Before the jump ball, Gan Guoyang stood in the center circle, staring at the towering African center in front of him, feeling a slight sense of irritation in his heart.
Gan Guoyang was no stranger to competing against taller opponents. In fact, throughout his entire professional career, Gan Guoyang had always been entangled with taller centers.
Jabbar, Sampson, Parrish, Bol—there was never a shortage of giants in this NBA league, n who stood there evoking fear with their sheer presence.
Mutombo was one of them. From just two months of rookie performances, it was clear that this was an extraordinarily powerful and intimidating giant.
In terms of height, physique, and wingspan, he reminded people of Gilmore. Visually, he even seed to surpass Gilmore in length.
He stood like a sprawling tree with extended branches, rooted in the three-second zone, incessantly disrupting and blocking opponents’ shots.
In college, Mutombo, along with another big man Alonzo Mourning, had ford an air-restricted area beneath the basket—the famous "Georgetown Twin Towers."
Yet, when this towering figure stood before you, he always slightly raised his head, "observing" you through his nostrils.
At this mont, he was "looking" at Gan Guoyang with his nostrils—those dark, hollow nostrils acting like cold, emotionless eyes, gazing disdainfully at the league’s foremost center.
In truth, Mutombo was not an arrogant or flamboyant person. On the contrary, off the court, he was humble, low-key, and easy to get along with.
But because of his height, he couldn’t avoid looking down on others; even back in his school days, teachers had complained about him, believing Mutombo to be disrespectful.
In reality, Mutombo couldn’t control this. He hadn’t realized he was using his nostrils to look at people, nor had he realized he was "disrespecting" the league’s dominant center.
Before the ga started, Mutombo felt a bit nervous. He knew the significance of this matchup—not just the Christmas Day showdown, but also an opportunity to challenge the league’s best player.
When he was studying and playing at Georgetown University, Mutombo hadn’t even considered the possibility of entering the NBA and playing professional basketball. He believed he couldn’t survive in the NBA.
His original plan was to co to Arica and balance basketball with academics at Georgetown, using the basketball scholarship to support his life while focusing more on his studies.
His goal was to attend dical school, graduate, beco a doctor, and ideally return to his hotown Kinshasa to practice dicine—Africa had always lacked excellent doctors.
However, things didn’t go according to plan. Mutombo’s performance on the court was outstanding, and his proficiency in multiple languages led him to beco a student at the School of Foreign Service.
By his junior year, Mutombo was still hesitant about whether he should try entering the NBA. While he averaged impressive numbers in rebounds and blocks, his scoring remained relatively low.
Mutombo doubted his ability to improve and feared he wouldn’t be able to compete with the top centers once in the league.
At that ti, friends and ntors ca forward to comfort and encourage him, urging him to give the NBA a try—they believed he could absolutely establish himself there.
Senior Patrick Ewing, who had a deep bond with Georgetown, often returned to the university for training and to watch gas.
He beca friends with Mutombo and Alonzo Mourning, and privately, he told Mutombo that there was nothing to fear about the NBA.
"Most centers aren’t as good as you—you’ll handle them easily. You’ll get more rebounds, blocks, and even points than in the NCAA. As long as you play hard every night and give it your all, you can beco one of the best players."
"Of course, you’ll need to keep an eye out for Ah Gan. Face him, endure it, and you’ll be a qualified big man."
Ewing specifically ntioned Gan Guoyang, who had already secured his first three consecutive championships, reigning as a trendous force.
Mutombo naturally knew of Gan Guoyang—knew that this guy was the benchmark for foreign players, an anomaly among centers, and a king within their ranks.
Forr Celtics’ superstar Bill Russell and John Thompson had always maintained a good relationship, and Russell frequently visited Georgetown to train and ntor the centers.
Mutombo had received guidance from Bill Russell more than once. Russell told Mutombo he could succeed in the NBA as long as he maintained his current defensive form, without worrying too much about offense.
"I won 11 championships with defense alone. Honestly, my offense wasn’t that great most of the ti," Russell said, using his own career as an example.
Mutombo was persuaded. When he decided to enter the draft, he asked Russell, "If I face Ah Gan, what kind of performance would be considered outstanding?"
Russell thought for a mont and said, "If you manage to block one of his shots, it would be extraordinary. One-on-one, that’s very difficult. I’ve observed it—he’s seldom blocked in one-on-one situations. Only a few elite shot-blockers have the ability to stop him—Olajuwon, David Robinson, Jabbar. I think you can do it too."
Encouraged and reminded with advice like this, Mutombo entered the NBA and was selected by the Nuggets team.
So far, Mutombo’s performance was directly heading toward the Rookie of the Year award.
His stats and play had been even more impressive than in college, and in the league, he was already at an All-Star level.
Mutombo was naturally thrilled—he felt more confident in himself, knowing he could survive in the league and even beco a star.
But Mutombo also felt worried because he had recently been increasingly aware of physical fatigue and ntal exhaustion.
In college, a season consisted of just 20 to 30 gas, played once or twice a week, without extensive travel—plenty of ti to rest.
Within less than two months in the NBA, he had already played over 20 gas, accompanied by relentless flights, bus rides, and constant shuttling between distant cities.
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