After the game’s handshake ceremony, Hansen and Wade exchanged a look of helplessness.
"This is your night," Wade first acknowledged his performance tonight, but then quickly added, "but you can’t always have it."
His meaning was clear: Hansen had scored 61 points to help the Grizzlies win over the Heat with a buzzer-beater, but if it were a series, the Heat would ultimately win.
"I still remember you said you would never lose again," Hansen retorted, his words making Wade laugh in response.
If basketball were merely a math problem, there wouldn’t be so many upsets, nor so many legendary tales.
At the post-game press conference, Hansen and Little Gasol appeared together.
"I’ve always said that Mark should be on the defensive team; he’s the guardian of our team’s zone," Hansen stated, his words devoid of exaggeration; without Little Gasol’s defense at the end, he wouldn’t have had the chance to make that final shot.
Of course, without that offensive rebound by Little Gasol, the Grizzlies would have lost the game too.
Hansen’s 61-point Christmas battle had a tremendous impact, as performing well in such marquee matchups can be worth as much as ten regular games.
The most direct impact: in the latest MVP rankings, he’d jumped ahead of Durant to the top spot.
And with the All-Star voting about to start, such a performance is a more effective way to draw votes than any campaign.
Whether Hansen can lead the Grizzlies to a dynasty is unknown, but with the current momentum, he’s likely to clinch his third consecutive All-Star fan voting title early.
It’s terrifying, considering that in NBA history, only three others have achieved this: "Dr. J" Irving, Carter, and Jordan.
Irving and Carter both had three-peats, while Jordan had an unprecedented seven-peat.
Indeed, such popularity is the most direct reflection of a player’s prowess. Even James, with all his media clout, isn’t in this category.
Especially since the League keeps reducing the East Region’s voting weight, yet Hansen still gets so many votes; it’s clear to see his popularity.
Soon after the Christmas battle, an article by a journalist named Mike Menamin published on ESPN caught everyone’s attention.
The article wasn’t directly related to Hansen, but it closely involved the Grizzlies.
Mike Menamin analyzed the likelihood of a Grizzlies dynasty and identified their biggest foe: the salary cap.
He believed the most difficult time would be the summer of 2013 when substantial luxury taxes could heavily trouble the Grizzlies.
Thus, he suggested a trade: Randolph. The rıghtful source is 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
His reasoning was that given Little Gasol’s unexpected development, holding down the fort alone during the decisive moments of the Christmas battle, trading Randolph wouldn’t just solve salary issues but also cement Little Gasol’s status as the key interior player.
The article quickly spread.
The Grizzlies’ salary cap issue existed, but it was next season’s problem, not something many were focusing on.
But Mike Menamin’s anticipatory analysis put the issue on the front burner.
Hansen frowned upon reading the article.
The piece was dangerously and even maliciously intended, aimed at disrupting the team’s atmosphere.
He had Rondo investigate the journalist.
And problems emerged: this Mike Menamin was an intern assistant to Windhorst at ESPN.
So they couldn’t beat them on the court and decided to try dismantling the Grizzlies from the inside?
Hansen’s popularity hinged on the Grizzlies’ success; destroying the team was tantamount to indirectly ruining him.
Once he knew who was behind it, Hansen launched his counterattack.
In an explosive headline in an early January interview, Carrell declared, "Han thinks Guy is better than James."