The Golden Age of Basketball-Chapter 105 - 12 Draft 2

After the dust settled, Gan Guoyang quickly calmed down, no longer feeling as tense.

He had visited Portland many times before; it was close to Spokane, and Wang Fuxi was studying there. On the West Coast, and not too far from San Francisco, it was quite nice from a living perspective.

Gan Guoyang first called Gan’s Restaurant in San Francisco to report the situation to his father, Gan Youwei.

But the calls didn’t go through, he just got a busy signal every time. Without a doubt, it was because congratulations calls were flooding in. He thought it best to try again later.

Next, Gan Guoyang called Wang Fuxi. She was thrilled on the phone; having Gan Guoyang play basketball in Portland was fantastic, greatly facilitating her campaign to rid him of any beautiful women surrounding him.

After a brief conversation, Gan Guoyang figured Stockton would be at Jack and Dan’s Bar and called there.

As expected, the place was going nuts on the other end of the line. Stockton, Beelman, Fitz, Anderson, McPhie, and others were fighting over the phone to talk to Gan Guoyang. All he could hear was a cacophony of shouts, and he figured these guys were definitely drinking.

The call wasn’t long because the Knight’s home erupted in a second wave of cheers as Stern announced the Bulls’ third pick; to "everyone’s surprise," they took Michael Jordan.

The Bulls had wanted a center too, thinking they couldn’t get their hands on Olajuwon or Gan, they settled on the idea of picking Sam Bowie from Kentucky.

However, after exchanging thoughts with Rod Thorn, Knight firmly recommended Jordan, and the Bulls management listened. After debating at the draft, they chose Jordan.

Jordan came forward to the phone, now it was his turn to make calls.

Both appeared calm, exchanging a handshake.

Gan Guoyang was calm because this development was within his expectations; Jordan was calm because, at the time, being picked by the NBA was not necessarily a great thing.

Even though the Celtics had won the championship and the Lakers vs. Celtics battle increased interest in the NBA, the league’s overall image hadn’t dramatically improved.

The issue of drug abuse remained unresolved, and the NBA’s tarnished image required time and action to clean up.

Moreover, after the introduction of the salary cap, it was met with unanimous approval by the owners, but the players were less content.

This 1984 class of newcomers to the NBA were the first to be affected by the salary cap restrictions.

Those Magic Johnson-type contracts of 25 million over 25 years were no longer thinkable, and his annual rookie contract of $460,000 also became unattainable for some players.

Take for example, the Philadelphia 76ers with the fifth pick. They already had Moses Malone and Julius Erving on board, so their salary cap was maxed out, meaning they could only offer a rookie contract of $75,000 a year.

Because he scorned the paltry sum, Charles Barkley, upon hearing the 76ers’ interest in him, started stuffing himself with food to gain weight, attempting to bloat himself into an unfit state for basketball within 48 hours.

In the past two days, his diet reportedly included Kentucky Fried Chicken, pancakes, bacon, mashed potatoes, cabbage, McDonald’s fish sandwiches, large fries, cola, Texas barbecue sandwiches, T-bone steaks, baked potatoes, and various desserts—he was indiscriminately gorging with the sole intent of deterring the 76ers from picking him.

He didn’t want to be making just $75,000 a year; he was born into poverty and wanted to use the NBA as a springboard to better his family’s life. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Then at the fourth pick, the Dallas Mavericks chose Sam Bowie from the University of Kentucky. They felt as though they had found an overlooked gem in this draft, getting one of the most underrated centers.

The Dallas Mavericks’ choice prompted the Philadelphia 76ers at the fifth pick to change their mind; they hardly hesitated before selecting Jordan’s teammate from North Carolina, Sam Perkins.

When Stern announced the 76ers had picked Perkins, the cheers in the living room were especially loud.

This meant that Perkins had the chance to compete for the championship alongside players like Moses Malone, Erving, Tony, and Cheeks.

In the 1983-1984 season, the defending champion 76ers, who had rallied with their "FoFoFo" mantra, were shockingly eliminated by the Nets in the first round.

The power forward position was the 76ers’ biggest weakness. They were dominated by Buck Williams of the Nets, who averaged 18 points and 15 rebounds a game in the series, including 23 offensive rebounds—more than even Moses Malone.

