June 1985, a hot and beautiful summer, a brand new summer.

In the studio of the advertising department of Nike Corporation in Portland, shooting of a set of sneaker posters is in progress.

"Raise your chin, lift it up, narrow your eyes, give people a feeling of looking into the distance... Very good... Stay in your current state. Ok! It should be fine, the effect is very good... Okay, Moses, it's your turn." In the studio, the photographer is the boss, and the stadium tycoons who are powerful on the court must obey his command.

"It's a good shot. You are more and more superstar-like when you stand there..."

"I just feel bored. I want to go to the gymnasium to train in the afternoon."

The two people talking were Gan Guoyang and his agent David Falke.

The 1985 playoffs had already entered the final battle of highest honor, but Gan Guoyang and his Trail Blazers lost the qualification to compete for the championship. They were easily swept out by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals with a score of 4:1.

In the Western Conference semi-finals and the Nuggets, Gan Guoyang led the Trail Blazers to complete a big reversal with MVP performance in the next two games. In the sixth game, they beat the Nuggets in Denver and laughed to the end with a 5-point advantage in the seventh game. After experiencing a big ups and downs, the Trail Blazers finally advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

However, just when the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang were full of confidence and were preparing to play a finals with the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, they realized how big the gap between them and the Los Angeles Lakers in the first game in Los Angeles was in the Western Conference Finals.

"Very good... This posture is very good, Moses... Hey Gan, come here and take another set of photos with Moses." At this time, the photographer asked Gan Guoyang to come over and take a set of photos together.

The one who shot the poster with Gan Guoyang was the Philadelphia 76ers' super center, the king of frontcourt rebounding, Moses Malone.

Moses Malone had signed Nike as early as the Rockets. In 1982, Nike also called four other players who were very "hard-core" in playing basketball to endorse Nike's sneaker brand "Air-Force".

The design of this sneaker itself is very good and it became a classic sneaker in the future. However, its sales were relatively average at that time. After all, the spokespersons invited by Nike are all "powerful" and cannot make Nike's "powerful idol" like Dr. J and Magician.

Among these five, the biggest brand is Moses Malone. He won the regular season MVP in 1982 and showed himself as the famous "Jewish Prophet Moses" in the poster taken for Nike, which also gave the nickname of the prophet in the future.

This time, Nike summoned two centers who had just finished the division final to Portland, and also wanted to use their momentum this season to prepare for the company's summer publicity offensive - you should know that the two won the top two rebounds in the regular season.

"Okay, I'll come right now!" Gan Guoyang responded, "Also, David, don't arrange business affairs for me casually. This is the last time. You signed a contract for me without my consent. If there is another time, there will be no fewer agents I want to cooperate with."

After saying these words to Falke, Gan Guoyang returned to the photography board and took pictures with Moses Malone, leaving Falke standing there in a daze.

"Ha~ This kid is growing so fast..." Falke recalled Gan Guoyang's words, and there was a hint of bitter smile on his face.

For many NBA players, especially young players, they have never had much interest in business affairs and have no opinions. They usually give full power to their agents and become their own hands-off bosses, just wait to collect the money.

However, Gan Guoyang and Michael Jordan, the two players, showed maturity beyond ordinary young players, especially Gan Guoyang, which had a strong tendency to break free from Falke's control.

If half a year ago, Falke would definitely not care about the threat to Gan Guoyang, and he would only regard this as a manifestation of rebellion of young people.

However, the recent series of events have made Falke understand that this kid may not be controlled by him.

…………

"Okay, you two stand face to face, separated by a basketball distance, very good... glared at your opponent with your eyes... Not bad... Let's change to another group..."

Gan Guoyang and Moses Malone were like two marionettes, fiddling with the photographer, without any domineering spirit on the court.

However, the photos are all very good, fully demonstrating the inheritance and struggle between the new and old rebounding kings.

The time for taking pictures was not long, but there were not many other sounds in the studio except for the clicking sound of the photographer taking pictures and the photographer's command, because Gan Guoyang and Moses Malone were quite silent.

Although Gan Guoyang is not a chatterbox, he is also a talkative person, and he is often able to make witty comments; but Moses Malone, who works with him, is a real dull gossip, and his taciturnity is famous in the NBA media industry.

Moreover, even if he is willing to talk to you, his vague accent full of rural Florida in the South will make a chat extremely difficult.

Therefore, it is natural to be so silent in the photography venue.

