Chapter 36: Three Heights

Gan Guoyang's words in the interview carried an obvious intent to sow discord, but it was true that Riley had become increasingly arrogant and domineering.

NBA players are not strategists; they are mostly straightforward and simple-minded, reacting to things in the most direct manner.

In the interview, Gan Guoyang deliberately praised Riley while mentioning Jabbar but disregarded Johnson's actions, leading Johnson to believe that his position on the Lakers was being challenged.

As a result, the day after the game between the Trail Blazers and the Lakers, Johnson led a revolt against Riley, corralling the core players of the Lakers to confront Riley in the training facility's video room for a meeting.

Johnson demanded that Riley revamp the team rotation, excluding Morris Lucas from the primary rotation, and reduce Jabbar's number of shots; the team should focus on fast breaks rather than having Jabbar shoot as many as 17 times per game, which was two more than last season.