The team members came in time to separate the two, and Hansen was also benched after committing two fouls, replaced by Joe Johnson.
This All-Star game had officially started their rivalry.
Although he was a starter and performed exceptionally well at the beginning, Hansen ultimately only played for 14 minutes, the least among the starters.
As an Asian, making a name for oneself in the NBA requires overcoming greater challenges than usual.
Fortunately, in his limited time, he performed brilliantly, scoring 9 points from 6 shots, including 4 makes, and he also had 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
In the end, under Wade’s leadership, The East narrowly defeated The West 141 to 139.
Statistically for The West, Anthony scored the highest with 27 points and 10 rebounds from 22 shots and 13 makes, while Nowitzki contributed 22 points from 15 shots and 8 makes.
For The East, James scored 22 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals from 22 shots and 10 makes; Wade scored 28 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, and 5 steals from 16 makes and 12 shots; Bosh scored 23 points and 10 rebounds with 2 steals from 16 shots and 9 makes. Googlᴇ search 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝✦𝘧𝙞𝙧𝙚✦𝕟𝕖𝕥
Wade, who scored the highest and performed the best that evening, was awarded the MVP.
It was Wade’s first time winning the All-Star Game MVP in his career.
Watching Wade emotively giving his acceptance speech, Hansen joined in the applause with everyone else.
Although Wade had won the championship in 2006, at that time his skills and experience were still not fully matured. But after claiming the Scoring King title last season and showing dominant performance in this season’s All-Star game, now he truly entered the peak of his career.
It’s a pity that sometimes a player’s success really needs a bit of luck. If Heat had a player like Pippen now, Wade’s career might have been very different from what he knew.
After Wade finished his speech, Hansen went up to express his congratulations.
The two had not spent much time together on the court, but they had shown quite good chemistry.
It was a shame that he had so little time on the court; they couldn’t fulfill their prior talk about playing together with Bosh as The Big Three.
Even though the All-Star game was over, most fans were still not willing to leave, and most stars stayed to sign autographs.
At that moment, Hansen walked straight towards Swift.
He wanted to know why Swift was wearing his jersey that night.
But he had only taken a few steps when numerous fans at courtside began shouting his name.
This All-Star game, which should have been his most criticized, turned out to gain him quite a few fans due to his outstanding performance.
Hansen had to temporarily stop to sign autographs for the fans.
And this signing took over ten minutes.
By the time he was done and turned around, Swift had already disappeared.
That really made one... somewhat OCD!
Back in the locker room, the players were all sitting there chatting, and the noisy environment was filled with laughter.
The current league structure is dominated by The West over The East, which makes The East’s infrequent victories in the All-Star game a rare cause for joy.
Hansen saw Wade and Bosh chatting excitedly and was about to join them.
But before him, someone had already brought over a stool and joined first.
James’s sudden appearance surprised Wade and Bosh, but the three of them, having entered the league together, still managed to strike up a conversation.
The scene was very special for Hansen because these were not only the three top performers of the evening, but also the known Heat’s Three Giants, famously promising "not one, not two... not seven championships" by James.
However, for some reason, James seemed slightly out of place with Wade and Bosh.
It was that feeling of pushing oneself in by status.
Shortly after, the media were allowed into the locker room for interviews.
Every All-Star became busy; Hansen began an interview with East University.
Hansen thanked his fans for their support, whether they were true fans or critics.
He also shared news that his first signature shoes would be meeting the fans in the summer.
Since it was targeted at East Market, naturally, it was a chance to promote heavily.
Once the interview was over, his first All-Star game trip also officially came to an end.
All the stars were preparing to start their nightlife tonight, a rare opportunity to enjoy.
Hansen was also ready to find Conningham and go out to have fun.
But just as he was packing up to leave, his phone rang.
It was an unknown number.
Upon answering, a somewhat familiar voice came through:
In the parking lot, Hansen got into the passenger seat of Swift’s car.
For a star of Swift’s level, finding his personal contact information was not difficult.
And seeing the spacious car, it seemed Swift had come prepared.
With a press of the accelerator, Swift began driving Hansen around the streets of Dallas.
"I have a question," Hansen couldn’t hold back any longer once they had driven out of the bustling area,
"Why were you wearing number 77 from the Cavaliers at the venue today?"
"Thank you for those words you said about me on social media," Swift responded straightforwardly.
Hansen sighed in relief upon hearing that; thankfully, it wasn’t because he had taken a romantic interest in him.
Though he liked Swift’s personality, he wasn’t particularly interested in dating Swift.
After all, dating him not only meant inevitable drama but also looming potential of being written into a song.
If the song turned out to be a hit, then you’d truly become "household famous."