Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 238 Surpassing Jordan
The Grizzlies are not scheduled to participate in the Christmas game this year, and the players are also enjoying a rare long vacation.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, on the second day of Christmas, Hansen and Ajiali went to the Memphis Zoo together.

Having been in Memphis for almost four years, this was Han Sen's first time here because he was busy with competitions and training.

The first pavilion they visited was called Northwest Journey.

After entering, Han Sen regretted not coming earlier.

Because there are polar bears on display here!
You can't find something like this in just any zoo.

And when they went there, everyone was snorkeling in the glass corridor.

It was at this time that Han Sen noticed that Ajiali was looking at the polar bear and making some strange body movements. The key point was that the polar bear was looking in her direction.

After the polar bear left the glass corridor, she went to the outdoor activity area to continue observing it, and introduced it to Hansen while taking pictures with her camera.

This is a case of the guest taking over the host's position.

"You seem to know a lot about it?" Han Sen was a little surprised.

“My major in college was marine science.”

Ajiali's words stunned Han Sen.

Because he suddenly realized that he seemed to have made a mistake before.

He had previously directly linked Berklee with music, but it seems that the Berklee in the Bay Area is not primarily focused on music.

No wonder Ajiali laughed before. He thought he had done a good job in making an impression. He guessed that Ajiali thought it was funny that he pretended to know everything.

But this also explains why there are photos of her snorkeling and taking photos with marine animals on her social media.

The pavilion next to Northwest Journey is called Teton Trek.

The name sounds like an interstellar exhibition hall, but it is actually taken from the Teton Mountains in Yellowstone Park, and the main animals on display are grizzly bears, a common creature in the Teton Mountains.

This exhibit is much larger than the previous polar bear exhibit and looks to be as big as a whole football field.

There are also quite a lot of people visiting here.

Memphis is not the birthplace of bears. The name of the Grizzlies comes from the time when the team was in Vancouver, which is also the habitat of Grizzlies.

So there are grizzly bears in the Memphis Zoo, which has nothing to do with the Memphis Grizzlies, but they are connected.

It was here that Han Sen was recognized.

Soon many tourists came to ask him for autographs and take photos with him.

This is actually the reason why Hansen doesn't like to play in Memphis, because after a while it becomes a scene of signing autographs and taking photos.

It took more than ten minutes for him to finish signing.

"Sorry." Han Sen looked at Ajiali. It was not polite to go out with others and make them wait for so long.

"You don't have the airs of a star player at all." But unexpectedly, Ajiali didn't mind at all. Instead, she smiled and praised him.

This made Han Sen feel very comfortable. In fact, it should be said that Ajiali made him feel very comfortable from the moment he entered the zoo.

The first reason a man falls in love with a woman is definitely because the other person meets his aesthetic standards, but what really determines whether two people can get along is their personality.

After leaving the Teton Trek, they next came to the cat country.

This exhibition area is easy to understand, as it mostly displays cats.

The first thing you see when you enter is a snow leopard, but its space for activities is relatively small. It lies flat on its belly on the top of the rockery, with only its long tail hanging outside, just like a cat.

The popular animal in this exhibition area is the Sumatran tiger. The place doesn't look much smaller than the previous grizzly bear exhibition area. There are not only grasslands and water areas in the activity area, but also waterfalls.

The zoo even built a Southeast Asian megalithic temple site with a waterfall falling from it, making the effect almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

This takes considerable effort.

It was at this time that Han Sen noticed that Ajiali was staring at Sumen Hu in a trance, and her eyes seemed a little doting.

No, even though you are of Indian descent, we can’t really be like in Indian movies, right?

"I want to build a place like this when I go back." Then Ajiali turned around and said something that surprised Hansen.

Given Ajiali's family conditions, he didn't think she couldn't do it, but the question was what was the point of creating such a scene?

"Do you have tigers at home?" Han Sen asked casually.

Unexpectedly, Ajiali nodded directly.

Good guy!
Speaking of tigers, there are people who keep them. For example, when he was in Cleveland, O'Neal said that he kept two ligers.

But Ajali and the tiger, isn't this beauty and the beast?
Just taking a photo together feels like an Indian movie.

"When you have time, I'll take you to see it." Ajiali also invited Hansen.

Han Sen smiled and nodded. This was an opportunity to continue improving their relationship.

After leaving the cat exhibition area, they came to a very special place called the Nocturnal Animal Hall.

