The Golden Age of Basketball

As the NBA is in full swing, both MLB and the NFL are still experiencing the threat of lockdowns.

The 1993 Salt Lake City All-Star Game was a great success and captured the attention of All-America.

Both the Eastern and Western Conference brought out their elites, offering a suspenseful and unpredictable battle.

That year, the All-Star Game reached its highest viewership in history, setting a new record.

Not just the All-Star Game, but the NBA's regular season and the upcoming playoffs also received significant attention.

Both the Eastern and Western Conference had at least two teams with championship contention involved in the competition.

The Suns, Trail Blazers, Heat, and Bulls were all strong contenders for the Eastern and Western Conference championships.

On the MVP leaderboard, Jordan, Ah Gan, Olajuwon, and Charles Barkley were fiercely competing.

The golden generation of 1984 began to completely dominate the League.

They were in their late twenties, and their individual skills, form, and experience had all reached their peak.

Teams were fully constructed around them, with each team having three or four good players.

As the Trail Blazers' competitiveness declined, the suspense of who would win the championship this year increased.

Even who could make it to the finals became a hot topic of interest for fans.

In 1993, there were no Olympics, World Basketball Championships, World Cup, European Cup, or any major sports events of worldwide attention.

The NBA became the focal point of everyone's attention.

People fervently discussed whether the Portland people could maintain their dominance.

People also eagerly anticipated who could end Ah Gan's dominance over the League.

Possibly influenced by the NBA's impact and threat, by March 1, the NFL was set to conclude its labor negotiations.

In the new labor agreement, the NFL emulated the NBA by introducing a brand-new free agent system.

Players who had served four years could join any team they wanted after their contract expired, without restrictions.

This allowed players to move more freely between teams without too much constraint or limitation.

The effect of this on improving the League's viewership and competitiveness was undeniable.

The NBA provided a good example, as the Heat had already plucked talent from the Trail Blazers multiple times.

They paid no price, treating Portland as their talent development Base.

It is conceivable that in the future North American professional sports market, players' rights will become increasingly significant.

They can choose the cities and teams they want to go to, with the highest bidder obtaining them.

Teams wanting to attract talent have to wave their checkbooks.

Like the Boston Celtics relying on moral coercion and contract constraints no longer work.

The old system and old morals of the basketball world disintegrated in 1993.

The NBA is about to enter a new era filled with the scent of money and billion-dollar contracts flying around.

However, before any new era arrives, the old things do not disappear completely right away.

By the 1993 season, some players who grew up in the 70s were still hanging on in the League.

Some were doing it to support their families, some to win a championship, and some just to stand on the basketball court.

After the All-Star Game, the Trail Blazers went aboard a special plane, embarking on an Eastern road trip before the trade deadline.

On February 23, their first stop was New Jersey, facing the Nets away.

The Nets had shown little progress over the years and hired championship coach Chuck Daly this season.

Daly ended his cooperation with the Detroit Pistons and began his new coaching journey.

However, lacking talent in New Jersey and facing the new wave of the 90s, Daly seemingly had few solutions.

From Daly's basketball career and coaching experience, it was evident he was not a naturally gifted or extremely intelligent person.

Daly's success with the Pistons was a convergence of the right Time, place, and people; once out of that environment, that era, that group of players, Daly struggled to adapt.

Especially since New Jersey is not a place suitable for player development or for authoritarian coaches to survive.

Being too close to New York, in the heart of the bustling world, players found it challenging to keep their attention focused on basketball.

The talented inside player Coleman, who the Nets had high hopes for, still displayed steady performance—contributing 20+10 every game.

But that wasn't what the Nets initially hoped for; they wanted Coleman to become another Ah Gan.

Many later examples proved that not every 6-foot-10, versatile, three-point shooting inside player is Ah Gan.

By his third career season, Coleman had already shown many bad habits.

For example, skipping practice, refusing to play in games, not paying attention to controlling his weight, among others.

In this regard, he very much resembled Charles Barkley, especially recently when he got into a fight at a New York bar, accused of assaulting three teenagers.

However, his court performance was noticeably inferior to Barkley's, who was smarter and put more into training.

During Bill Fitch's tenure coaching the Nets, the foul-mouthed veteran coach constantly clashed with young players.

In a certain game, Coleman and Fitch had a severe conflict.

When Fitch wanted Coleman to take to the court, Coleman refused.

He sat motionless on the bench, reasoning that since Fitch subbed him out when he was doing well, he wouldn't play again.

This season, Chuck Daly's arrival did not significantly change the situation.

Daly strived hard to bring the Detroit Pistons' team culture to New Jersey.