Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 306 Tim Hansen
Whatever the reason, this news has raised expectations for this year's dunk contest.

Including Hansen who announced his participation earlier, and Zach LaVine who won the championship last year, plus James now, this is definitely more worth looking forward to than Carter's dunk of the century that year.

Time flies and it is already the end of January.

After four rounds of fan voting and player voting, the NBA voting results and the All-Star reserves selected by coaches were released one after another.
After winning the vice-voting title last year, Hansen regained the All-Star voting title this year with a crushing victory.

And Irving was finally able to start in the Eastern Conference All-Star backcourt with Hansen.

In addition, the list of this year's highly anticipated individual events was also announced at the same time.

In the three-point contest, in addition to Hansen and Curry, there are eight people participating, including Curry's teammate Klay Thompson, Harden of the Rockets, Irving of the Cavaliers, JJ Redick, who ranks first in three-point shooting percentage this season, Devin Booker of the Suns, and Chris Bosh of the Rockets.

The last spot in the dunk contest was given to the Magic's second-year player Aaron Gordon.

In addition, another interesting thing is that because the Warriors were first in the division last year, according to the rules, Kerr will not be able to continue to serve as the head coach of the All-Star team, so this year the head coach of the Western Conference team is Scott of the Lakers.

Although the situation on the Eastern team is similar, due to a change of coach, Riley will serve as the head coach of the Eastern team.

It is February now, the All-Star Game is approaching, and the league is also experiencing a small wave of injuries at this time.

The most notable of these is Chris Bosh, who will miss this year's All-Star Game due to a calf strain.

The Kings' Cousins ​​will replace him in this year's Western Conference All-Star team, while the Lakers' Frye will replace him in this year's Three-Point Contest.

On the Cavaliers side, Mo Williams will also be absent for a while due to an elbow injury.

This gave Powell some opportunities.

Although he has no organizational skills, when he plays with Jokic, a shooting guard like him has more room to play.

In the game against the Clippers, he was in hot form, making 10 of 8 shots and scoring 24 points, showing his explosive scoring ability.

The good news for Han Sen is that his [Elementary School Student's Blessing] has also reached a bottleneck during this period, which will make him more confident in the three-point contest.

There is a small episode in the middle.

On the Cavaliers side, in addition to Hansen and Irving, Jokic was also selected for this year's Rookie Challenge.

Then he didn't want to go, and talked to Han Sen about injuries that could be used as an excuse, and whether a groin injury would work.

Han Sen directly arranged for him to be his assistant in the dunk contest and promised to give him the prize money if he won the championship.

That's right, there are prize money for individual NBA events. The champions of the three-point contest and the dunk contest will receive 5. Although this amount of money is about the same as 5 dollars for Hansen now, it is not the case for a rookie like Jokic.

On February 2, Malone, Irving and Jokic flew to Toronto together on Hansen's private plane.

The All-Star Game is an entertainment event, and of course they don’t go there alone, they all bring their families with them.

Malone brought his wife, Hansen brought Ajali, Jokic brought Natalia, and Irving also brought his girlfriend Kelly Rivers.

Oh, yes, Rivers's youngest daughter.

So the plane was quite lively.

After arriving in Toronto, Hansen started to get busy as soon as he landed.

The Maple Leaf Country is a province of the United States. Although the overall population here is small, Toronto, as the capital of the Maple Leaf Country, still has a large population.

UA will naturally seize this publicity opportunity.

In addition to Hansen, the Splash Brothers, as well as UA newcomers LaVine and Booker made a collective appearance at the event, which can be said to be taken very seriously.

It was the moment they made their debut that fans realized that UA's influence had become quite large.

Especially this year's All-Star Game, the Slam Dunk Contest and the Three-Point Contest can all be considered internal competitions within the UA system.

It's no wonder that James announced his participation. Whether he can win the championship is secondary. After all, he has lost so many times. Is he afraid of losing the dunk contest again? The important thing is to keep up with the topic.

On the first day of the All-Star Weekend, the NBA also held the All-Star Game Media Day.

