Chapter 31: Step-back jumper

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The footsteps of history have stepped into 1982, and the Christmas holiday is coming to an end with the ringing of the New Year's Eve bell.

Gan Guoyang had a very fulfilling holiday, as long as he had time, he would run to the Great Nate Barbecue Restaurant, and go to see the "Great Beidou" Wilt Chamberlain with a sense of worship. Chamberlain did not leave after Christmas, but stayed at Thurmond's barbecue.

Chamberlain's presence attracted a large number of San Francisco fans, and many people went to the Big Nate barbecue not to eat, but to meet Chamberlain and take a photo with him for autographs.

Chamberlain's temper was surprisingly good, responsive, and he often took pictures with his fans from morning to noon. But in the afternoon Chamberlain was gone, because in the afternoon he was going to play with his friends.

Before meeting Chamberlain, Gan Guoyang always thought that he was already very talented, but in Wirt, Gan Guoyang felt for the first time what is talented, what is non-human, and what is the basketball emperor - although this emperor has begun to "grow old".

"Come on, Gan, I haven't tried it yet! Your steps are good, I'm almost stunned by you, but ...... You're still too slow! ”

"Bang!" With the sound of a slap ball, the Spalding basketball that Gan Youwei bought for Gan Guoyang was slapped by Chamberlain like a volleyball and flew out of the court.

"Oh no, Mr. Wirther, I still can't score on your head." Gan Guoyang, who was a little dizzy by a big hat, said helplessly, he couldn't imagine that the giant in front of him was 46 years old.

"Werther has always been ruthless with newcomers on the pitch, just like Russell." Nate Thurmond, who was watching from the sidelines, said.

"Don't compare me to Bill Russell, don't you think I'm much more elegant, even if it's my cap? Hahahaha! "Chamberlain's elegance may seem ridiculous to others, for a guy like him who has a huge body and a cap like a volleyball player is a rude and savage player no matter how you look at it.

However, Gan Guoyang can understand the word "elegant" that Chamberlain said. Because in the past few days of contact, Gan Guoyang found that no matter how he used his body to fight against Chamberlain, Chamberlain rarely took the initiative to exert force, let alone make small movements.

Moreover, the Chamberlain cap, although it may seem vigorously barbaric, was extremely clean. He never jumped when Gan Guoyang's ball had not yet shot, but when the ball flew into the air, he jumped high and stretched out his long arm to fly the racket. This capping method exemplifies Chamberlain's anticipatory ability and amazing bounce.

In other words, Chamberlain's defense relied purely on skill and awareness, and did not take advantage of his perverted power or other crooked ways.

"Yes, you can always shoot the ball out in the air and never foul it." Gan Guoyang picked up the ball from the sidelines and said.

"Hahaha~ I heard that there is no Nate, this little guy really knows me very well!" Chamberlain listened to Gan Guoyang's words and was unexpectedly happy, just like a child hearing a teacher praise him.

Gan Guoyang didn't know that although Chamberlain had the physical fitness of a Martian, he hated being thought that he was just playing with his own body, and he wanted to show others his basketball skills.

Therefore, Chamberlain played very cleanly, no matter how rough the opponent was, he always remained calm and restrained, so he also held the record for the longest time in the NBA without being sent off.

Now he is naturally very happy when he hears Gan Guoyang praise him for his good playing skills and not fouling.

"Mr. Wirther, shall we have another round? Gan Guoyang took the ball and proposed again, "I don't know whether to live or die".

In a few days of one-on-one practice, Gan Guoyang did not score a goal, although part of the reason was that Gan Guoyang insisted on using inside technology to score in the three-second zone and at the same time score on Chamberlain's head, but it is indeed too exaggerated to not score a single goal.

Gan Guoyang used almost all the tricks he knew, especially his proud skill "turning over jump shot". But in front of Chamberlain, this tried and tested trick in the high school arena became slow and clumsy, either being covered and flying, or unable to shoot under interference.

Gan Guoyang is also a high school basketball star now, and he also has a special talent, so he can't play in front of an NBA player who has been retired for more than ten years, like a person who has never been in contact with basketball.

"Okay, kid, I'd like to see what else you have up to your sleeve. If you can score a goal today, I'll take you to the front row of the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles to watch a Lakers game. Chamberlain nodded and made a promise to take Gan Guoyang to watch the Lakers game. At that time, the front seats of the Lakers were all Hollywood stars.

Chamberlain has been very happy these days, as a famous playboy in the NBA, known as the legend of 20,000 women, he has never married or had children all his life, and has never started his own family, so he ran to his old friend on the day of family reunion at Christmas.

Here he can not only experience a trace of family warmth, but also meet such an interesting young man as Gan Guoyang to enjoy the fun of basketball with him.

