That sense of failure made Porter feel very guilty inside; he felt he’d let down Ah Gan’s trust and the deep bond they once had.
Gan Guoyang and Yao Ming, Wallace and the others went onto the court to warm up, and the fans were already filing in.
The brand-new Gump Sports Center, with more than 20,000 seats, a huge octagonal screen, and luxury boxes.
Drawing on the successful experience of the MGM Hotel Center, the Gump Center is connected to a large casino hotel.
The fans can blow a fortune in the hotel, have a blast gambling, then run over to the Center to watch the game, and even go back to play a couple more rounds during halftime.
Glory’s fans might not be the most knowledgeable or the most loyal, but they’re definitely the craziest, the pure embodiment of extreme entertainment.
Michael Jordan, in a black leather jacket, was leaning against the scorer’s table, chatting about something with Danny Ainge.
After retiring, Jordan really did get a stake in Glory, joined the front office, and became the team’s president of operations.
Gan Guoyang absolutely did not dare let Jordan take over the basketball-operations side; at several drafts he even went so far as to treat Jordan’s opinions as the "wrong answers" to be eliminated first, standing firmly against them.
For example, at the 2005 draft, Jordan took a fancy to Sean May. Glory immediately crossed him off, only symbolically bringing him in for a workout, and then just dropped it.
And Jordan’s reason for wanting Sean May was very simple: he was a North Carolina grad. This guy scouts players by looking at their school; it’s bad enough his eye for talent is poor, but he doesn’t even bother to think.
Even though his ideas kept getting rejected, Jordan didn’t get mad, because he was only half‑seriously involved in running the team. If they wanted to listen, fine; if not, whatever.
His main source of fun now was messing with Ah Gan—watching him fight for his life on the court. Most of the time he’d cheer him on, some of the time he’d throw in a few sarcastic jabs, and he’d even put on a show of giving him some motivational "chicken soup," telling him to keep working hard, all with that "master of the universe" attitude that really annoyed Gan Guoyang.
But that’s just how it was. The two had a great relationship, and now that Gan Guoyang was still playing, he’d rather have an old friend on the sideline pointing fingers.
Ever since last season ended, Kevin Willis officially retired, and across the whole League Ah Gan became a man out of his time.
From the 1984 class, he was the last one left; from ’85, ’86, ’87, ’88, there wasn’t a single player remaining. The most senior guy left was Cliff-Robinson, who entered the NBA in 1989, and he was already 40.
Back in the day, Cliff-Robinson had been the "little little brother" under Gan Guoyang on the Trail Blazers, a junior junior. Now he was "Uncle Cliff," practically a whole generation younger than Gan Guoyang.
Every game, the guys he faced were those familiar yet unfamiliar young players. If Jordan was on the sideline, at least he had someone to argue and bicker with.
"Hey Michael, come over and warm up with me for a bit," Gan Guoyang called Jordan over to shoot some hoops together.
Jordan walked over and said, "I’m your boss now, I’m the operations..."
"Cut the crap. Taking a few shots won’t kill you. You’re not gonna get many more chances like this."
Jordan took the ball, gave Gan Guoyang a look, and said, "You getting ready to retire?"
"What? What the hell are you talking about? I never said that."
"No, you’re definitely getting ready to retire. I can feel it. I know you too damn well."
After being friends for so many years, Jordan really knew Gan Guoyang inside out; he picked up the scent right away.
"Shh, don’t tell anyone. If you breathe a word, I’ll kill you."
"Relax, I know. You want to go out with a bang. Feeling pretty good about your form, huh?"
"Yeah, old buddy."