Gan Guoyang thought that it would be Wang Fuxi who called, but what came from the phone was not Wang Fuxi's soft and sweet voice, but David Stern's voice.

Gan Guoyang didn't expect David Stern to call, and it is still rare for the league president to call the player's hotel room.

"You're so willing, I'm taking the liberty of disturbing you, I have something I want to talk to you about." After the two greeted each other, Stern got straight to the point, and his style was always like this, never dragging his feet.

"Say, Mr. Stern, I'll listen." Gan Guoyang still has a lot of respect for Stern, and when he was a fan in later generations, he always felt that the short old man was blocking the fans everywhere, making the NBA, a competitive league, have a heavier and heavier copper smell.

But by this era, in 1980, Gan Guoyang was watching the blurry NBA game on television, when 75 percent of the league's players were on drugs, and in the 1980-81 season, as many as 16 of the league's 23 teams were in the red.

At that time, NBA games were not broadcast live on TV, so they had to wait until the next day to be recorded, and even the Finals were only recorded and not live, with an average of only 10,021 spectators per game, and the attendance rate was only a pitiful 58%.

This is something Gan Guoyang didn't expect at all, he thought that from a very early stage, the NBA was full of gold and silver, and the players were all rich people.

By 1984, Gan Guoyang entered the NBA with Olajuwon and Jordan, and Stern also began to take power, immediately signing a television contract and signing business cooperation projects with a large number of companies, first of all, the NBA got out of financial difficulties.

Then Stern made a lot of major changes to the system, the draft system, the salary cap system, the All-Star Game format, and greatly improved the image of the league to keep players away from drugs and violence, which gave the NBA a new vitality.

Since 1985, the league has turned a profit, and players' wages have also risen, and in 1988, the NBA signed a huge two-year, $50 million contract with TNT TV, and from this season, with the addition of two new teams, the NBA's profits began to soar across the board.

Gan Guoyang's experience of these things is intuitive, and he still remembers that in 1984, when he participated in some road games, such as going to play the Los Angeles Clippers, the attendance and court atmosphere felt like it was not even as good as a college game.

This season, even if Milwaukee's home stadium is not as hot as in the past, the stadium attendance rate is still as high as 90 percent, and the so-called lack of popularity is also compared to the past when the stadium had to be added.

At the same time, the facilities of the stadium are becoming more and more advanced, the lights are getting brighter and brighter, there are more and more advertisements on the sidelines, the cheerleaders are becoming more and more beautiful, the opening ceremony is becoming more and more gorgeous, and the team's training facilities are becoming more and more advanced, which are the most direct feelings.

Of course, Stern also pays great attention to the communication with the players, and to a certain extent, Stern is also making stars, and he wants to use some young and powerful players to create a good image for the league.

Gan Guoyang, as an important card in Stern's future international market strategy, spared no effort in the promotion of Gan Guoyang, including letting the Trailblazers play in Europe.

At the same time, Gan Guoyang can also feel that the referee will occasionally take some care of him in the game, and he can now communicate with the referee more easily, instead of being ignored and even blown a technical foul as he was in his rookie days.

Now, Stern called at this time, and Gan Guoyang knew that Stern must have something to communicate with him.

"Okay Gan, I want to tell you that next month, probably in mid-December, the leaders of the Soviet Union will visit the United States. You know, this is the first time that a Soviet leader has visited the United States, and one of the government's plans right now is to arrange for him to watch an NBA game, preferably a Portland Trail Blazers game. Of course, everything is a secret, and I don't know if there will be a game. If there is a game, Sabonis would do well to be able to play longer and then let him perform well. I can't just say to Adelman and the management of the Trail Blazers, you try to adjust the arrangement, I believe in your weight with the Trail Blazers, and you are also the best partner for Sabonis. ”

Stern finished his words in one breath, the amount of information was huge, Gan Guoyang was still a little drowsy lying on the bed, how did he know that Stern's phone call made him sober up a lot.

Stern said that if nothing else, it should be Gorbachev if the Soviet leader wants to visit the United States, because US President Ronald Reagan just visited the Soviet Union for the first time in June this year, and it is very normal for Gorbachev to visit the United States after half a year.

In 1988, the international environment was extremely complex, the socialist countries were facing many problems, the Soviet Union entered the stage of reform, but everywhere was blocked, Gorbachev tried to change the current bad situation of the Soviet Union from the political system and international relations.