Chamberlain even wondered if he should deliberately release water to let Gan Guoyang enter one, so as to prevent this little guy from being too frustrated and no longer willing to play with him.

But when Gan Guoyang took the ball and started to make movements, Chamberlain began to feel that maybe he didn't need to release the water.

This time, Gan Guoyang did not switch from the basket to the basket immediately after holding the ball as before, because he already knew that no matter how good his skills were in the case of his back, there was no way to shake the mountain of Chamberlain.

Therefore, he no longer had a direct confrontation with Chamberlain, but used the footwork and dribbling of the basket to avoid Chamberlain and seek space to shoot.

As the saying goes, "people are old before they have old legs," no matter how strong Chamberlain's physical fitness is, after all, he is already 46 years old, and the years are not forgiving. Although Gan Guoyang's noodle basket footsteps are not skilled, they are sensitive and fast.

Gan Guoyang cut into the basket from the right side, and his steps were very fragmented, making it impossible to tell whether it was a breakthrough or a feint. At this time, he suddenly made a sharp stop, pulled the ball outward, and then held the ball with his right hand and turned right, almost throwing off Chamberlain, who was moving inward.

But Gan Guoyang's turning skills have not yet reached the point of perfection, so he has to make a slight adjustment before he can shoot after turning around. And Chamberlain had already reacted to this adjustment, and pounced with open arms like a lion fighting a rabbit.

However, Gan Guoyang did not hesitate because of the pressure of the mountain in front of him, and he jumped and shot from a position about 10 feet (3 meters) from the basket.

Chamberlain was out of position because of the initial defense, and there was no way to wait for Gan Guoyang to shoot the ball in mid-air before blocking, he saw Gan Guoyang jump and shoot, and also jumped at the same time, stretching out his long arm to block Gan Guoyang's shot.

Although Chamberlain's bounce and speed are far less than when he was young, his consciousness, judgment and perverted height and arm span are still there, in his opinion, although Gan Guoyang's footsteps are very good, and the ball stops and turns very suddenly, it is still too slow, and it still can't escape his clutches.

However, when Chamberlain felt that his fingertips were about to touch the basketball in Gan Guoyang's hand, he found that the ball was getting farther and farther away from his fingers.

"Step-back jumper!" Chamberlain had a term that he knew all too well, because it was also one of the most lethal of what he had once had in his all-encompassing arsenal.

Indeed, the step-back jumper, this technique has a sacred meaning for all fans, it is like a supreme skill, and anyone who truly masters it can win the highest glory of the NBA. In later generations, a No. 23 and a No. 24 took this technique to the extreme, and thus achieved supreme achievements.

In 1982, the 23rd was in college, and the 24th was still a four-year-old. In fact, at this time, the spokesperson of the step-back jumper is the giant that Gan Guoyang is facing - Wilt Chamberlain, this omnipotent guy.

However, perhaps Chamberlain's scoring tools are too rich, and as an interior player, he has many easier ways to score, so the step-back jumper is often a means for Chamberlain to show his skills, rather than destroying the opponent's weapon.

Now, Gan Guoyang played a big knife in front of his ancestor and used this stunt. I saw that the ball was flying very fast in the air, and the arc was very flat, because Gan Guoyang did not exert enough force in the state of leaning back, and the arc had to be lowered so that the ball could fly to the basket.

The ball hit the neck of the basket, but it didn't bounce off, but touched it on the rebound again, fell off and bounced a few times on the edge of the basket, "brush~" The ball still chose to throw itself into the arms of the Nets after "hesitating" for a while, and the ball went in!

"Yes!" Gan Guoyang saw that the ball finally went into the basket, and swung his fist vigorously to celebrate, and at the same time secretly congratulated himself on his good luck.

He grasped this characteristic of Chamberlain's "elegance" in play, knowing that opponents like to "beat opponents technically". In this case, Gan Guoyang simply used technology for technology, and at the same time relied on his advantage of being young and fast, plus his unexpected offensive routine, which caught Chamberlain off guard. In the end, with a bit of luck, he finally scored his first goal since the heads-up with Oxlade-Chamberlain.

"Haha, your step-back jumper actually went in, although there is an element of luck, I will still take you to Los Angeles to watch the game in the future, it is really my promise." A proud man like Chamberlain values his promises more than anything else.

"Thank you, Mr. Chamberlain!" Gan Guoyang's excitement about scoring a goal has not passed, and he is naturally even happier when he hears that Chamberlain will fulfill his promise.

"But you learned your step-back jumper improvised, right? Your posture is not correct at all. At this time, Chamberlain did not forget to pour cold water on Gan Guoyang.

Indeed, Gan Guoyang's backward jumper was purely a mental move, and he jumped backwards according to the action in his memory and threw the ball, which can be regarded as a "backward jumper".