This silence made the photographer feel a little overwhelmed. After taking enough negatives, he finally nodded and signaled that the two of them could take a rest.

Ma Long walked straight to the sofa where he was resting, sat down quietly, and began to drink water slowly. He always seemed slow and stunned when he was off the court, but only when he was on the court can his opponent realize the cruelty of this guy.

"Hey, Gan, I promise that I will not accept commercial contracts for you in the future. I will maintain respect for you." Falk saw that Gan Guoyang had taken the photo and went up to him and said.

Gan Guoyang nodded while drinking some water. He knew that Falke must have something to say later.

"So, I'm going to discuss with you the next commercial...it's related to Coca-Cola." Falke continued.

Gan Guoyang knew that if Falke just wanted him to take a set of photos and posters, he wouldn't have to travel far to Portland. Gan Guoyang people are in Portland themselves, and he is very familiar with Nike, so he can just come here by himself.

Since Falke came here in person, there must be something else to discuss.

"Coca-Cola's New-Coke can't continue." Gan Guoyang said bluntly.

"...Yes, they have decided to remove New-Coke from the market and reopen the production line of the old Coca-Cola. So, your prediction has come true. Coca-Cola Company contacted me and hope you can be the spokesperson for the re-listed old Coca-Cola."

The predictions made by Gan Guoyang in March became a reality. Of course, Gan Guoyang did not predict at all. He just told the things that had happened in history in advance.

"No problem, I still hope to wait until the finals are over before shooting the commercial. I will go back to California tomorrow, go to San Francisco to see my father, and then go to Los Angeles to watch the finals. The finals are over, please contact me to go to Atlanta again." Gan Guoyang proposed his schedule.

After the playoffs ended, the entire Trail Blazers team entered a vacation, and most of the players went on vacation across the United States. However, Gan Guoyang still stayed in Portland to continue his training. After fighting with Jabbar in the Western Conference Finals, Gan Guoyang was once again full of motivation to improve himself.

In response to this, Falke can only nod and agree. He can no longer control Gan Guoyang's itinerary like before.

The filming was over soon, and Falk left in a hurry, and he still had many players to do. So Gan Guoyang invited Moses Malone to have a meal at a Mexican restaurant in Portland.

In the regular season, Gan Guoyang and Malone had only one matchup experience, but they had a deep impression of this super center. Moses is one of the few inside players in the NBA who can use their strength to suppress Gan Guoyang at a low post.

During the meal, there was no attention from other staff members, and both of them relaxed a lot. The silent Moses Malone slowly opened up the conversation and started to communicate with Gan Guoyang.

However, Moses' accent was really heavy. Even though Gan Guoyang had been in the United States for nearly five years, some words sounded quite difficult.

The two giants talked intermittently about basketball. When the meal was about to end, Gan Guoyang suddenly proposed to compete with Moses Malone at the training hall of the University of Portland.

After hearing Gan Guoyang's words, Moses Malong looked up at Gan Guoyang, without any surprise on his face. He nodded slowly and agreed.

Perhaps Moses Malone also felt that it would be much better for two people to communicate on the basketball court than when they were having a meal.

Soon, the two big guys took a taxi to the University of Portland.

Along the way, the taxi driver chatted at the city hero Gan Guoyang and the big star Ma Long. Obviously, he was flattered by being able to carry these two guests.

"Gan, do you remember the 15-foot hook in the fourth quarter in Game 7? Oh my God, I was driving on the Willamut Bridge at that time, and Seanley's commentary was on the radio. At that time, the Trail Blazers and the Nuggets tied, and my heart was almost jumping out! Then I heard Seanley say, 'Gan catch the ball on the left, and the 15-foot hook hit the left hand, rip-city'! I was happy at that time and almost drove the car into the river!"

Gan Guoyang and Ma Long watched the driver dance. They were driving on the Wilamut Bridge now, and they were worried that the driver would really drive the car into the river this time.

In the seventh game, the Trail Blazers won the game with no ease. Both sides were always intertwined. At the critical moment, Gan Guoyang's long-distance hook, plus Paxson's 2 plus 1, gave the Nuggets a fatal blow.

That night, Portland couldn't sleep all night.

Gan Guoyang is still unforgettable when he thinks about that night. At that time, they even thought that there was hope for winning the championship, but the subsequent Western Conference Finals brought them back to reality.

The driver seemed to feel sorry for the Trail Blazers not being able to go further and said: "But the Lakers are so awesome... They have always been so powerful, especially Jabbar."
Chapter completed!