Chapter 678: 56 Chapters Long River_3
As soon as Bobby Beelman arrived, the reporters started to make way, and Wu Zhixiong, who was following behind, finally squeezed into the center of the cramped visiting team locker room.
Gan Guoyang was wearing a Trail Blazers black and red tracksuit, leaning back against the locker, standing in a relaxed and natural posture, chatting and confiding with every reporter who tried to converse with him.
He knew almost every media worker, and if he saw a new face, he would proactively ask who you were and from which newspaper or TV station, then he would inquire about where the previous reporter went, how they are, or how others are doing, chatting like an acquaintance discussing family matters, quickly getting the other person into the state of interviewing.
His control over the reporters was just as good as on the basketball court, born with a sense of humor but also carrying an air of authority, keeping the chat atmosphere just right.
Upon seeing Wu Zhixiong, Gan Guoyang waved at him and introduced him to everyone: "This is my high school teammate, a great forward, my indispensable power forward. However, after entering the NBA, he seemed to have abandoned me, which always left us with issues in our power forward spot, now I have to fill in the gap myself."
The reporters burst into laughter, and Wu Zhixiong blushed, as indeed, he had not been in touch with Ah Gan much over the past two years.
Now he had come seeking out, clearly hoping to establish a solid, close relationship with Gan Guoyang.
Gan Guoyang found a stool to sit down, asked Wu Zhixiong to sit as well, and then everyone had a focused yet comfortable chat before the game.
Their chat wasn’t about Gan Guoyang and the Trail Blazers, but about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Gan Guoyang often used pre-game and post-game interviews to gather intel about other teams, preparing for matches against opponents.
In these years, Wu Zhixiong hadn’t achieved much, but as a reporter he had visited many cities and teams, and he got a lot of insider information about management, coaches, and players.
Including Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, all were circles Wu Zhixiong tried to break into—ultimately failing, always remaining an outsider.
But precisely because he was an outsider, he could see things insiders couldn’t, all of which could inspire and help Gan Guoyang.
"Phil Jackson is a strange coach; he likes to play the hand drum before games to focus the players."
"And burning sage for prayers, which seems like a magical ceremony of the Indiana tribes to clear the impurities."
"In the Bulls, the hierarchy is clear, with Jordan at the very top of the pyramid, and Jackson never shies away from this, he straightforwardly tells the other players that Jordan is the boss of the team, indisputably and unquestionably."
The biggest change for the Chicago Bulls during the 1989-1990 season came from Phil Jackson.
This peculiar coach introduced many unconventional things to the Bulls, to Jordan.
In most basketball teams, many coaches try to establish a ’everything is equal here’ notion, but in reality, everyone knows that in the sports world, in basketball, in the NBA, equality is a lie.
Phil Jackson faced this lie and burst it; he told the players that what the Chicago Bulls were pursuing was not equality, but victory.
To win, you must establish an absolute core, an undeniable leader on and off the court, and that person is Jordan, everyone else plays their role in the sequence.
Gan Guoyang nodded when he heard what Wu Zhixiong and other reporters said, acknowledging the truth in Phil Jackson’s words.
Meanwhile, he looked to the other side of the locker room where Bobby Berman was talking with Petrović, and shouted: "Bobby! Who is the boss of our team?"
Beelman glanced at Gan Guoyang and said, "In my team, you’re definitely the boss, Ah Gan! Stop asking such damn questions, do you really enjoy being surrounded by a bunch of people? You might as well run for president next time! Or become a clown in a circus."
Gan Guoyang replied, "If I run for president, I’ll definitely hire you as my speech review officer, guaranteeing flawless speeches."
Everyone burst into laughter once again, and then the interview session concluded as the players needed to enter the court for warm-ups.
As he left the locker room, Wu Zhixiong asked Ah Gan: "Ah Gan, I want to write a book about you in the future, to tell everyone your story, tell those who couldn’t experience your entire basketball career about such a remarkable basketball player."
Gan Guoyang shrugged, saying: "Then you might have to wait a very long time to finish that book, my story has just begun."
Wu Zhixiong chuckled, responding: "I feel the same way; I’ll honestly record every moment, I have the patience to keep following you."
This was Wu Zhixiong pledging his loyalty to Gan Guoyang, and Gan Guoyang patted Wu Zhixiong’s shoulder, accepting him.
Thus, Wu Zhixiong gradually became a core member of Gan Guoyang’s inner circle, dedicated to writing a biography about Gan Guoyang’s basketball career.
Little did he know, he would be waiting over thirty years.
This river was too long.
