"Hansen’s Happy Zone Defense" reappeared, and Hansen scored another 20 points in the second half, totaling 41 points for the game.
How can you not call it fate, Hansen delivering two 41-point games to Budenholzer, he’ll probably remember this for his entire life.
Under Hansen’s leadership, the Sophomore Team ultimately defeated the Freshman Team 118-106, completing their "revenge."
In the statistics department, Freshman Team’s Wall scored 16 points and had 16 assists, Cousins scored 28 points with 11 rebounds, Griffin had 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Monroe scored 14 points with 6 rebounds.
On the Sophomore Team, Hansen had 41 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, Harden had 18 points and 7 assists, Curry scored 13 points with 10 assists, and Derozan had 15 points.
Hansen unsurprisingly was named the Rookie Game MVP.
He also gave his acceptance speech after receiving the trophy.
"Thank you to my teammates, thank you to our opponents, and all the fans here."
What a full-face smile, listening to the cheers.
This was much like when Hansen participated in the three-point contest last year; he wasn’t favored, but he proved himself with his skills.
"I know some people questioned my entry into the All-Star game," Hansen continued with a smile,
"but I want to say, dude, I received 2.18 million votes, not 700,000 votes (Griffin ended up with 700,000 votes)."
The cheers from the crowd then turned into boos.
Hansen chose to ignore it, and when the boos died down, he continued,
"I know these words may hurt, but, dude, that’s the reality. I am not only an All-Star starter but also the MVP."
Finally, Hansen spread his arms and watched as the Anti-Fans System score skyrocketed.
This Rookie Game not only shut Griffin up but also boosted his Anti-Fans value, totally worth it.
The second day of the All-Star event was the individual competitions, and though Hansen didn’t compete this day, he and Swift sat in the stands watching.
The day’s events were spectacular, with Curry finally winning his first All-Star trophy in the skills challenge,
Followed by James Jones from the Heat team emerging victorious in the three-point contest.
As the results were announced, Barkley dropped a memorable quote, "You might not find a tape in LeBron’s team, but you will definitely find a three-point champion."
Barkley’s comment blew up the traffic, solidifying his irreplaceable status at TNT, otherwise, he might have been fired.
However, what drew the most attention at this three-point contest wasn’t Jones, but rather Durant.
This league superstar, who had previously been mocked on social media for wanting to ’drink bathwater’, scored only 6 points in this year’s three-point contest preliminaries. Google seaʀᴄh 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝⚫𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖⚫𝕟𝕖𝕥
Jordan dominated all the boards, including having the lowest score ever in a three-point contest (5 points).
Durant, this way, also ranked as a secondary GOAT.
Hansen actually knew about Durant’s low scoring, but knowing it and seeing it in reality were completely different feelings.
He really burst out laughing.
Back when Jordan competed, he wasn’t well-prepared and his rhythm was off, but Durant’s rhythm was actually not bad, clearly having practiced.
But he just couldn’t make the shots, making Hansen wonder if Durant also got an Anti-Fans System this year.
After the three-point contest, the slam-dunk contest followed.
During the preparation phase, the classic NBA "KISS" segment was played at the venue.
Hansen and Swift were deliberately chosen by a photographer.
The two kissed openly, a moment that would go down in this year’s All-Star history.
Hansen even felt it was not enough because that kiss just increased his Anti-Fans score by thousands.
Although his relationship with Swift was already public and was accepted by most of her fans at a previous concert, Swift also had her fair share of detractors.
This was also a kind of powerhouse alliance.
In the final slam-dunk contest, McGee and Griffin faced off at the peak.
McGee dunked two balls into one basket in a single attempt, simultaneous dunking exploding in performance, but Griffin ultimately won by leaping over a Kia car, claiming the championship and officially concluding the individual events.
After the results were released, Hansen posted a status on social media:
"Javale McGee deserved the slam-dunk championship more than Griffin."
When he played in the East, he groomed Pierce to be his chief anti-fan.
But since the Boston fans’ anti-fan harvest was almost complete, and now that he was in the West, encountering Pierce less often on the court,
He had to cultivate another one in the West, and Griffin was suitable.
And indeed, he was speaking the truth; if Griffin wasn’t a white & local star from Los Angeles, with those short arms, he definitely wouldn’t have won the championship.
If you don’t believe me, just ask Aaron Gordon.
The final day of the All-Star game, Hansen fiercely "participated."
Unlike last year in Dallas, this year’s All-Star game was undisguisedly labeled with Kobe’s brand.
As a two-time champion and from Los Angeles with Phil Jackson as the coach, if The West could win, the MVP was undoubtedly his.
Especially since the Lakers weren’t doing well, Kobe also needed some outside factors to motivate his teammates.
Eventually, Kobe scored 37 points with 14 rebounds (10 offensive rebounds), 3 assists, and 3 steals, leading his team to defeat the East and secured his fourth All-Star MVP.
This year, Hansen played more minutes than last year and took more shots, finally scoring 15 points, in The West only surpassed by Kobe, Durant, and Big Gasol.
But today was his happiest day of the All-Star weekend.