The Golden Age of Basketball

Since entering the league in 2003, LeBron James has performed well statistically when facing Glory.

Before the game began, the television displayed James’s stats when facing Gan Guoyang, averaging 23.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists with a shooting percentage of 53%, which is quite impressive.

Of course, statistics can be misleading. The two don’t match up directly on the court, so these numbers don’t necessarily reflect a head-to-head clash between James and Ah Gan.

In the 2005-2006 season, 21-year-old James’s scoring average had already reached 28 points per game, ranking among the top in the league with very rapid progress.

However, what left a deep impression on Gan Guoyang was this guy’s intelligence on the court, or more accurately, his shrewdness.

Because Glory had Yao Ming and Gan Guoyang, two heavy post defenders, it was a significant restriction for a player like James, who relies on charging through defenses. So every time James faced Glory, he tried to reduce forcing drives to the basket. With Ah Gan and Yao Ming, it was tough to penetrate through the line.

Additionally, James may have seriously studied "Forrest Gump’s Law," the book published by Riley, which James undoubtedly bought.

During games, James strictly adhered to the principles of Forrest Gump’s Law, such as avoiding playing directly against Ah Gan, not trash-talking when facing Ah Gan, conserving energy, and utilizing the point guard position more.

Initially, Gan Guoyang switched between the four and five positions. As he aged, his explosiveness and speed further decreased. To avoid becoming a defensive liability like Bird at the small forward position, Gan Guoyang completely abandoned his attempted small forward style, gained weight, and rooted himself in the post.

Therefore, the two didn’t have many direct matchups; sometimes during defensive help or double teams, confrontations would arise, and James would then pass the ball—his court vision is indeed impressive.

Because Gan Guoyang usually rested in the first and mid-second quarter, at that time, with James still on the court, he would seize the moment to charge, charge, charge!

During this period, he scored more points, drew more fouls, and attacked the basket aggressively. When Ah Gan re-entered, the primary offensive duties switched back to Arenas, coordinating with Arenas to excel in perimeter shooting and organizing passes.

This strategy is indeed efficient. Scoring, rebounds, and assists all show good statistics. In terms of win-loss outcomes, the 2003-2004 season had double defeats, while the 2004-2005 season varied, and by the previous season, the Knights had two victories against Glory, each victory seen as James surpassing a historic top player.

But Gan Guoyang, having been on the court for many years, knows better than anyone whether a player is easy or difficult to handle.

For Gan Guoyang, the hardest to handle is of course Jordan. The legend of the Gan-Jordan battle is still being told. Although the two played different positions, they eventually faced off directly, igniting sparks.

Gan Guoyang is confident he can handle any scorer in NBA history. From a young age, Jordan was the only one who made Gan Guoyang feel that limiting him would be extremely challenging, and it would be better to find offensive solutions.

As for the rest, whether it was the 80s’ Bird and Magic, or the 90s’ Olajuwon, Barkley, and Iverson, Gan Guoyang could restrain them.

By the 2000s, as Gan Guoyang aged, he struggled defensively against small, quick, and agile players since his footwork couldn’t keep up. However, his interior defense against heavyweights became more adept.

In the 2000s, the most troublesome for Gan Guoyang was definitely Kobe. In the 2004 playoffs, Kobe encountered Ah Gan’s defense in the series and responded face-to-face, securing a series victory—something even Jordan hadn’t achieved.

This alone was enough for Kobe to boast about for a lifetime.

However, Kobe was very proud, unsatisfied with this achievement, and wanted to go further.

As for James? Gan Guoyang studied his playstyle carefully and concluded: He’s formidable, but too predictable, and not as fierce as I am.

The highly anticipated top pick indeed possesses outstanding physical attributes, comparable to O’Neal among forwards.

In just a few short seasons, he dismantled the interior and perimeter defenses of other teams. Additionally, his passing skills created an insurmountable gap between him and Carmelo Anthony.

However, James has the same problem as O’Neal, with a very pronounced strength and an obvious shortcoming that is difficult to remedy.

It’s easy dealing with most players in the league, but when facing a force like Ah Gan, the challenge becomes significant.

James excels at using physical confrontations to create scoring opportunities for himself, leveraging his strength and explosiveness to make basketball games resemble football.

The vast majority of power forwards and centers in the league can’t independently withstand young James’s impact. Those who can withstand it usually have a large physique but lack the foot movement to keep up.

Just like how other centers in the league couldn’t stop Shaquille O’Neal, James’s physical talent is indeed top-notch. In a muscle and strength-loving country like America, being seen as the "chosen one" is justified.

However, in the comparison with the previous generation’s strong force, James profoundly understood what it means for someone else to be better and there to always be greater challenges.

At 42, after many years of honing, Gan Guoyang’s physical strength is unbelievably robust among NBA players. Rumor has it that Gan Guoyang can bench press 800 pounds without a spotter, which is an incredibly terrifying figure.

Ben Wallace is recognized as a bench press powerhouse in the league, with a peak performance of about 450 pounds, barely over half of Gan Guoyang’s achievement.