When Doctor J slammed dunked on the big screen, some fans would run up to the screen and scream—Gan Guoyang's game videos had the same effect.
Afterward, Italy's media tycoon Berlusconi bought the CBS broadcasting rights for the NBA and fed the live signal into his Canale 5 television network, broadcasting across all of Italy.
By 1984, the NBA had already gained enormous influence in Italy, and that summer, the League sent the New Jersey Nets and the Phoenix Suns to Italy for a series of preseason exhibition games.
On the plane to their destination, Larry Fleisher told Gan Guoyang that his popularity in Italy was second only to Maradona.
"Moreover, Maradona's market is mainly in South Italy, in Naples, in Northern Italy, Maradona is just a villain."
Last month Maradona had just led Argentina to a World Cup victory, but his "Hand of God" goal during the match had filled him with controversy.