The Golden Age of Basketball

Petrović still remembers the grand vision he set for himself in 1989 when he first arrived in Portland.

At that time, as he traveled along the elevated highways on the outskirts of Downtown Portland, he saw huge billboards everywhere, featuring giant portraits of Gan Guoyang.

He was Portland's emperor, the most successful foreign player in NBA history, achieving a three-peat at a young age, and was considered an unsurpassable peak.

In Petrović's heart, the thought of "a great man should be like this" arose, and he vowed that one day he would be like Ah Gan, appearing on billboards, and even surpassing Ah Gan.

Later, he realized that he would never surpass Ah Gan in his lifetime, but through his hard work and progress, he became an important member of a championship team.

His large portrait was also prominently displayed in Downtown Portland — it was a sneaker advertisement shot by Avia for him.

Leaving the Trail Blazers and returning to the national team, the environment Petrović faced changed completely, as the former Yugoslavia ceased to exist.

His friendship with Divac was deeply buried in memory, unable to reveal even a trace, and mutual enmity had arisen between them.

Yugoslavia Team, represented by Divac, was directly banned from participating in this Olympics, and like the Lithuanian team, the Croatian basketball team carried the hopes of a newly-independent nation.

Teammates all noticed that Petrović had changed significantly compared to before.

Not only in terms of hair length and physique, but also his manner of handling affairs, and even certain aspects of his personality had changed from before.

He still loved basketball as always; when he was a child, his father asked him to learn the guitar, and he secretly loosened the guitar strings, making the teacher spend half an hour tuning, while he could hold his head and think about basketball.

Off the court, he was mature, gentle, and humble, but on the court, he became aggressive, with a strong competitiveness that seemed unfamiliar, often scolding teammates who were not putting in effort or being serious, as if there were two people living inside him.

In America, Petrović achieved success, winning three championships, making him the greatest and most popular basketball player in Croatia, becoming a spiritual idol during Croatia's period of independence.

In preparation for the Barcelona Olympics, both his teammates and the young players looked at Petrović with awe, even admiration; during training, they were very cautious, fearing reprimand from Petrović.

However, Petrović was not as aggressive on the court as he was in the past; on and off the court, he seemed more unified, less divided.

Off the court, he was as gentle and humble as ever, with a hint of youthful innocence; on the court, he was composed, silent, and much more tolerant towards his teammates.

When the team made mistakes, he would not scold his teammates but instead would immediately take responsibility, indicating he needed to do better.

The head coach was surprised at Petrović's change. Initially, he was worried that with great achievements, he would outdistance his teammates and become more tyrannical, becoming a court tyrant.

But that was not the case; he was like a true leader, capable of assuming the captain's responsibilities and taking on the duty of guiding young players to grow.

The reason for this was that in Petrović's heart, there was a true benchmark, a true leader whose every word and action influenced everyone on the team.

So much so that, unknowingly, you become shaped by him.

In the group match against the Dream Team, Petrović held his own against the strong American stars.

Especially during the one-on-one encounters with Michael Jordan, although there were steals and blocks against him, he also responded in turn.

Even though they ultimately lost the game, Petrović certainly lost with his head held high, without a trace of fear in his heart.

Because whether it was Jordan, Pippen, Robinson, or Barkley, in the NBA, they all had been defeated by the Trail Blazers.

This psychological advantage would accompany Petrović always, as it was an invaluable asset.

But against the China Team, in the last five minutes of the game, facing Ah Gan, Petrović's heart wavered.

He felt a trace of hesitation and fear.

Gan Guoyang hit a three-pointer, stepping back outside the three-point line with a move uncharacteristic of a center, sinking the shot.

He provoked Petrović, and Petrović knew this was always Boss's psychological tactic.

If you fell for it and went head-to-head with Ah Gan in three-point shooting, you might very well be overturned.

Right now, Croatia should simply stay steady, firmly holding their advantage and running down the clock.

But should they really just slowly run out the clock like this?

Petrović thought about the years fighting alongside Ah Gan with the Trail Blazers.

Every time their king blew the charge, if the opponent retreated, played conservatively, delayed, their fate was most likely death.

Only those opponents who dared to resist and fought hard had any hope of victory.

With the ball in Petrović's hands, his mind was racing.

Should he step up and become the hero?

Or should he stick to running the clock, leveraging the strength of the team?

At that moment, he hesitated, delayed, and struggled internally.

The unity he had achieved once more tore into two parts.

One part was mature, steady, like a true leader.

The other part still craved basketball passionately, desperate for victory, yearning to be the hero, like the boy he once was.