So Durant showed up here because of the social media post he made?
That sounds far-fetched, but it feels entirely in character for Durant.
"After today, that's it," Hansen looked at Durant and replied.
Durant's expression darkened, and he turned to walk toward the three-point line.
Hansen saw this and felt a surge of excitement within him.
If it had been Wade on the other side, he probably would have retorted, "You sure are a dreamer."
And if it had been Jordan, there would have been a sneer, followed by a +15 spike in his haters' metrics.
But Durant's reaction was a very real displeasure.
Though Durant's strength wasn't quite what he had anticipated, his personality was exactly as expected.
Durant caught the ball, and Hansen immediately closed in on him.
Durant's pull-up game was freakish, so at the very least, Hansen needed to force him to dribble drive.
Moreover, Hansen's close defense was biased; he leaned his body to the right side, effectively sealing off Durant's left driving lane.
But in doing so, he essentially gave Durant the right lane.
Durant quickly drove to the right, exploiting the opportunity.
He was tall with long legs, his drives were like "Big Steps."
However, Hansen also displayed his defensive capability, using his lateral movement to block Durant's path to the basket.
Durant drove to the high post on the right side; continuing along that path would take him to the baseline.
Shots from the baseline typically have a lower shooting percentage; he opted for a quick stop and jump shot instead.
Hansen strained to disrupt it, but he couldn't stop Durant's release.
The rookies watching from the sidelines now wore expressions of intense empathy.
That was the feeling when Durant decided to shoot; anything they did was futile.
However, contrary to expectations, Durant's shot clanged off the rim!
Was Hansen just lucky?
Or was Durant too tired from playing one-on-one so much?
"It looks like your drive isn't so great," Hansen turned back and said to Durant with a smile.
Durant looked even more displeased, having been mocked by a rookie!
This scene also caused Presley to widen his eyes in surprise; such a rookie was a first for him.
Possession changed, and it was Hansen's turn to attack.
Durant also stuck close to him and even initiated physical contact, clearly showing he was really provoked.
"Come on, let me teach you!"
Hansen said, then accelerated past Durant with a dribble drive.
However, just as he was finishing his move, Durant reacted late but effectively, disrupting his layup.
Durant's most monstrous, or rather, most incongruous ability, lay in his height typical of a power forward combined with the speed of a small forward.
And beyond his 2.11-meter height, he boasted a terrifying wingspan of 2.28 meters.
When he decided to engage defensively, he was an elite defender.
"Your drive is terrible!" Durant retorted, annoyed, after a successful defense.
Hansen laughed and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
Durant puffed his cheeks out in frustration.
He quickly walked back to the three-point line, determined to show Hansen a thing or two!
Durant received the ball, and Hansen continued with the same defensive strategy.
Durant tried to switch to the left, but Hansen's sliding defensive steps were effective, and the physical contact good; ultimately, Durant was still forced right.
This time, he took a quick stop jump shot from a closer distance.
But astonishingly, the improbable occurred once more, Durant's shot went off target again!
Now the rookies were dumbfounded, and even Presley fell into deep contemplation.
One round could be luck, but two consecutive rounds... was Durant being shut down by a rookie?
Even he found it hard to believe.
Only Hansen revealed a barely noticeable smirk.
Durant was clearly not at his peak in his sophomore year; he must have some weaknesses.
Being the last to take the court provided Hansen with plenty of opportunities to observe.
As a former trainer, he watched with more subtlety and precision than the average person.
At the moment, Durant had a very bad habit that he might not even be aware of: when shooting, he always liked to pass by the side of his right face.
The biggest effect of this habit was the difficulty of quick stop jump shooting from the right side.
What this translated to on the court was Durant favoring quick stop jumpers when driving left, but preferring to attack the basket directly when going right.
So by sealing off Durant's path to the left when he broke through and the pathway to the basket when he broke through the right, Hansen stood a great chance of successfully defending.
This was also why he started trash-talking Durant and getting under his skin right away.
Wade or Jordan wouldn't have fallen for such tricks, but Durant's true nature made it easy for him to get lured into the trap and struggle to get out.