We can still clearly remember what Hansen said at the All-Star Game last year about surpassing Jordan, but this year, Kobe is destined to be the protagonist.

"Do you want to compete for the All-Star Game MVP this year?" This was the first question Kobe was asked.

Kobe's retirement season easily reminds people of Jordan's second retirement, which was the last All-Star Game he participated in that year.

That year, the issue of the starting lineup was a hot topic, and the Eastern Conference All-Stars also tried their best to cooperate with Jordan to win the last All-Star Game MVP.

Unfortunately, Kobe's foul in the end ruined everything, and Garnett finally held the trophy customized by the league for Jordan, which was the most embarrassing scene of the century.

Kobe also laughed when he heard this question, obviously recalling his experience of that year.

"No, I will enjoy the game." Kobe replied with a smile.

Although Kobe expressed that he had no idea about the MVP, other players did not seem to think so.

James then expressed his attitude in front of the media:

"We will win this MVP for him and give him a perfect mid-season finale to his career."

Curry later expressed similar thoughts:
"He is an idol of our generation. If there is anything I can do for him, I will create as many chances as possible for him in the game."

Of course, Han Sen, as his opponent, was also asked similar questions.

"We all know this will be Kobe's last All-Star Game and you're going to be on the court against him. How are you going to guard him?"

This was the question asked by the reporter, and the implication was obvious enough. It was to ask whether Hansen would let up and cooperate so that this year's All-Star Game could be a happy scene.

"I will go all out for this year's All-Star Game. I think that's the greatest respect for Kobe."

However, Han Sen's answer was completely beyond the reporter's expectations. It seemed that something called reincarnation was happening in the dark.

Because of these completely different voices, this year's All-Star season has become particularly eye-catching.

The first day of media day was the focus of outside attention. In a corner that received less attention, Jokic ended his rookie challenge.

The format of this year's rookie game is the same as last year. The selected first and second year players are divided into the national team and the US team to compete.

The United States team eventually won 157-154, and LaVine scored 30 points and 7 rebounds to win the Rookie Game MVP.

The value of UA's operation of raising the price for Wiggins to sign LaVine continues to increase.

Jokic also played well, getting a near triple-double of 11 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

When the second day of the All-Star Weekend came, the outside world's attention began to rise rapidly.

Because the individual events will officially kick off on this day.

The skills challenge that started first was full of highlights.

This event, which was previously only for small stature, was restructured this year and divided into a group for big stature and a group for small stature.

Well-rounded big men such as Green, Cousins, Anthony Davis and Towns made their debut in the event.

The final result was also unexpected. Towns, who broke out of the big group, defeated Thomas, who broke out of the small group, with a three-pointer in the final.

This result can also be said to be a manifestation of the characteristics of the small ball era. It is difficult for big men without shooting to become stars in this era.

After the skills challenge, the three-point shooting contest follows.

When the contestants started to appear on stage, the cheers from the audience could no longer be stopped.

Because of the special circumstances of this year, when the contestants came on stage, Kenny Smith, the host in the venue, interviewed each contestant and asked them to make a pre-match statement.

Among them, the ones who attracted more attention and have the highest chance of winning the championship this year are the Splash Brothers and Hansen.

Thompson's declaration was directed at Curry: "I lost last year, but I will win back this year."

Curry was in high spirits. After paying tribute to Hansen and saying "No one wants to face us next season" after being eliminated two years ago, he paid tribute to Hansen again before the game: "Are you here to compete for second place?"

This also caused cheers and whistles from the audience.

When it comes to playfulness, elementary school students are no less interesting than others. Finally, the microphone was passed to Han Sen.

He hadn't even started yet, but the cheers from the crowd were already unstoppable.

Most fans didn't have the chance to witness Bird's show-off, but many fans saw Hansen six years ago.

At that time, most fans criticized Hansen, but as time passed, it has become a classic story that fans talk about with relish.

After the cheers died down, Han Sen spoke up, "Stephen, when I told you that 'the future is yours', I was actually lying to you."

Before he finished speaking, Curry burst into laughter, and the fans at the scene followed with laughter and whistles.

