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

In the studio of the advertising department of the head office of Nike in Portland, a group of sneaker posters are being photographed.

"The chin is lifted a little more, and the eyes are squinted a little more, to give the impression that you are looking into the distance...... Very good......! It should be fine, it works very well...... Well, Moses, it's your turn. "In the studio, the photographer is the boss, and the court tycoons who dominate the pitch have to listen to his command.

"It's a good shot, Gan, you're standing there and you're getting more and more superstar......"

"I'm just bored, I want to train in the gym in the afternoon."

The two people who spoke were none other than Gan Guoyang and his agent David Falck.

The 1985 playoffs were now in the final battle for the highest honors, but Gan Guoyang and his Trail Blazers were disqualified from the championship, and they were easily swept away by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals with a score of 4-1.

In the Western Conference semifinals and Nuggets game, Gan Guoyang used MVP-level play in the next two games to lead the Trail Blazers to complete a big reversal, they beat the Nuggets in Denver in the sixth game, and had the last laugh with a 5-point advantage in the seventh game, and the Trail Blazers finally advanced to the Western Conference Finals after a big ups and downs in the semifinals.

However, just when the Trail Blazers and Gan Guoyang were full of ambition and were ready to fight the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals to hit the Finals, in the first game in Los Angeles, they realized how big the gap between them and the Los Angeles Lakers was in a game of this level in the Western Conference Finals.

"Good... It's a nice pose, Moses...... Hey Gan, come over here and take another set of pictures with Moses. At this time, the photographer beckoned Gan Guoyang to come over and take a group of photos together.

Shooting the poster with Gan Guoyang is the Philadelphia 76ers' super center, the king of frontcourt rebounds, Moses Malone.

Moses Malone had signed with Nike as early as the Rockets, and in 1982, Nike also gathered four other very "hard" players in addition to Malone to endorse Nike's sneaker brand "air-force" at that time.

The design of this sneaker itself is very good, and it has become a classic sneaker in the future, but its sales at that time were relatively average, after all, the spokespersons invited by Nike belong to the "powerful faction", and they can't be like Dr. J and the magician "powerful idol faction" to help Nike sell well.

The biggest of the five is Moses Malone, who won the regular season MVP in 1982 and was shown in a poster for Nike as the famous "Jewish Prophet Moses", which gave him the nickname "The Prophet".

This time, Nike summoned two centers who had just finished the division finals to Portland, also hoping to use their momentum this season to prepare for the company's summer promotional offensive — the two of them grabbed the top two rebounds in the regular season.

"Okay, I'll be right here!" 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 a next time, I will not have fewer agents who want to cooperate with me." ”

After Gan Guoyang said these words to Falck, he returned to the camera board and went to take pictures with Moses Malone, leaving Falck standing in place and a little stunned.

"Heh~ This kid, growing up really fast......" Falke recalled Gan Guoyang's words, and there was a trace of a wry smile on his face.

For many NBA players, especially young players, they have never been interested in business affairs, and they don't have too many opinions, they generally leave these things to their agents, do their own hands, and wait for the money to be collected.

But Gan Guoyang and Michael Jordan, two players, have shown a maturity beyond ordinary young players, especially Gan Guoyang, who has a strong tendency to break free from Falke's control.

If half a year ago, Falke would have been indifferent to Gan Guoyang's threat, he would only see it as a sign of young rebellion.

However, a series of recent events have made Falck understand that this kid may really not be under his control.

…………

"Okay, you two stand facing each other, a basketball distance apart, that's fine...... Glaring at your opponent with your gaze...... Not bad...... Let's change the set ......"

The two giants, Gan Guoyang and Moses Malone, are like two marionettes, being fiddled with by photographers, without the slightest domineering on the court.

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

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

Although Gan Guoyang is not a talker, he is also a talkative person, and he can often make witty words; Moses Malone, who can work with him, is a real stuffy gourd, and his taciturn is notoriously in the NBA media world.

And, even if he wants to talk to you, his slurred, rural Southern Florida accent can make it incredibly difficult.

Therefore, it is natural that there is such silence in the studio.

