Hansen looked surprised.
These front-row tickets are not easy to come by, even with money.
Rondo had guessed right.
But his expression quickly turned serious because the other party was wearing Curry’s number 30 jersey!
Ajalee was a fan of Curry?
This made Hansen frown as he looked toward the opposite court where Curry was warming up.
Curry was in the middle of warming up when he suddenly felt a chill from behind.
He turned and saw it was Hansen. He initially wanted to greet him with a smile, but he realized that Hansen seemed like he wanted to devour him alive.
He knew Hansen had been more serious this season than ever before, but he was also a UA man now, and besides, they weren’t directly facing each other on the court, right?
After averting his gaze, Hansen found Conley.
Conley wasn’t surprised by Hansen’s request to switch their defense.
Hansen was now leading by example in defense, often taking on the opponent’s offensive core right from the start.
The one caught off guard was Curry.
When Bo Gote won the ball for the Warriors, and Curry saw Hansen guarding him in the frontcourt, he was momentarily dazed.
As he ran off the ball, Hansen was like gum that couldn’t be shaken off.
Even when Curry had the ball, Hansen gave him the ultimate defensive pressure, even managing to "rob" him directly.
It was the kind where Curry was just about to switch direction and speed up, but the ball was seized by Hansen, and because of their difference in power, it was snatched away, causing Curry to try and get it back and be dragged down in the process.
After completing a fast-break dunk, Hansen even made a [strong] celebration gesture towards the sidelines.
Unlike Wade, Curry had attended Hansen’s personal training camp in the summer, so he had been mentally prepared for Hansen’s defensive improvement.
But Hansen’s defensive performance tonight had improved by more than just one level compared to back then!
The end result was, under Hansen’s tight defense, Curry, who managed to average 24 points this season, was shockingly held to just 9 points.
"In all honesty, I think Hansen has a chance to become another perimeter player who wins DPOTY," exclaimed the commentator.
It’s harder for perimeter players to win DPOTY compared to post players, not only are they at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, but they also face a myriad of defensive scenario every night.
Post players just need to protect the rim, but perimeter players might face a penetrator one night, a post-up player the next, followed by one who creates lethal plays, including those bigger or faster than you, and so on.
Especially after the league introduced the no-handcheck rule, perimeter players have never won DPOTY since.
But the defensive adaptability Hansen showed tonight sparked that feeling again.
What’s even more commendable is that Hansen is also the offensive core for the Grizzlies, and before this, the only other person to take DPOTY while balancing both offense and defense was Jordan.
This might also be why more and more people are starting to compare Hansen with Jordan.
Although Hansen is far from Jordan in terms of achievements and skill, compared to those considered Jordan’s successors, he’s at least within sight.
After the game ended, when Curry and Hansen shook hands, Curry had an innocent expression.
"Is it too late to switch back to Nike now?" Curry joked.
"Stephen, that’s to make you stronger," Hansen patted Curry’s arm.
The [Vertical Jump Rule] had significantly improved the Warriors’ record this season, but Jackson’s conservative playing style kept the Warriors from soaring, and although Cole might be somewhat overrated, the success of the Warriors indeed could not be separated from his philosophy.
After the game, Hansen asked Rondo to check Ajalee’s background.
If she was not just an ordinary person, finding out about her identity was quite straightforward. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
And upon checking, Hansen’s scant memories were awakened.
No wonder he felt like he had heard the name before when he heard it.
Because her full name was Ajalee Ranadive, and her father was Vivek Ranadive, the first NBA owner of Indian descent.
Last season, Vivek Ranadive was a minority owner of the Warriors, but last summer, he sold his shares in the Warriors and teamed up with others to buy the Kings, and now he is the main owner of the Kings.
No wonder Ajalee was a fan of Curry, as Vivek Ranadive had bought into the Warriors in 2010, just when Curry was starting to make a name for himself.
It was no surprise that last season, Hansen saw Ajalee performing at the Oracle Arena, but couldn’t find her on the cheerleader roster and never met her again after that.
It turned out that she was the boss’s daughter who had joined the cheerleaders for a performance, and he had happened to bump into her.
However, knowing her identity, Hansen didn’t know how to further approach her for some time.
After all, ordinary people could create surprises and romance with money, but when both parties had money, it took creativity.
But this made Hansen’s somewhat dull life become interesting.
This season, he needed to play the role of the villain in the team, and once he entered the arena, he had to maintain seriousness and a sense of urgency, as if he were wearing a mask.
Even when he returned home, he felt like he was still wearing that mask.
But now, thinking about how to court Ajalee, the mask was unknowingly removed.
He followed Ajalee on social media and found that she was a person who loved life deeply.
She generously shared snippets of her life on social media, including sports photos, tourist sites, selfies with various animals, and even underwater photos with marine animals.
This made Hansen increasingly happy as he watched.
Their conversations also progressed enjoyably.
Experiences with Swift and Scarlett had taught Hansen quite a bit about relationships.
And Ajalee being a fan of Curry also had something to do with Curry’s looks.
But when it came to appearances, Hansen was not inferior to anyone, especially since his Eastern face fit the aesthetic of someone mixed-race like Ajalee.
In just a week, they had already made plans to visit the Memphis Zoo together at Christmas.
Hansen’s life outside the court was back on track, but the Grizzlies encountered a moderate issue.
At the end of November, in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, Little Gasol suffered a Grade 2 tear of the medial collateral ligament in his knee, which did not require surgery but would keep him out indefinitely, with his return time undecided.
This was the first serious injury in Little Gasol’s career, and considering he played a floor-based style, which, according to commentators, could be played until the age of 50, it was unusual.
The incident was accidental but also related to his immediate participation in the European Championship for Spain after playing in the finals, leading to physical fatigue.
Yao’s experience was not unique; international players often encountered this kind of non-stop schedule.
Little Gasol’s serious injury came as a shock, especially for a Grizzlies team that was just getting on track.
This was not just a test for Faried but also for Hansen.
This season, the teams in The West were closely matched, and this season might again see a team needing fifty wins to secure eighth place in The West.
If the Grizzlies went on a losing streak, they might fall not only out of the upper half but even potentially out of the playoffs.
In the first game without Little Gasol, the Grizzlies lost to their old rivals, the Spurs.
The Spurs had developed a strategy called the "Hammer Strategy" this season, maximizing both offense and defense, currently leading in The West.
However, the good news was, after the game against the Spurs, Hansen’s "Death Entanglement" finally reached its limit.
The Grizzlies’ next game was against the New York Knicks.
Because it was an away game, the Grizzlies went to New York the day before.
Just before departure, a manager from UA came to Memphis to find Hansen.
At Hansen’s residence, he proposed a plan named "Decapitation Operation" to Hansen.