Magic Team called the final timeout, they had one last second on the clock.
Hansen left the court to the sound of insane cheers from the fans, and as he walked to the bench, his teammates were both yelling and shouting at him.
He was only substituted in the last minute, yet helped the team alter the outcome of the game.
Brown was also beaming with delight, he too enjoyed the feeling of strategizing behind the scenes.
In the last second, Magic Team arranged an alley-oop strategy for Howard, but the Cavaliers’ defense was in place, and the play didn’t succeed, Carter finally received the ball and made a shot that was both too far and too late.
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Thanks to Hansen’s miraculous last-second 3+1, the Cavaliers completed the final turnaround.
"Hansen saved the Cavaliers, he rescued LeBron."
As the Cavaliers’ players started to rush the field and the crowd cheered once again, Barkley once again commented on Hansen.
It’s hard to imagine what the scene would have been like for Cavaliers, for James if they had been eliminated by Magic Team last season and lost to them in the opening game.
Having completed the buzzer-beater, Hansen naturally had the opportunity to attend the post-game press conference.
Following him there was also James.
Although James was off his game tonight, making only 7 out of 19 shots, he still managed to score 23 points, grab 11 rebounds, and dish out 12 assists for a triple-double.
Actually, O’Neal also performed well tonight with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks, but his large frame made it hard for four people to fit comfortably on stage.
When Hansen entered the press conference, he saw that the room was already packed with reporters.
It was the biggest assembly he had ever seen.
As the three sat down, reporters already began eagerly raising their hands to ask questions.
After such an exciting game, there was so much news material worth reporting.
The first question from a reporter was directed at James.
"The Magic Team doubled up on you in the last moments, how did you find Hansen?"
This question instantly dampened Hansen’s excited mood by a large margin.
He looked again at the reporter, who looked somewhat familiar, and squinted at his press ID.
When he saw the name, he remembered, after the preseason game with the Bobcats, it was this guy who first asked questions related to James.
And this guy was also the first one called on during the last press conference.
So, is this James’ personal reporter?
"You know, I’m a team player, I always keep an eye on my teammates’ positions, and when they start double-teaming me, I know a teammate is open, you know, that feeling is wonderful, when your teammate finally makes that shot."
Clearly, it was your own strategy that failed, and you had to pass the ball, yet it’s portrayed as if everything was under control.
"Your touch wasn’t very good tonight, but you still managed a triple-double, how did you do that?" Windhorst continued asking.
James chuckled first after hearing this, then shook his head, "You know, none of us can guarantee our feel every night, but I can lead in other ways, that’s my job, and I’m happy I did it well."
Hansen’s current mood, just like when he had hit the game-winning three-pointer on the court, was the same as when he saw James celebrating wildly.
It was his buzzer-beater, so why did it feel like James was the main hero of the win?
Finally, after a series of questions, reporters started passing the microphone to Hansen.
"Did you expect to receive LeBron’s pass in the final moments, having the opportunity to end the game?"
Unfortunately, that strange feeling continued.
Hansen had felt uncomfortable during the preseason, and now it seemed, the times James wasn’t there had been the most comfortable.
So, should he say thanks to James for the pass? I just did what I had to do?
He wasn’t one to be spoiled!
"I know what the coach wanted me to do in the last minute. As long as the ball was in my hands, I could finish the game."
There were no ambiguous words, only certainty, and Hansen said little, but his presence was powerful.
"Your chemistry with LeBron seems to be very good. Do you look forward to spending more time on the court with him?"
"I can shoot threes, I can defend, I can also drive with the ball. My chemistry with Shaq is good too. I mean, as long as I’m on the court, I can contribute. I hope the coach keeps me in all 48 minutes."
Hansen smiled at the journalists. His mindset was now relaxed—ask away, I guarantee not to answer exactly how you want.
After several more questions, the journalists finally realized that it was impossible for Hansen to follow their line of questioning, even though they all hinted clearly.
So in the end, they had no choice but to give up and start asking questions honestly.
In that post-game press conference, Hansen ultimately won.
After such an experience, unless those journalists were gluttons for punishment, they wouldn’t question him that way anymore.
After the press conference ended, Hansen was humming a tune and preparing to head back to the locker room, when he noticed Thomas had arrived at the door of the conference room.
He knew Thomas had come to watch his debut tonight.
"Just now, your shoe endorsement contract was updated," Thomas said with a smile.
Hansen brightened at this and immediately took Thomas to a secluded corner.
After the draft, Thomas had received multiple shoe endorsement deals for him, including not only domestic brands like Anta and Li Ning but also global brands like Nike and Adidas.
An easily overlooked fact was that although Hansen’s draft position wasn’t as high as Yao Ming’s or Yi Jianlian’s, he was the first perimeter player from East University to be picked in the first round!
Perimeter and post players are completely different concepts to shoe companies, as post players traditionally don’t sell shoes.
So although Hansen wasn’t considered a hot rookie and even seemed overdrafted, the large shoe market behind him still made companies compete fiercely.
Faced with that scenario, Hansen coolly decided to wait and see.
Despite receiving several contracts, none of the offers were high.
Shoe endorsement deals are not short-term; they usually span several years.
So Hansen wanted to wait until he built his reputation to sign.
At that time, Thomas advised him to be cautious, to sign the first contract and ask for more in a new deal once he had proven his worth.
But Hansen didn’t take his advice, as he had absolute confidence in himself.
Now, the offers Thomas held were up from about 500,000 US dollars a year to 1 million US dollars.
That meant his game-winning shot that night had earned him a profit of nearly two to three million US dollars.
He absolutely had to sign.
And after the journalists had annoyed him so much, he was finally feeling a small benefit of being chosen by the Cavaliers.
As Thomas had said earlier, the exposure here was indeed good.
As long as he played well going forward, the contract was sure to rise even further.
After a good night’s sleep, Hansen eagerly opened various major sports media outlets the next day.
Human beings, no matter how long they live, never lose their desires.
Hansen was no exception. After completing the game-winning shot, he of course wanted to see how the media praised—or rather, reported it.
But when he actually saw the reports, his expression was even more constipated than the day before.
"James Delivers a Century Pass, Greatness Needs No Explanation"
"Debut Triple-Double; James Can Do Anything You Want Him to Do"
"James-Chosen Player Completes the Game-Winner, Bringing the Cavaliers the Final Championship Puzzle"
So, people can be this shameless!