Chapter 2209 - 27: Successor_2

Chapter 2209: Chapter 27: Successor_2

So, this might be the All-Star game where the stars have been the most exhausted and treated like workhorses, but also the most satisfying one for the fans present.

Gan Guoyang personally took to the field, signed the most autographs, and took the most photos. His fans covered everyone from seniors in their seventies and eighties to children under ten.

Nationalities and skin colors were all represented. Basically, aside from aliens and some primitive tribes, every human group had fans of Ah Gan.

His story is so long and legendary that even a small segment would be enough to make a movie.

An "Ah Gan Exhibition" was once held at the Portland Memorial Coliseum, with countless related memorabilia.

Unexpectedly, after his departure from Portland, the story continued, and items related to him kept increasing.

Las Vegas is already considering hosting a second "Ah Gan Exhibition."

Not every fan has Gan Guoyang’s extraordinary stamina and patience. Some people started showing a sour face after attending two meet-and-greets.

For example, Allen Iverson, he originally thought it was finally the All-Star game, and it was time to have fun with his brothers in the casino city.

Gan Guoyang lifted the ban for him, allowing him to enjoy himself in the casino. However, he hadn’t played for long before being notified to attend a fan meet-and-greet.

Time after time, his smile quickly disappeared, and he showed a half-dead expression to the fans, making some little fans afraid to ask him for an autograph.

A little fan brought Iverson’s jersey to Gan Guoyang and said, "Sonny, can you help me get Allen’s autograph? I’m scared."

Gan Guoyang took a glance, nodded, and brought the jersey to Iverson, saying, "Smile a bit Allen, be nicer to your fans."

Iverson didn’t respond, so Gan Guoyang leaned in and said, "If you never show your teeth, I’ll assume you don’t need them. Teeth shouldn’t affect your ability to play, and two weeks of rest with a dental guard or dentures will allow you to continue playing; after all, you don’t need them, right?"

Knowing that Gan Guoyang had been very temperamental lately, Iverson managed to force a smile, though it was a bit awkward, at least he smiled.

"Good, good, keep it up, a very standard toothy smile! I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Again, be nicer to your fans."

Apart from Iverson, other players like Kobe, James, Garnett, Yao Ming, and others were great with the fans.

Iverson’s bad temper is part of his personality, but it is also a huge flaw, for someone who doesn’t understand the source of his power will ultimately be abandoned.

Before the game started, the Western Conference’s head coach Avery Johnson asked Gan Guoyang if he needed ample shooting opportunities.

Johnson was very clear, this is Vegas, this is your All-Star game, you should get an AMVP, right?

Even though he didn’t know if Gan Guoyang would retire, there certainly wouldn’t be many opportunities for future All-Star games.

Gan Guoyang shook his head and said, "No, no need, I can just be a support. I don’t need the All-Star MVP anymore, give it to the young players, let them compete for it."

Gan Guoyang turned down Avery Johnson’s kind offer. He was already considering who would lead the future of the NBA.

This All-Star game might be a symbolic opportunity to see if James, Kobe, or someone else could take the mantle and seize the scepter.

The teams hit the court to warm up, and the massive Gump Center was already packed with fans. Gan Guoyang suddenly decided to add an interesting stake to this All-Star game.

While both teams were still warming up, Gan Guoyang suddenly called everyone from both sides to the center, forming a circle with everyone.

Gan Guoyang had unparalleled influence; after all, being elderly, everyone respects the elderly and youthful, eager to see what he wanted to do.

"I want to tell you all something; this will be my last All-Star game. I’m not saying I’m retiring, but I won’t participate in the All-Star anymore; I’m tired. Here, I want to say, the future is yours."

Upon hearing this, O’Neal and Duncan looked annoyed, feeling like Gan was deceiving them again!

This guy had already told me this before; now he’s saying it again, trying to sneak attack us? Even in the All-Star game, you want to sneak attack?