Compared to the difficult-to-manage Barkley, with significant issues concerning his weight, Perkins shone with the prestige of a prominent college, compelling the 76ers to change directions and pick up Perkins over Barkley.

With the 76ers picking Perkins, just minutes later, the Washington Bullets with the sixth pick snagged Charles Barkley.

Barkley attended the draft tonight, and when Stern announced his name, the hefty man walked up to the stage with a beaming smile and shook hands with Stern.

For tonight’s draft, Barkley wore a flashy, gold double-breasted, burgundy suit, which was his favorite color and the only suit he had that was suitable for such an occasion.

Barkley was very pleased to be selected by the Bullets because back in 1983, when the Bullets held the tenth pick in the first round and a second-round pick, they had contacted Barkley and were willing to draft him in the second round.

At that time, Barkley was interested in the Bullets, but their tenth pick was reserved for Jeff Malone. If they were to choose Barkley with a second-round pick, he wouldn’t be able to get a big contract.

Because of money issues, Barkley ultimately did not enter last year’s draft.

Now, with the sixth pick, the Bullets had a group of young players and plenty of cap space to offer Barkley a substantial contract.

Moreover, Barkley had always been considered a faster, more agile version of the Bullet’s legend, Unseld, so heading to the Capital to play was a good choice, especially since the Bullets were in need of a stronger inside presence.

Everyone was happy to see Barkley get drafted, especially when they saw him in that flashy burgundy suit, and they all began to express their opinions on his fashion choice.

What was unexpected was that Barkley, after being selected, called the Knight family home to tell them the news.

Bob Knight, for once, set aside his usual fierceness and meanness and congratulated Barkley over the phone like a kind father. He then had his son Pato come over to speak a few words with Barkley.

Next, the Spurs chose Irving Robertson with the seventh pick, the Los Angeles Clippers selected Melvin Turpin, and the Kansas Kings got Spo...

Gan Guoyang was nervously following the draft the entire time, until the 16th pick, when the Utah Jazz selected John Stockton; Gan Guoyang jumped up from the couch and immediately ran to call Stockton.

The first call didn’t go through, probably a busy line. Waiting for the second try, Gan Guoyang got through on the second call.

It was Stockton who answered, and he knew it was Gan Guoyang calling. The two of them shouted like fools on either end of the receiver.

However, Stockton quickly calmed down and said, "Hey Gan, Gan, I can’t go to Portland now. I’m fucking off to Salt Lake City, where there’s nowhere to eat in the middle of the night, and it’s all Mormons."

"It’s okay, you’ll love it there. You’re always easygoing and you like the peace and quiet, don’t you?"

"You make a good point. Gan, now we’ll be competitors."

"What, are you scared?"

"A little. But you better watch out too."

"Haha, I’m so scared~ By the way, John, I heard in Salt Lake City Mormons can have two wives, you might want to consider that?"

"Don’t talk nonsense, Gan, Nada is here..."

With that, the two of them started laughing again from either end of the call.

[On the night of the draft, many neighbors, friends, teammates, and coaches crowded into Jack’s Bar to watch the live broadcast. When Gan was selected as the second pick, the bar went wild; everyone was elated for him and fought to speak to him on the phone.

Later, as the first round entered the teens, everyone thought I might be up soon and crowded closer to the television. When Stern, the commissioner, stepped forward to announce that the Utah Jazz had selected John Stockton from Gonzaga University at the sixteenth pick, there was a second round of excitement.

I ran to the street outside to try and clear my head, to understand what had happened. When I came back, I received a call from the Jazz Manager Hendry, calling from the Salt Palace to congratulate me, saying that the fans in Salt Lake City were very excited to welcome me.

After that, everyone was immersed in a dreamy celebration, jubilant. Someone they knew had been selected for the NBA! But I felt like an observer; no one was clamoring to shake my hand. In fact, they weren’t paying much attention to me at all.

That’s when Gan called, and we both were so happy we laughed a long time. Then, when we stopped, I felt a bit down. I realized first that I was headed to Salt Lake City and second, that from now on, Gan and I would be competitors instead of teammates.]-

——From John Stockton’s autobiography "Assisted," published in 2012, excerpted.