This silence made the photographer a little unbearable, and after taking enough negatives, he finally nodded and signaled that the two could take a break.

Malone walked straight to the resting sofa, sat down quietly, and began to drink slowly, he always seemed slow and sluggish off the court, but only on the court can the opponent appreciate the brutality of this guy.

"Hey, Gan, I promise, I won't give you any more business contracts in the future, and I will maintain respect for you." Falke saw that Gan Guoyang had finished taking the photo, and stepped forward to talk to him.

Gan Guoyang drank some water and nodded, he knew that Falk must have something to say later.

"So, I'm going to talk to you about the next commercial now...... It's related to Coca-Cola. Falck continued.

Gan Guoyang knew that if Falck just wanted him to take a set of photo posters, he didn't need to go all the way to Portland, Gan Guoyang himself was in Portland, and he was very familiar with Nike, so he just came over by himself.

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

"Coca-Cola's ne-coke can't do it." Gan Guoyang said bluntly.

“…… That's right, they've decided to take Ne-Coke off the market and restart the production line of the old Coca-Cola, so your prediction came true, and The Coca-Cola Company contacted me to ask you to be the spokesperson for the old Coca-Cola that was re-launched. ”

Gan Guoyang's prediction in March became a reality, of course, Gan Guoyang did not predict it by himself at all, he just said what had happened in history in advance.

"No problem, I still hope to wait until after the finals to shoot the commercial, and tomorrow I'm going to go back to California, to San Francisco to see my father, and then to Los Angeles to see the finals. The finals are over, and you can contact me to go to Atlanta. Gan Guoyang proposed his schedule.

After the playoffs, the Trail Blazers went into a break, and most of the players went on vacation all over the United States, but Gan Guoyang stayed in Portland to continue his training, and after the Western Conference Finals against Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Gan Guoyang was once again full of motivation to improve himself.

In this regard, the current Falke can only nod and agree, he can no longer control Gan Guoyang's itinerary as before.

Filming was over quickly, Falk left in a hurry, and he had many player matters to do, so Gan invited Moses Malone to a Mexican restaurant in Portland.

In the regular season, Gan Guoyang and Malone only played each other once, but they had a deep impression of this super center, and Moses was one of the few interior players in the NBA who could suppress Gan Guoyang with power in the low post.

During the meal, without the attention of other staff, both of them relaxed a lot, and the silent Moses Malone also slowly opened the conversation box and communicated with Gan Guoyang.

It's just that Moses' accent is really strong, and even if Gan Guoyang has been in the United States for nearly five years, some words still sound quite difficult.

The two giants chatted on and off about basketball, and near the end of the meal, Gan suddenly offered to go to the University of Portland training gym with Moses Malone.

Listening to Gan Guoyang's words, Moses Malone looked up at Gan Guoyang, without the slightest surprise on his face, he nodded slowly and agreed.

Perhaps Moses Malone also thinks that it is much better for two people to communicate on the basketball court than during dinner.

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

Along the way, the taxi driver chattered at the city hero Gan Guoyang and the superstar Ma Long, apparently flattering to be able to pick up the two guests.

"Gan, do you remember that 15-foot hook in Game 7, in the fourth quarter? Oh my God, I was driving on the Willam Bridge with Shaunley's commentary on the radio, and my heart was beating out when the Trail Blazers and Nuggets were tied! Then I heard Shaunley say, 'Gan catches the ball on the left side, hits a 15-foot hook with his left hand, rip-city!'" I was so happy that I almost drove the car into the river! ”

Gan Guoyang and Ma Long watched the driver dancing with his hands, they were now driving on the Willamette Bridge, and they were worried that the driver would really drive the car into the river this time.

In the seventh game, the Trail Blazers also won not easily, the two sides have been staggered, 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 still remembers that night and still remembers it, when they even thought about the hope of winning the championship, but the subsequent Western Conference Finals brought them back to reality.

And the driver seemed to feel sorry for the Trail Blazers not being able to go further at this time, saying: "But the Lakers are too good...... They've always been so good, especially Abdul-Jabbar. ”

"Hmph", at this time, a cold snort came from Gan Guoyang's side, it was Moses Malone.

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