"This time it’s real, the future really belongs to you guys; my career is in its final countdown, either this season or the next. Anyway, annoying as I may be, I’ll be leaving, and I’ll leave the championships, honors, and wealth for you to compete for. I know you won’t be convinced by each other, some of you have won championships, others haven’t, but it doesn’t matter, you still have time, you still have opportunities. I imagine after I leave, someone will come out with the title of ’Ah Gan’s successor’ for hype, but it’s meaningless, you are you."

"However, today, in my last All-Star game, I hope whoever can win the MVP, I consider him my successor. He will fill the void I leave with absolute confidence and skill and dominate this court. Come on guys, play a great match, go!"

Gan Guoyang clapped his hands, igniting the atmosphere. The otherwise playful All-Star game suddenly became interesting.

Although O’Neal shook his head and said, "Don’t listen to this guy; he’s messing with us, surely doing it for the sake of making the game exciting and to brag to his wife, don’t fall for it!"

O’Neal, risking being beaten by Ah Gan, reminded everyone that the All-Star game is just for fun, don’t take it too seriously.

Everyone laughed and then watched O’Neal get playfully tripped by Gan Guoyang and fall, crying and howling, as Charles Barkley seized the opportunity to come over and sit on O’Neal, and the two big guys soon started chasing each other.

Some people indeed didn’t care, I’m here for the All-Star game just to have fun, who cares about stealing some successor title, Ah Gan is too mischievous.

Some caught the hint of information, Ah Gan said it’s his last All-Star game; he might continue next season, but realistically, this season is likely the last.

Meanwhile, most are competitive types who took it seriously, wanting to seize this MVP.

This naturally included Kobe, Chris Paul, Wade, LeBron James, and other ambitious young players.

The so-called "Ah Gan’s successor" is inconsequential; what’s important is that, in such a public setting, Ah Gan declared to everyone that whoever wins the MVP will surely have a significant boost, especially in terms of publicity.

Gan Guoyang ignited this All-Star game, and this message couldn’t be hidden. The media would soon find out, and the hype would follow.

Therefore, this AMVP became very special, and players with aspirations to become preeminent would surely contend for it.

Before the tip-off, the Eastern starting center O’Neal quietly said to Wade, "I’m rooting for you to get the AMVP, go for it, I’ll help you."

O’Neal, the sly old fox, who had just pretended not to care, now said he supported Wade, this guy is cunning indeed.

The game indeed became much more intense than before; from the first quarter, the offense and defense were quite serious, and the fans were shocked, is this an All-Star?

However, such a game was much more interesting than the playful All-Star, with intense offense and defense, full of competitive contention.

This might have been the most hard-fought All-Star game ever, where players on both sides put in maximum effort, even those not interested in being Ah Gan’s successor couldn’t fall behind, everyone started taking it seriously.

One can’t help but say that Lao Gan and his wife have the makings of capitalists. An All-Star game, squeezing every ounce of value from these high and mighty NBA stars, treating them like workhorses.

Gan Guoyang said he wouldn’t compete, so he rested early and gave Kevin Garnett the opportunity to contend with Duncan.

The two sides were deadlocked until the last moment of the fourth quarter, with the score difference never exceeding 5 points.

The highest scorer for the Western Conference was Kobe Bryant with 27 points, while the Eastern Team’s highest scorer was Wade with 24 points.

With O’Neal’s assistance, setting screens and assists, Wade got many chances, while Kobe was respected in the Western team, and everyone was willing to pass him the ball.

In a critical moment, with less than a minute left, the score was 127:130, with the Western Conference leading by one point, Wade drove with the ball, only to be double-teamed.

The ball was passed to LeBron James at the top of the arc; instead of driving, James hesitated and launched a long three-point shot, which missed.

It was off by a bit, and Kobe got the rebound, counter-attack, driving straight to the basket, and James fouled him, sending Kobe to the free-throw line.

Kobe made both free throws, scoring 29 points, effectively sealing the victory.

In the end, the Western Team won 134:129, a 5-point advantage over the Eastern Team.

Kobe got his wish and won the All-Star MVP, this time truly living up to David Stern’s "Star of Stars" title.