This kind of place was probably the first time for Ajiali, not to mention Hansen.

A narrow wooden door opened to reveal a sign that read: "The sun has set, and the creatures of the night are about to get up and move around."

Those who know know that this is a zoo, while those who don’t think they are entering a haunted house.

But just before entering, Ajiali subconsciously held Hansen's hand.

When she reached the first booth, she subconsciously leaned towards Hansen.

Because this is a vampire bat exhibition area, a group of bats are surrounding two blood basins and eating inside.

Han Sen was also enlightened.

Moreover, a long section of the corridor is dark, and there are various bat exhibition areas.

This is more exciting than a haunted house.

It was not until halfway through that the environment became better when they saw an exhibition area called Sulawesi Marmot.

Ajiali's body moved away from him a little, but she didn't loosen her hand.

By the way, Ajali is 1 meters tall, about the same height as Swift.

But a basketball player who is over 2 meters tall feels very safe in this environment.

It was not until they left the Nocturnal Animals House and walked a distance forward that Ajiali realized that they were still holding hands, and then she let go.

Then, they were completely attracted by the exhibition area in front of them.

This is an exhibition area called Dongda Pavilion.

And in the front is a five-story glazed pagoda.

It means exactly what it says. This is the first time Han Sen has seen such a flavorful Chinese-style building in all his years in the United States.

When they got closer, Han Sen discovered that there was a pair of stone lions at the door, and the door was also red with copper rings and many door nails on it.

After entering, you will see a bell pavilion welcoming guests, and then there are some hall shapes.

It feels like I'm not in the zoo, but back in the palace.

Ajiali was also attracted by the scenery in front of her and kept taking pictures with her camera.

After passing through a moon gate guarded by a bronze lion, they saw a pond with many geese and ducks, many of which were Dongda species, such as mandarin ducks and swan geese.

There is a ranking of zoos in the United States, and the Memphis Zoo is probably ranked between 5 and 10. Although some of the exhibition areas are relatively small, overall the variety is rich, and the Nocturnal Pavilion in front and the Chinese Pavilion are very distinctive.

But what really makes the Memphis Museum rank so high is not these things, but the exhibition area they saw when they walked to the other side. The giant panda exhibition area.

Han Sen knew that the United States had a giant panda on loan from the Eastern Conference, but he really didn't know that Memphis had one.

There are the most people here, even more than in the grizzly bear exhibition area.

Fortunately, most of the tourists' attention was attracted by the giant pandas in the activity area, and no one paid much attention to Han Sen's arrival.

Of course, people around him still noticed Han Sen. After all, it was hard for a 2-meter-tall guy with an Asian face to not attract attention.

However, since opportunities to watch pandas are rare, they still focus more on giant pandas.

Han Sen also felt very close to the giant pandas.

This is the national treasure of the University of Tokyo!
And speaking of it, when he was on the Eastern University tour before, he had planned to go see the giant pandas when he went to Chengdu, but that stop was cancelled because there were too many fans. Unexpectedly, he ended up seeing the giant pandas in Memphis.

Also because of his height advantage, he saw the introduction board at a glance.

These two giant pandas, one male and one female, form a perfect pair. The male is called Lele and the female is called Yaya. Both were rented from Dongda University in 2003.

The original lease was for ten years and was due to expire this summer, but after discussions with the University of Tokyo, the lease was extended for another ten years.

According to the introduction above, one of the two pandas is 13 years old and the other is 15 years old, which is equivalent to over 50 years old for humans, and is already middle-aged or elderly.

However, they still look relatively strong and seem to be living well here.

"So cute!" Ajiali's eyes were full of love at this time.

There are only two colors, black and white, but they are combined into the cutest look.

No one can resist the charm of the giant panda, the only bear species on earth that makes a living by being cute.

It's just that it is an animal that you will never have the opportunity to raise no matter how rich you are.

In the words of the people of the University of Tokyo, the great powers forced the University of Tokyo to sign many unequal treaties in the past, but for the sake of giant pandas, they signed many unequal treaties with the University of Tokyo.

It was already evening when they came out of the zoo. The two had a meal, and then Han Sen drove Ajiali back to the hotel.

Memphis is a messy place, not a good place to hang out.

"Thank you. I'm very happy today." Before getting off the car, Ajiali looked at Hansen with a smile on her face.

"Me too." Han Sen nodded with a smile.

After playing for the whole day, I found that Ajiali's cheerful, lively and generous personality is really likable, which is of course rare.