The relaxation of relations with the United States is an important step for Gorbachev, and Sabonis's entry into the NBA, from a political point of view, is a sign of the easing of relations between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Therefore, Stern must have received information from the US government that Gorbachev may go to the scene to watch the Trail Blazers' game, of course, the specific schedule, Stern will definitely not know, these are all confidential.

Stern told Gan Guoyang these news, on the one hand, to express his trust in Gan Guoyang, on the other hand, he also knew that Gan Guoyang's words in the Trail Blazers team are very heavy, Gan Guoyang's words can affect the Trail Blazers' tactical arrangements, Stern also informed Gan Guoyang in advance, hoping that he can help Sabonis have a heavier role in the Trail Blazers.

"I ...... I'll do my best, but I don't know if I'll be able to influence Coach Adelman, who I usually respect......"

"No, no, I don't need you to change Adelman, just a little bit of compromise, you talk to Adelman. And if he actually goes to watch the game, the league will definitely notify the Trail Blazers, and they will understand. I'm just telling you something in advance. Also, I want to tell you that you've been doing really well lately, but you've been too casual in some of your games, so I want you to be more serious and do your best. ”

Stern suddenly said to Gan Guoyang, because Gan Guoyang was completely playing in some games with a large gap in strength, such as in a game with the Clippers, there was no suspense in the second half, Gan Guoyang began to play left-handed shooting on the court, and even scored 6 points.

This behavior was unanimously criticized by the media, and Gan Guoyang did not care about it, and bluntly said at the media conference that it is enough to deal with some teams with only his left hand.

Stern is obviously a little dissatisfied with Gan Guoyang's behavior and remarks, he doesn't want the alliance to have another big mouth like Bird, he hopes that Gan Guoyang and Jordan can become sunny and positive representatives.

It's just that, judging from the current situation, Gan Guoyang and Jordan's mouths are more stinky than the other, and there are more trash words than the other, and it seems unlikely that they want to create a positive representative of the alliance like Dr. J.

After chatting with Stern a few more words, Gan Guoyang hung up the phone, at this time he didn't want to sleep very much, thinking of the upcoming Soviet leader, he couldn't help but worry a little about the fate of China across the ocean.

Gan Guoyang knows that at this time the relationship between China and the United States is in the honeymoon period, reform and opening up is in full swing on the mainland, in China Gan Guoyang's reputation has spread all over the country, CCTV has also begun to broadcast some of Gan Guoyang's games, his superb ball skills make the Chinese excited.

At the same time, the propaganda of the national media has painted Gan Guoyang with a layer of mystery and legend, and Gan Guoyang believes that if he goes back to China now, he will definitely be blocked on the street.

It's just that the pace of time is about to enter the new year, and what kind of fate China will face at that time, Gan Guoyang has no bottom in his heart, he doesn't know what kind of impact his existence will have on history.

Thinking of this, Gan Guoyang couldn't sleep even more, he began to do yoga in the hotel, and he has been practicing yoga since college to maintain the flexibility of his body.

In the injury reimbursement stage, he even consulted a yoga master and made a special trip to consult Jabbar to reduce his chance of injury through yoga.

The practice of yoga not only makes Gan Guoyang's physical condition more outstanding, but also allows his mind to be calm, and the fierce NBA game is not only a physical confrontation, but also a mental competition.

Putting aside distracting thoughts, thinking back on the journey he has walked step by step, the efforts he has made in the reimbursement season, the doubts he has received and the care of the people around him, Gan Guoyang's heart has become more and more peaceful.

Eight years after coming to this plane, he has completely integrated into this era, he dresses, behaves like a man in the eighties, he is used to life without mobile phones, no Internet, no video games, and is used to running and playing ball on the wooden floor in little shorts.

He also found purpose and direction in his basketball career.

He not only sighed at the wonder of fate, but also appreciated the gift of fate, putting aside the honor, prosperity and money brought to him by basketball, leaving behind the trajectory of chasing dreams and the opportunity to stick to his beliefs.

Thinking of the upcoming Soviet leader, a sentence from a Soviet writer's work suddenly came to Gan Guoyang's heart: "When a person looks back on the past, he does not regret that he wasted his time, nor is he ashamed of his inaction." ”

Although Gan Guoyang did not dedicate his life to the most precious cause of mankind, he believed that he would never regret and be ashamed of this new life.