Of course, Hansen wasn’t paying too much attention to these things at the moment, because after his Anti-Fans value had exceeded one million, he could exchange it for First Gear’s Control Talent.
That was what was truly useful to him.
Within the Anti-Fans System, Second Gear’s Control Talent was called "Non-Stationary Crossover Dribble," and First Gear’s Talent was called "Uncle Drew." Check latest chapters at 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹•𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖•𝗇𝗲𝘁
Irving: "Bet you didn’t see that coming!"
He was hit by a boomerang.
Back when Irving joined his training camp, Hansen had mocked Irving’s showboating, but now it’s his turn to really enjoy it.
Speaking of ball handling, both Irving and Iverson are strong, but in terms of skill, Irving is a notch above.
"Uncle Drew": Significantly enhances agility, coordination, ball sense, and the talent for merging player and ball.
After exchanging the Talent, Hansen couldn’t wait to get to the gym.
However, to his surprise, when he arrived, he found that someone was practicing intensely.
It was Conley and Guy.
Looking at the time, it was already past 9 p.m.
They were somewhat surprised to see Hansen walk in, and after chatting for a while, Hansen learned they had been putting in extra practice for some time.
Because their training schedules were different, Hansen hadn’t run into them before.
The reason they were putting in the extra practice was because of what Hansen had said in the post-game press conference: "We all need to do more."
Little Gasol had grown into the White Bear, and Hansen had become the tactical core of the team, so they had to work hard too.
And their extra practice was very targeted: three-pointers.
The more Hansen handled the ball, the greater the threat they posed from the outside, and the less opponents would dare to double-team Hansen.
This was definitely good for the Grizzlies, as their three-point shooting wasn’t bad—they were shooting around 36% this season, but not taking many shots.
If they could increase their output, or improve their shooting percentage to around 40%, it would be good not just now, but also when Randolph returned from his injury.
After chatting, Grover arrived, and Hansen began his ball handling training with Grover’s help.
Before starting, he glanced once more at the two continuing their three-point training.
When he first arrived at the Grizzlies, the team atmosphere was tense, with constant competition, but now the players were training hard on their own. In such an atmosphere, who cared about The Big Three or the best backcourt in history?
Time swiftly moved to late January.
Due to the lockout-shortened season, this year’s All-Star game was a bit later than past seasons, so the All-Star voting had only started a week ago.
By this time, the first round of voting was out, and Hansen had edged out Kobe to become the top vote-getter in The West, and the gap with Howard of The East was very small.
A major reason Howard received so many votes was that this year’s All-Star game was being held in Orlando, but for Hansen, since his tour at East University last summer, it was clear that with Yao Ming’s retirement, the votes that originally belonged to Yao had fully transferred to him.
Unless Stern declared the votes from East Region invalid, the momentum indicated that Hansen winning his first voting title was a foregone conclusion.
However, even if he became the vote leader this time, the Anti-Fans value he earned wouldn’t be too much, since he kept the Grizzlies in the top four in The West even with Randolph injured.
Moreover, he’s been contributing an average of 22.8 points per game (sixth in the League), 4.6 rebounds, 6.5 assists (tenth in the League), and 2 steals (third in the League) this season—such performance could put him in the MVP race.
It was around this time that the Grizzlies were about to visit Cleveland to face the Cavaliers for the first time this season.
This was also their second nationwide broadcast game in January.
With Hansen potentially becoming the All-Star vote king, the heat for this game was on the rise.
Then, an interview with Irving before the game made this matchup even more topical.
It was during the Cavaliers’ open practice session. As a key player the team was developing, and also due to his highly appealing playing style, Irving was immediately surrounded by reporters after training.
The question that reporters asked the most was naturally about the game against the Grizzlies and topics related to Hansen.
After all, with the video of the high-intensity training camp from the summer released by UA, Irving’s participation in the camp had become well-known.
Before, the season hadn’t started, and with the dense schedule after it began, the outside world hadn’t had time to focus on this matter, but now that the teams were about to clash, the reporters certainly had to ask.
"Why did you decide to go to Han’s training camp?"
"Why can’t I? Does that training camp have a rule about who can’t go?" Irving replied, striking a note of individuality.
"Do you think you are a player with more potential than Han?" Realizing that Irving was a bit different, the reporters quickly shifted angles.
Back at the draft, Grant had said Irving was the new future of the team, but as the Cavaliers continued to be among the worst in The East, doubts about Irving had started to surface. After all, a good player, even a rookie, should be able to bring change to the team.
In the face of such skepticism, Grant once again voiced his support for Irving: "LeBron also struggled when he first arrived in Cleveland. We believe in Kyrie’s potential; he is the best prospect we’ve chosen after LeBron."
"No." Irving’s response shocked the reporters once again.
This kid really didn’t care what his general manager said!
But what was even more shocking came afterwards.
"Han is my favorite player, and I will work hard to catch up to him."
If prior participation in Hansen’s training camp had raised suspicions, Irving’s response now was a clear confirmation of his relationship with Hansen.