In high school, he studied and imitated Ewing’s style of play.
Last November, at Madison Square Garden, O’Neal faced Ewing for the first ti.
He took the initiative to greet Ewing, saying, "Hello, Mr. Ewing."
Ewing, however, responded viciously, "I’m going to smash you, rookie."
The Knicks won that ga.
But Ewing, against O’Neal’s intense defense, went 7 for 16, scoring only 15 points.
O’Neal, on the other hand, had 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks.
By this January, when the Knicks visited Orlando, O’Neal showed no rcy.
He went 10 for 17, with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 blocks, leading the team to a one-point victory over the Knicks.
Ewing, facing O’Neal’s defense, went 9 for 27, his shooting percentage was shockingly low.
He scored even one point less than O’Neal, exposing his weaknesses against a top-tier low-post defender.
Although in the subsequent etings, Ewing fought hard to reclaim his standing,
O’Neal was no longer afraid of Ewing in his heart, and his advantage over Ewing grew.
The key reason lies in their first encounter, where Ewing made O’Neal fearless.
As a senior, you neither respected nor could defeat .
Co to think of it, just a bully with a guilty conscience.
With such an image, how could O’Neal fear him?
Moreover, during the All-Star voting stage, Ewing was very upset because O’Neal surpassed him in votes.
With Olajuwon coming to the Eastern Conference, Ewing might very well be squeezed out of the All-Star lineup by O’Neal.
Relying on his position in New York, he expressed to the NBA officials his hope to ban rookies from participating in the All-Star Ga.
They should hold a separate Rookie All-Star Ga.
Such petty behavior made Ewing’s once-idolized image collapse in O’Neal’s mind.
In the future, every ti he ets Ewing and the Knicks, O’Neal won’t show any rcy.
On the night of February 11, O’Neal was to face a stronger, more towering idol.
After six in the evening, both sides began entering the arena for warm-up preparations.
The Magic arrived at the court first for shooting practice.
O’Neal’s mind was completely focused on the players’ tunnel.
The Trail Blazers’ players could enter at any ti.
Soon, there was a commotion from the audience seats near the players’ tunnel.
Wearing white sportswear with red and black stripes, the Trail Blazers’ players ran onto the court.
Leading them was Ah Gan.
He ran out from the shadows, chewing gum.
He looked even more robust than he did on TV.
The live audience burst into loud applause.
Although it was an away ga, Gan Guoyang had exceptional popularity in any arena across All-Arica.
Especially in new teams like Orlando and Miami, where fan loyalty to the ho team wasn’t strong yet.
Many in the audience were tourists; they were there for the spectacle.
Gan Guoyang high-fived the fans reaching out on the sidelines and even signed autographs for so of them.
He appeared more popular than O’Neal in Orlando.
A wave of jealousy surged in O’Neal’s heart.
This was clearly his ho court; he was like a king here.
But why did these people seem to turn against him as soon as Ah Gan arrived?
Especially the little fans, look at them, all wearing Trail Blazers No. 11 jerseys.
One kid wore a Magic No. 32 over it, but when Ah Gan arrived, he lifted his outer clothes to reveal a black No. 11 for Ah Gan to sign.
Before the ga, O’Neal, who had been thinking about honing skills and mutually respecting Ah Gan, was now thinking about defeating Ah Gan in the ga.
"I need to dunk hard on his head."
O’Neal was fixated on dunking over Ah Gan’s head.
One of O’Neal’s goals was to dunk over every rival center’s head in the league.
With that in mind, he turned and jumped with the ball, delivering a powerful two-handed dunk.
The basket wobbled, and the reporters crouched below jumped up in fright.
Ever since he broke a basket in Phoenix, all stadiums have reinforced their baskets.
After landing, O’Neal looked at the frightened reporters, grinning mischievously.
He was just a big playful kid who liked to tease people.
"Shaq! Nice dunk!"
O’Neal turned and saw Ah Gan walking over with the ball.
Their first close encounter; O’Neal didn’t expect Ah Gan to greet him.
For a mont, his mind went blank, and all thoughts of dunking on Ah Gan vanished.
He wiped his hand on his pant leg because Ah Gan reached out a hand toward him, and their huge hands t in a handshake.
O’Neal thought Gan Guoyang would squeeze his hand hard.
His muscles were already tense, prepared to counter.
Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang shook hands politely and gently.
"A fearso pair of hands, perfect for basketball. Soone must have tried to recruit you for football, right? But you still prefer basketball."
Gan Guoyang’s complint caught O’Neal off guard.
He hurriedly replied, "Yes, that’s right, I practiced football in high school, but I didn’t like it at all. Basketball suits better! I love basketball, I... I also..."
O’Neal wanted to say, I also love watching your gas, I enjoy watching you play.
He swallowed back the words.
He feared saying it would make him sound too much like a fan.
Unexpectedly, Gan Guoyang said, "I’ve watched you play, on TV."
"The NCAA gas were stunning, your dunks are exhilarating."
"And your combination of agility and strength is surprising."
"It’s hard to find soone as tall as you, yet as agile and able to operate from a low center of gravity as necessary. You’re an unprecedented player."
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