It is said that Vivek Ranadive bought shares in the Warriors because Ajali liked basketball, and then bought the Kings.

Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, his favor for Ajiali is visible to the naked eye.

It is rare for someone to have such a personality even though he is spoiled by a wealthy father.

Han Sen not only did not feel any pressure when he was with her, but he also felt very happy.

This is also the biggest difference between him and Swift and Scarlett.

After bidding farewell to Ajiali, Han Sen called the UA manager.

He already has an idea for a new series of sneakers, called the Panda Series.

Is there anything more appealing than black and white?
Moreover, he is a student of Tokyo University. As long as he can design an appearance that matches the panda design, the new series of shoes will definitely sell well.

……

Time flies and it is already the end of January.

The voting results for the 2014 All-Star Game are released at this time.
Compared to last year, the Grizzlies' star power has dimmed this year.

Han Sen was the only one selected for the All-Star Game.

And there was no one else on the team participating in the individual events this year, so Han Sen had to go alone.

But the good news is that Gasol Jr. is finally going to make a comeback after two months of rest.

During the two months of his absence, although Hansen raised his average points per game to 30+, ranking first in the league, the Grizzlies' record still declined significantly compared to the beginning of the season.

Although they are still in second place, they are 4 wins behind the Spurs, and the Rockets behind them are only 1 win behind them.

Gasol's comeback was immediate. In the crucial battle against the Rockets, he scored 17 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists, gaining an overall advantage over Vucevic and helping the Grizzlies win the game.

The Grizzlies also took advantage of the opportunity to achieve a 6-1 record before the All-Star Game.

However, the Spurs were in good shape this season, and the Grizzlies were unable to overtake them in the end.

On the day of the All-Star Game, Hansen and Rondo flew to New Orleans together.

This is the second time in seven years that the All-Star Game has been held in New Orleans. The last time was to promote post-hurricane reconstruction, and this time it was because the Hornets, now called the Pelicans, had officially changed their name before the start of this season, which was one of the conditions for the team's sale plan.

After arriving in New Orleans, Hansen began to attend a large number of events.

The Grizzlies are not in good shape this season, but he has played dominant offensive and defensive performances, and his popularity has increased instead of decreased.

Not only UA, other brands he endorses also seized the All-Star opportunity to increase their brand promotion efforts.

When the All-Stars' first media day came, Hansen attended the event with other All-Stars.

"Melo is the kind of teammate you want to play with the most. Compared with last season, we played more simply and easily, which is the key reason for our improved record."

Before Hansen was Westbrook, who, apart from playing basketball, did the most this season was diss James.

When Han Sen passed by, reporters from other places around suddenly rushed over, and the scene was quite spectacular.

Although Hansen led the team to two consecutive championships and two consecutive FMVPs, due to his statistics, the media did not pay that much attention to him.

However, his stats this season are too explosive, and he seems to be on the verge of becoming the best player in the league, so the media's attention to him has increased significantly.

After Han Sen sat down, reporters asked him questions one after another.

Of course, the main focus is still on two topics. The first is to strive for three consecutive championships. After all, the Grizzlies' condition this season seems to be very precarious.

Han Sen's answer to this question was exactly the same as before.

“We’ll get it done.”

The second question is about Hansen and Jordan.

The term "three consecutive championships" is too closely associated with Jordan, especially Hansen's defensive performance this season. He is also the outside player who is closest to Jordan in all these years.

"After Michael retired, there have been many Jordan successors. You seem to be the closest one now. Will you catch up with him?"

"Do not."

Han Sen's answer surprised the reporters a little. After all, Han Sen is famous for his big mouth.

However, Han Sen's next words caused the scene to fall into chaos.

"I will surpass him and become the best player in history."

-Dividing line-

2014 All-Star starting lineup, Western Conference starting lineup: Hansen, Kobe⊕, Anthony, Griffin, Love

Substitutes: Curry, Harden, Paul, Westbrook, Parker, Nowitzki, Aldridge
Head coach: Gregg Popovich
Eastern Conference starting lineup: Irving, Wade, Durant, James, Howard
Substitutes: Wall, Paul George, Joe Johnson, DeRozan, Millsap, Bosh, Noah

Head coach: Vogel

Note: Kobe was absent due to injury, and his All-Star position was replaced by Anthony Davis. Popovich chose Curry to start instead of Kobe.

(End of this chapter)