The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 465 - 236 There Aren’t Many Injuries Left for James_2
Chapter 465: Chapter 236 There Aren’t Many Injuries Left for James_2
After the Grizzlies’ offense missed a shot, Brown was already at midcourt waving at his teammates.
You wouldn’t believe it if you saw it, not just the Grizzlies but even the fans on site were stunned.
Can you even play like that?
Hansen was at a loss for words because James wasn’t defending him, and he had momentarily forgotten about this tactic.
But this was James, after all. If it were any other player who took off on a fast break without playing defense, they’d get benched by the coach or roasted by the team leader right away.
The craziest part was that after James took the ball and completed a signature tomahawk dunk in transition, he roared at the fans courtside in celebration.
That move silenced the New York fans.
A low blow, filthy play; they just saw it with their own eyes!
From last season’s shocking kneeling to this season’s defenseless fast break, it seems that if you have no shame, you’re truly invincible.
However, when he tried the same tactic next time, it did not succeed.
Because Hansen was already at the three-point line.
As the Grizzlies were on offense, Hansen was free to choose where to position himself as long as he didn’t engage in the attack.
And with his off-the-ball defense, he maximized the speed boost given by the "Death Entanglement."
As James took off on another fast break, preparing for another brutal dunk, Hansen flew from behind and smacked the ball out of James’s raised hand, sending it flying out of bounds.
Unsurprisingly, the New York fans were now cheering for Hansen.
To say hesitating even for a second to exchange James for Hansen would be an insult to Hansen.
But no one blamed them; booing at James was to make him get a grip, but instead of seeing him rise to the challenge, they got fed a mouthful of crap.
The only reason they weren’t chanting MVP for Hansen was that the block wasn’t on a free throw.
Tonight, Hansen focused primarily on defense, not looking to top Madison’s scoring leaderboard, but he certainly left an indelible mark on this sacred basketball ground in his own way.
By the end of the third quarter, James finally reached 10 points.
The subsequent 4 points weren’t from field goals, but rather the referees helping his score reach double figures.
Yet by the end of the third, the New York Knicks were down by 25+ points, and the game had lost all suspense.
At the start of the fourth quarter, James was set to continue coming off the bench, but when he saw Hansen still standing up not caring that the game had entered garbage time, he turned back to the bench.
Before long into the fourth quarter, he left the game early.
In the end, the Grizzlies easily defeated the New York Knicks 102 to 84 on their home court.
Hansen contributed 24 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 10 steals, and 2 blocks in three quarters.
James ended up with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers.
At the post-game press conference, Hansen and Joerger attended together.
"You got 10 steals tonight, setting a new career-high, and it only took you three quarters. How did you do it?" Hansen’s steal stats tonight were incredibly eye-catching, impossible to ignore.
"You should mention that 5 of those steals were off LeBron."
Hansen’s response caused a stir in the room.
But he wasn’t done yet. That comment was just a setup, for he had another line to deliver.
"LeBron needs to work on his ball-handling skills. If you just dribble in place, you won’t shake off the defender."
The press conference exploded at that statement.
Some things are well known, but it doesn’t mean they should be voiced.
If anyone else had said it, they’d be blacklisted by Nike.
But this was Hansen, the UA’s lead endorser, back-to-back Finals MVP. What could they do to him?
Especially with Stern close to retirement, even if Nike had ideas, they wouldn’t take action.
With these two explosive statements, Hansen had not even finished.
"LeBron’s points tonight should only be 2. The rest of the 8 points were gifted by the referees."
Hansen’s frankness left the reporters wide-eyed with astonishment.
But indeed, James only scored one field goal tonight, and that was by giving up on defense.
Hansen’s words were also a veiled emphasis on what he had said before the game.
If anyone didn’t understand the concept of lockdown, what he did tonight was the best demonstration.
At the end of the press conference, a reporter from ESPN mentioned James’s performance tonight, saying that his knee injury affected his play, and that he left the game due to the injury in the fourth quarter.
Facing such an explanation by the reporter, Hansen just smiled lightly and said,
"LeBron doesn’t have many injuries left to blame."
Elbow, groin, ankle, knee... what will be next?
After the press conference ended, Hansen’s social media became a battlefield.
LeBron fans were truly flustered.
Before, even if Hansen attacked James, he had been relatively indirect.
For example, when he previously said that James was not as good as Guy, he still used out-of-context quotes for sensationalism.
But this time, Hansen was in full-on attack mode!
Hansen’s Anti-Fans value soared, and his social media was bustling.
Han’s fans were not going to let LeBron fans get away with it.
"Han is just concerned about his former teammate. Look at KD developing playmaking in one season – is it so hard for LeBron to develop his dribbling? Surely he can’t be worse than KD?"
"We are actually very grateful to LeBron. After all, like Han said, without LeBron’s contribution of 5 steals, he would never have gotten 10 steals in just three quarters."
"LeBron is still playing superstar-level ball in the NBA despite injuries all over the place. He truly has historic NBA-level talent."
...
Hansen realized that as his fan base increased, there appeared to be a surge of "talent" among them.
Perhaps many of them used to be his haters, who had slowly been converted by his performance.
It seems that paradox is indeed true: the more fans you have, the more haters you gain; the more haters you have, the more fans you attract.
Regardless, the "Decapitation Strike" was very successful.
With all the commotion he stirred up, whether it was on the offense or PR front, tomorrow’s news was bound to be bustling.
And no matter the final outcome, James’s status with Nike was sure to continue its decline.
He was also looking forward to how things would develop between Nike and James next summer.
After the game against the New York Knicks, Hansen returned to Memphis.
When he got back, he found out the head of Under Armour was still in town.
Aside from praising Hansen’s excellent performance, the UA head mentioned another matter.
As the sales of shoes had gradually increased, UA had systematically set up a research lab last year, and they had now made a new breakthrough in shoe technology.
Taking advantage of the critical moment next summer, they were preparing to launch a new series of shoes aimed at higher-end consumers.
Now they were consulting with Hansen about the design direction of the shoe’s appearance and the series naming.
After all, the initial success of the HS Terminator series was based on Hansen’s suggestions.
Hansen didn’t have any ideas for the new series naming, but he definitely had some personal thoughts on shoe design.
During the opening game against the Heat, he couldn’t help his team win due to fitness issues, which made him consider how to improve.
Since the Anti-Fans System didn’t directly offer any talent for fitness improvement, he had to find references from reality.
And then he found another way to address the fitness issue: Simplicity.
Simply put, it was about simplifying movements on the court, using the least amount of energy to accomplish what he wanted each play.
Of course, all of this was based on his accumulated talent; without that, talking about simplicity was just empty talk.
But at least now, he could manage it on the court.
As for the shoes, a classic black and white color scheme seemed more appropriate.
Just like AJ initially went with black and white, which still remains a favorite among shoe collectors years later.
Of course, the specific design needed a theme, as black and white shoes are very common. That required a separate opportunity.
