Chapter 676: 56 Chapters Long River
[Legend is a processed material, not a recorded fact.]
————Harvey Allen, "Carolina Chorale"
Years later, when the plump Shawn Kemp reminisced about his rookie season’s face-to-face confrontation with Ah Gan, his once sharp-edged face shone with a long-missing luster, his gaze drifting into the far-off emptiness, as if transporting back to the vigorous and youthful 1989-1990, his rookie season.
"That was the second meeting in the season between the Supersonics and the Trail Blazers, the first time I didn’t get the chance to play, I could only watch from the sidelines, the Trail Blazers were strong, and Guoyang was particularly intimidating, but I was eager to try."
"The second time was after the All-Star game, I had more confidence in myself because Xavier McDaniel was injured, so I started the game and directly faced Guoyang. Wow, he was as solid as a steam locomotive, an amplified version of Karl Malone."
"All through the game he was talking trash to me; it must have been my dunk early in the game that annoyed him. His trash talk was always intense; he said to me, ’I am the Dunk King,’ ’Your dunking is like a monkey picking bananas.’"
"At that time, only Guoyang dared to call a black player a monkey during a game; nowadays, it’s simply unimaginable."
"During halftime, Guoyang said to me, ’Guarding you is too boring; in the second half, I’ll play with my left hand only. Pay attention and defend properly.’"
"Then in the second half, he scored 30 points over me using just his left hand. Dunks, layups, hooks, jump shots, lay-ins, all left-handed... I was completely unable to stop him; he was unshakable and unstoppable like steel."
"In the third quarter, he made a beautiful long-range left-handed hook shot. Our defense was tight, pushing the Trail Blazers to the last second of the 24-second clock, and the ball ended up in Guoyang’s hands with no time left. Just one step inside the three-point line, Guoyang turned around, lifted his leg, and executed a classic hook shot to finish what seemed like a failed offense."
"Everyone wanted to rush to grab the rebound, but the ball swished into the net. You can imagine the surprise in everyone’s eyes. I stood one step away from Guoyang, and at that moment I really wanted to ask him if he could perform that shot again, how did he make it?"
"I have tried that shot in private and couldn’t even hit the backboard."
"My rear end got blown open in Portland."
The retired Shawn Kemp recalled his rookie season game confrontation with Gan Guoyang, in which Guoyang, as usual, demolished the opponent with his dramatic tactics, something he did for most of his professional career.
Bird, Jordan also liked to do this, teaching the rookies a lesson and letting them feel the intensity of the NBA.
However, unfortunately, Kemp’s recollections are not accurate; in fact, many players have mistaken memories of past games.
Throughout statistical information, playing time, or game counts, there are often exaggerations, omissions, confusions, and mix-ups.
Especially during the long regular season, players and audiences are like having a McDonald’s feast together; they may remember the taste of a certain burger, but no one will know exactly how many fries they ate.
Regarding the game Kemp described:
First, the post-All-Star game between the Trail Blazers and the Supersonics was their third encounter of the 1989-1990 season, not the second.
Secondly, Xavier McDaniel was not injured. He started the game while Shawn Kemp, as a substitute big man, played 21 minutes and matched up against Guoyang for a short time.
Third, Guoyang didn’t trash-talk Kemp much in that game. In fact, Guoyang was different from Jordan and Bird; he didn’t take pleasure in tormenting rookies unless provoked. He would give a clear-cut defeat to the contentious counterpart.
Kemp was a promising rookie but didn’t draw much of Guoyang’s attention; he certainly wasn’t the focus of Guoyang’s trash-talking for the entire game.
Kemp obviously condensed his career-long suffering at the hands of Guoyang into this single game when he reminisced.
Kemp did remember one thing correctly: Guoyang finished with his left hand in the second half and did hit a buzzer-beating long-range left-handed hook shot. This memory is accurate.
Gan Guoyang did this because he found the game against the Supersonics somewhat dull, and Xavier McDaniel was very pumped up the entire game, trying to provoke Guoyang.
Guoyang then said to McDaniel in the second half, "I’ll play with my left hand; next, we’re going to Chicago, I need to save my right hand to play against Jordan, for you, the left hand is enough."
Shawn Kemp, who overheard this comment, after decades of fermentation, remembered it as if Guoyang had spoken to him.
Gan Guoyang scored 27 points in the second half with his left hand, not 30, and ended with 45 points for the game, leading the Trail Blazers to an easy victory against the Supersonics at home for their first win after the All-Star break.
Though Kemp’s memory had many flaws and confusions, perhaps related to his long-term marijuana use which messed up his brain.
But the messed-up brain, while jumbling memories, retained the correct impression—that in the 1989-1990 season, Guoyang was dominating the League and the court with his peak performance.
Of course, reality is seldom as charming as memory; people always recall the thrilling shots and selectively overlook the missed shots and bad errors, unless they are too numerous to ignore.
