Chapter 927: Chapter 3 IOU_2
However, the team’s performance at the start of the new season was far from ideal.
They suffered three consecutive losses at the beginning of the season, losing to the Suns, Spurs, and Rockets in succession, followed by inconsistent games alternating between wins and losses.
By November 29th, before facing the Chicago Bulls, the Trail Blazers only had an 8-7 record, barely over fifty percent.
People once thought that the Trail Blazers were done. The defending champions showed signs of fatigue, and achieving a second three-peat seemed impossible for Ah Gan.
The media and fans are always so fickle. During the finals last season, they still chanted "The God of Basketball," and within just a few months, they began anticipating the collapse of his statue.
This is precisely the charm of the NBA: creating gods, worshipping them, then tearing them down, only to create new ones again, indulging in this cycle endlessly.
Gan Guoyang, of course, knew that it was far from the time when he’d be overthrown. The Trail Blazers were simply accustomed to starting slow.
The team needed to address issues of injuries and aging, reserving more energy for the latter half of the season and the playoffs.
Besides Sabonis, Porter and Kossie also suffered from some injuries.
These past few years, they’ve almost played the full season, 82 regular-season games and a dozen playoff games per season. The fact that no one sustained major injuries was already a miracle.
By the 1991-1992 season, their bodies could no longer hold up as well.
Naturally, even harder to sustain was their mental state. Who wouldn’t want to take a breather after achieving success?
The entire Trail Blazers team had become the most legendary and famous team in All-America.
Even though the players were relatively low-key, they were still widely recognized. The off-season was packed with events and commemorations.
The grand citywide parade was a dreamlike celebration. Until the season began and Magic Johnson announced he had AIDS, the League’s playboys finally realized it was time to tone things down.
In such an atmosphere, head coach Beelman found it difficult to push his players towards aggressive progress. After all, he himself was basking in the glow of love, his relationship with his new girlfriend being so harmonious that they were inseparable.
Thus, on November 29th, the Trail Blazers, carrying less-than-ideal form and a roster plagued by injuries, faced a revenge-seeking Chicago Bulls team at home.
When enemies meet, the sight is especially intense.
Jordan had once been Gan Guoyang’s best friend.
Even now, they remained best friends, but their relationship had gained an additional dimension: being the greatest rivals.
The Bulls’ loss in the 1991 Finals deeply hurt the entire team, leaving pain that pierced their hearts.
Jordan fell into deep self-doubt for a time, driving him to sink further and further into the abyss of gambling.
As early as the 1987-1988 season, when Jordan won the MVP and Gan Guoyang claimed the championship, Jordan had relied on gambling to eradicate his inner self-doubt.
Gambling is like quicksand, once you fall in, it’s hard to escape.
Even if some manage to climb out, it’s often only temporary.
When you feel defeated, disappointed in life, and doubt your self-worth, this devil reaches out to you, inviting you to let off steam and drown your sorrows.
People often think of gambling as a way to make easy money, but in reality, gambling is a lifestyle philosophy—a distorted and erroneous weapon against life’s monotony.
Most of the time, Jordan gambled for some entertainment, but there were moments when he became deeply entrenched, unleashing the flames of unrest within him.
After losing to Ah Gan at basketball, Jordan poured all his competitive drive into golf.
He played numerous high-stakes golf matches against Richard Escinas, a shareholder of the San Diego Sports Center.
At first, Jordan won $98,000 US Dollars from Richard, but Jordan wasn’t ready to stop. He agreed to another round with Richard.
If Richard won, the $98,000 debt would be wiped clean. If he lost, he’d have to pay Jordan another $98,000.
Did Jordan need $98,000? Not at all, but he agreed without hesitation—he simply wanted to gamble, to win.
As a result, the two engaged in a ten-day gambling binge at the Avilaya Golf Club, during which Jordan not only lost the $98,000 but also an additional $628,000.
At this point, Jordan proposed another game, saying that if he won, all his debts would be erased; if he lost, the $628,000 would be doubled.
This is the terrifying yet exhilarating allure of gambling: the instant thrill of win-or-lose. What you win initially can later be doubled and lost.
Richard no longer wanted to play, but Jordan insisted, assuring him that he could afford the $1.2 million so Richard didn’t need to worry.
And so, the two played another round, resulting in Jordan’s debt increasing to $1.2 million US Dollars.
$1.2 million—Jordan could indeed afford it, but it was by no means a trivial amount.
Keep in mind, at the time, Jordan’s annual salary was $3.25 million, but after taxes, he only netted a little over $1 million.
A couple rounds of golf cost Jordan $1.2 million, and he genuinely couldn’t produce that much cash all at once. Jordan might have earned a lot, but his expenses were enormous as well.
Afterward, Jordan left San Diego to participate in various events, putting this matter behind him.
When the new season began, Richard approached Jordan to collect the money, to which Jordan jokingly replied, "If you want a $1.2 million check from me, you might as well ask me to shoot you at the same time."
It was meant as a joke, but coming from Jordan, it filled Richard Escinas with fear. He was afraid Jordan saw him as a threat.
Jordan was a celebrity; he needed his reputation and feared the exposure of scandals. Many people fed off Jordan’s fame.
Jordan himself might not do anything to him, but what about the people around him? The sports companies, advertisers, team owners, and so on.