In fact, the technique of "step-back jumper" seems simple, isn't it just falling backwards during the jumper? It's not particularly difficult to learn it, but it's even harder to use it well and play it in the game.

"That's right... I just jumped backwards casually, and then threw the ball out..."Gan Guoyang also told the truth, he was blind.

"So your stagnation is very poor, the power of your arms is not right, and the arc of the ball is too flat. Your ball is not thrown, it's thrown. Chamberlain saw through the lame back-to-back jumper of Gan Guoyang at a glance.

Gan Guoyang also scratched his head embarrassedly, feeling more and more that he was really lucky to score a goal.

"I'll show you how to shoot backwards! Nate, it's been a long time since we've been heads-up, come-on! "Chamberlain seems to want to teach the Chinese kid what a step-back jumper is, and he wants to pull in Nate Thurmond!

"Okay, Wert~" Thurmond listened, and without hesitation, he took off his coat and stood on the court.

It's really a good show to watch now, Gan Guoyang didn't expect that these two former friends and opponents on the court would now have a basket offensive and defensive confrontation for him here. If it is known by people from the outside world, it will inevitably be hyped up by media reporters.

And now, there is only one audience for this retro battle, and that is Gan Guoyang.

Chamberlain's offense is a shocking game in NBA history, while Thurmond is one of the best on the defensive end. The pinnacle of the two in the NBA was the six-game Finals battle in 1967, and in the end, Thurmond looked up to his former idol, stepped over himself to the throne, and won the Walter Brown Cup.

Now, two middle-aged men who have long since returned to the field, without the blood and ambition of their youth, stand on this small basketball court with only one spectator with a basketball, and continue their fateful duel. It's just that this duel is less life and death, and more old friends.

Gan Guoyang didn't dare to blink his eyes on the side, he knew that master duels were always decided in an instant.

I saw two giants standing under the basket with the ball and facing the basket, one holding the opponent's back with his left hand, and raising his right hand high to block at any time; The two seem to be back in the big game of 1967, the only grand finale in 10 years without green

Chamberlain adjusted slightly, and his huge body began to move. Although he has been away from the professional arena for nearly a decade, he is still athletic and coordinated on the dribble. I saw him use his left foot as the axis, and his whole body turned to the left hand, while his right hand dribbled inward.

And Thurmond's hand on Chamberlain's back had already sensed Chamberlain's movements, and before Chamberlain's body had completely crossed him, a stride and horizontal movement blocked Chamberlain's way with his body.

At the same time, he used his strong body to constantly create physical contact and squeeze Chamberlain's movement space, which is also a major characteristic of Thurmond in defense, good at physical contact, and at the same time not foul, Gan Guoyang can be said to be a true legend in this regard.

But who Chamberlain is, no one in the history of the NBA has been able to guard against him. He didn't push in after being blocked and defended by Thurmond, although his physical fitness was better than Thurmond's.

Chamberlain's whole body suddenly relaxed, as if he had given up the confrontation with Thurmond, and instead pulled his whole body back, staggering some distance from Thurmond. Immediately afterwards, Gan Guoyang saw that Chamberlain's huge body jumped in the air like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the ball was shot, "Backward jump shot!" ”

This routine is exactly the same as what Gan Guoyang did just now, but this is the real backward jumper, from jumping to falling back to preparing to shoot to shooting, the whole process is done in one go, without any drag. The only drawback is that Chamberlain's shooting posture is a bit weird, it doesn't feel like he's shooting, but pushes the ball out with one hand.

And Thurmond's reaction was also very fast, it seems that he was also prepared for Chamberlain's move, he also jumped high at the moment when Chamberlain jumped backwards, and stretched out his terrible long arm to block Chamberlain's shot.

However, Chamberlain was too tall, and the 7-foot-1 figure was a full 2 inches taller than Thurmond, and the ball still grazed Thurmond's fingertips and flew to the basket.

"Bang!" A clean frontal hit board, the ball goes in!

This ball adds up to two or three seconds, and as an interior player, once you hit the three-second zone, you must end the battle quickly, otherwise it will be three seconds.

But it was only from it that Gan Guoyang intuitively realized for the first time what is the duel of masters and what is the confrontation of giants. He could hear the sound of their muscles colliding, he could see their skill, and he could feel the inner roar of two people when they were fighting.

Although the war has long since been extinguished, the love for basketball has never cooled.

"Hey boy, how's it going? When I was your age, I had already scored 30 or 40 points on the heads of countless people with this trick. Chamberlain looked at Gan Guoyang, who was still a little stunned, and said proudly.

"Is this a step-back jumper?"

"yes, do you want to learn? I'll teach you. ”