The possession changed hands once again, and after receiving the ball, Hansen accelerated for a breakaway, but this time he quickly retreated to the three-point line and took the shot.
Durant misjudged, failing to keep up with Hansen's rhythm, and Hansen's three-pointer was a swift cut.
After the shot went in, Hansen raised his right hand, making the three-point celebration gesture towards the sidelines.
The rookies on the sidelines couldn't help but let out excited cheers.
Although they were in competition, Hansen's performance at that moment gave them all a moment of vicarious pleasure.
After lowering his hand, Hansen's gaze turned toward Durant once again.
Could Durant have studied his technical characteristics in advance?
Jordan, at least, had watched his one-on-one with others, but Durant hadn't seen him at all.
That was the real reason why he had talked trash in the first round and chosen to attack with a breakaway, which he wasn't actually good at.
Durant's defensive ability was strong, but he was tall and, once lulled into a mistake, he couldn't quickly recover his defensive position.
Of course, this tactic could only be used once; Durant would be prepared the second time, and his shot was thrown off, missing the basket.
The ball changed hands again, and this time Durant chose to play back-to-basket against Hansen.
If face-up play was tough, could he really not handle back-to-basket?
With his size playing at shooting guard, that was a natural mismatch.
But Hansen's defense was the complete opposite of before, leaning to the right, trying to force Durant to turn left.
Then, Durant just wouldn't turn left.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but at that stage of his career, his technique for turning left was still quite underdeveloped.
In the end, he forced a turn to the right and shot, which Hansen disturbed and again the ball missed the basket.
Whether face-up or back-to-basket, Hansen had him figured out!
Presley turned to speak with Thunder coach Scott Brooks who was by his side.
The strength report they were holding, which was the same as the one the Bobcats had, assessed Hansen's defensive ability as B.
But judging by the display in front of them, it was worth more than an A+, maybe even an S-!
The game on the court continued, with Hansen scoring two more baskets in succession.
After being defended by Hansen for so many rounds, Durant's mentality had clearly started to fluctuate.
By now, the audience on the sidelines couldn't help but whistle at the spectacle.
If Durant lost to a rookie who hadn't even entered the league, that would be big news indeed.
Durant glared fiercely toward the sidelines, and the world fell silent.
Then, he stuck close to block Hansen's offense, and once again adjusted his offensive method.
He went straight to the post for a powerful drive, pushing hard into the paint.
Durant was big and, in his second year, had developed his body to handle physical contact; this style of play, once near the basket, left Hansen with limited room to disrupt.
However, after a failed defense, far from being discouraged, Hansen became truly excited. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑒•𝙣𝙚𝙩
Even though his defense had been targeted, he was dealing with Durant, known for his standout one-on-one abilities.
Even a second-year Durant was too strong for him, who hadn't yet maxed out his "Star Catcher" training.
But during this period, aside from technical weaknesses, Durant had another more fatal weakness: stamina.
Back-to-basket play, especially driving hard to the paint, consumed the most energy.
Especially since Durant had rotated through many other rookies before, even though those games had been relatively easy, he hadn't avoided the burn of energy exhaustion.
Realizing this, Hansen quickly adjusted his defensive strategy and started a full-contact fight with Durant, playing to exhaust him.
Not just on defense; offensively, he actively sought to engage with Durant.
The basketball court became a football field for a moment, complete with dramatic tackles, the level of confrontation leaving the spectators on edge.
After several more rounds, Durant's movements started to slow down.
Later realizing what Hansen was doing,
he tried to adjust his offense again, taking advantage of his height to make forceful shots.
As it turned out, his continued attempts all resulted in missed shots!
Every player has their shooting touch, and after Hansen's targeted defense and desperate contesting, Durant's touch was gone.
This meant that even though he knew Hansen had dug a hole, Durant had no choice but to jump into it.
After more than fifty exchanges, Hansen had worn Durant down to exhaustion.
Durant stood with hands on his knees, breathing heavily, with a resentful look at Hansen, then stood up and left the gym without looking back.
Presley gave Brooks a look, and the latter followed Durant out.
Meanwhile, Presley walked towards Hansen with a smile on his face.