Chapter Thirty-Eight: Gold

"I met Gan during the warm-up before our 1981-1982 season home opener. He was just a high school kid back then, but by October, he was the hottest basketball prospect in San Francisco. That game was against the Jazz, and with only 7,000 people in the stands, the gate receipts were abysmal. Thurmond brought Gan to the court, saying the kid had some questions he wanted to ask. At the time, several of us wanted to teach this guy a lesson—you know, taking the 'hot new thing' down a peg is a tradition on the court, and we’d all been put in our place like that before. Al tapped Larry and me to handle his questions. We exchanged a look, understanding exactly what to do: we were going to show him what he was up against. Then... it’s hard to describe exactly what happened, but from that season on, Larry Smith’s performance never quite reached the level of his rookie year. I think he might have been a bit rattled, haha."

————*Game Face*, the autobiography of Bernard King, published in 2017, Excerpt 1.

Gan Guoyang followed Bernard King and Larry Smith onto the court. As they warmed up, the two men joked with him.

Bernard King was a small forward who had just been traded to the Warriors the previous season. A brilliant talent plagued by alcoholism and various personal troubles, he was the team’s second-leading scorer.

Larry Smith, the 24th overall pick in the 1980 draft, was a sturdy 6-foot-8 power forward. He possessed astonishing rebounding energy in the paint, averaging 12 rebounds per game in his rookie season, 5.3 of which were offensive—for comparison, Moses Malone, the self-proclaimed King of Offensive Rebounds, averaged 5.9 that same 1981 season.

"Listen, kid, you said you wanted to learn the turnaround jumper. But I don't know what level you're at yet. Why don't you go one-on-one with Larry? Take a shot, and after I see it, I'll know how to coach you."

After warming up, King tossed the ball to Gan, instructing him to post up against Smith.

"Go ahead. I'll be gentle, I won't go full intensity. Just take a shot."

Larry Smith stood casually at the low block and waved Gan over. Gan tossed the ball back to King and moved to the low post, backing into Smith.

Smith was 23 years old, a graduate of Alcorn State University, and weighed 220 pounds—a solid, rugged interior player. Judging by his offensive rebounding stats from his rookie year, Smith took great pride in his physical toughness. Hailing from Mississippi, he was a thick-bodied man with the rugged, plain-spoken appearance of a country farmer, and his playing style was just as simple and hard-nosed.

Facing Gan Guoyang—who looked lean and was only a head taller than him—Smith didn't take him seriously. However, the moment their bodies made contact, Larry Smith felt as if he had been slammed into a steel plate.

Gan Guoyang planted himself firmly at the block, his feet locked in deep. Once he caught the ball, he could turn and attack the rim immediately. King passed the ball in, but instead of attacking the rim, Gan moved his feet, stepped out slightly, and opted for a turnaround jump shot.

Larry Smith had been so rattled by the initial contact that when Gan turned to shoot, he couldn't even jump to contest it. The ball fell easily into the hoop. Two points. Gan picked up the ball, threw it back to King, and said, "Just like that. It’s a simple turnaround. But I feel like in a high-intensity game, it might be hard to pull off. It feels a bit slow."

Bernard King looked at Larry Smith, wondering why he hadn't moved. Wasn't he supposed to teach this kid a lesson?

King said, "Right, your footwork is too raw and a bit too slow... uh, try it again. This time, when you turn, don't step out. Try stepping inward."

"Inward?"

"Yes. A lot of people like to step out on a turnaround jumper to create distance from the defender. That’s wrong. It actually makes it easier for the opponent to block or interfere, unless you fake them into losing their balance. Normally, you should step in, pin your opponent, don't shy away, embrace the contact, and carve out space before you turn. Remember, you create space by pushing, not by dodging. Try it again."

From the same spot, Gan Guoyang backed into Larry Smith again. This time, Smith put his full effort into pushing back against Gan to disrupt his catch. Gan felt the increase in intensity and used the box-out techniques he’d learned from Thurmond to engage in a physical struggle at the low block.

Their arms tangled, but Gan still managed to extend his right arm to call for the ball while keeping his core steady and firmly planted against Smith. Gan had been doing strength training recently, focusing primarily on his lower body and core; he did minimal work on his arms and skipped chest exercises entirely, deeming them useless. Because of his physiology, his strength gains were faster than most. Bellman sometimes wondered if the rumors were true—if this kid was actually a cyborg.

Though Larry Smith was strong, he wasn't as tall as Gan, and his weight advantage was negligible. With techniques inherited from Thurmond, Gan was a natural at physical play and didn't fear the confrontation at all.

"Pass, pass the ball!" Gan signaled to King.

King finally snapped out of it and threw the ball to Gan. Gan caught it, and following King's advice, he dribbled, stepped in, and shoved Larry Smith aside!

Smith stumbled back two steps. Gan rose up for a close-range shot, and it went in for two points.

After the basket, Gan asked Bernard King, "How was that? Was there anything wrong with that shot?"

Bernard King was stunned. He licked his lips and said, "Not bad, though the speed is still a bit slow. Also, that shove was way too hard; you'll get called for an offensive foul. Let me demonstrate for you."

King told Gan to watch from the side. He took the ball and stood in front of Larry Smith, whispering, "What the hell are you doing? Playing with this kid?"

Larry Smith replied, "Bullshit. I was defending for real! I couldn't hold my ground against him!"

"Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not fucking kidding. This kid is as hard as Moses Malone."

Bernard King still didn't quite believe it. He demonstrated his turnaround jumper. His footwork was fast, his movements compact; he made contact with the defender during the turn, then quickly rose for the shot, which went in.

Gan Guoyang watched his form—a high-release jump shot with a straight arm, a forward's choice for avoiding blocks in the paint. The footwork was indeed fast and nimble, giving the defender almost no reaction time, and the contact during the turn was the essence of the move.

Bernard King said to Gan, "Kid, come defend me. Feel it for yourself."

King wanted to see if Gan was really as tough as Larry claimed. "You know how to play low-post defense, right? Give it your all. I'm fast."

King reminded Gan, then started his move: dribble, accelerate, drive, body-up, turn into the contact!

The sequence of movements seemed simple, but it contained a wealth of detail. The start, the placement of the feet, determining the pivot foot, the speed of the turn, and when to jump after the contact—all of these factors determined the success of the attack. Every seemingly effortless basket on the court was backed by countless hours of sweat and grueling practice.

King was confident in his shot. After emerging from the shadows of alcoholism and sexual assault allegations, he had found a new life in the Bay Area. Those dark days were drifting away. Having been labeled rude and abrasive with the Nets, he had become gentle and composed since arriving in Golden State. He began interacting with reporters and visiting community centers to play basketball with the kids. Everything was looking up. He believed he would make more and more shots and become a true league superstar.

*Thwack.*

King’s shot never left his hands. It was pinned and blocked clean.

【Compared to Larry Smith, I didn't fare much better. My own demonstration of a turnaround jumper was blocked by him—a clean, solid swat. Honestly, I couldn't remember the last time I’d been blocked like that—just a pure, physical contest where the ball was still in my hands and he just erased it. Although I was a bit careless since it was just a demo, it was still way beyond my expectations. There are two defenders I hate facing in my career. One is George Johnson, my teammate on the Warriors; he knows all the little details. The other is Gan. He is just too smart.】

————*Game Face*, the autobiography of Bernard King, published in 2017, Excerpt 2.