As expected, when it comes to show effect, Han Sen is the best, it's a blast.

After this pre-match declaration, fans' expectations have reached their limit.

The first person to appear on stage was Thompson, and there was cheering from the audience.

In terms of shooting skills alone in the first half of this season, Curry was in the T0 level, while Hansen and Thompson were both at the T1 level.

Thompson did not disappoint the fans. Although he was under great pressure as the first player to appear, he still scored 22 points.
Thompson got off to a good start, and Harden and Irving, who came on later, performed well, both scoring 20 points.

Such a start fully lived up to the fans' pre-match expectations.

Redick only scored 15 points and was eliminated early.

Among the following players, Booker also scored 20 points.

Frye performed poorly, scoring only 13 points and was eliminated early.

The only ones who have not yet appeared on the court are Curry and Hansen, and they are facing the most brutal three-point shooting contest of the year.

Because if the score is less than 20, you will be eliminated directly.

Curry, who played second to last, felt the pressure and scored 21 points.

A score that was enough to secure his promotion, but from his disappointed expression at the end, it was clear that he had not performed to his true level.

Han Sen appears last.

Is Han Sen under pressure?

Of course, it’s the same as six years ago, no pressure at all.

Six years ago, he won both ways, but now, it doesn’t really matter whether he wins or loses.

Curry needs to defend his three-point contest title to justify himself.

Does Han Sen’s current position in the league still require another three-point contest championship to justify his status?

To be honest, his main purpose of participating was to have fun, and his secondary purpose was to promote UA and the alliance.

However, the three-point contest depends on the touch. Han Sen's hands were a bit cold when he came on the court at the end, and he only got 22 points after all the shots.

Of course, this first place result in the preliminary round still allowed him to easily advance to the finals.

Before Hansen shot the last ball, Harden, Irving, Booker and others had already shaken their heads helplessly.

They were destined to come and accompany the prince to study this year.

The three most watched teams before the game all entered the finals, which whetted the appetite of the fans.

Curry was the first to appear in the final. He was taking deep breaths before the game started, which showed that he was quite nervous.

Under tremendous pressure, Curry withstood the pressure and finally scored 23 points.

Although not as good as last year's record-breaking 27-point performance, it is still pretty good.

Curry also breathed a sigh of relief after the shot.

But Thompson who came on the court afterwards made him smile helplessly.

Because Thompson made all the last free throws, he scored 27 points, tying his historical record last year!
Curry's title defense also ended early.

After the shot, Thompson was extremely excited, shouting and waving his fists at the camera.

Although it is a civil war within UA, or even a civil war within the Warriors, Thompson also cares very much about this kind of thing.

Han Sen was the last to appear, and this time he felt a little pressured.

However, after his hands got warmed up, his performance was obviously better than in the preliminaries.

When he reached the last flower ball point, his score had reached 19 points.

This means that if he hits all five balls, he will not only beat Thompson to win the championship, but also set a new record.

The fans at the scene were extremely excited.

Unfortunately, Han Sen's last shot after adjusting the ball went wide of the basket.

The sound of iron hammering represented the sound of heartbreak in the entire audience.

Of course, the heartbreak soon turned to excitement because Hansen and Thompson split it evenly!
And this is also a tie for the historical record.

In this unprecedented situation, Kenny Smith went over to interview the two men on how they were prepared to decide the winner.

Generally speaking, there will be either an extra 30 seconds or an extra round.

However, it was at this time that Han Sen put forward a very constructive suggestion.

Why not invest together!

What this means is that two people play in two halves at the same time!

Generally speaking, there is no concept of direct confrontation in the three-point shooting contest, but Han Sen's suggestion made the game more exciting.

Thompson accepted the offer.

After all, we have come this far. If we want to make this year's three-point contest championship more meaningful, there is no better way than Han Sen's suggestion.

So, by the time the scene was ready, the fans' heartbeats had reached their highest speed.

As the whistle sounded, Hansen and Thompson started their game on the left and right.

At this time, fans quickly fell into a dilemma of making a choice, because it is impossible for your eyes to see two baskets at the same time.

But this is precisely the most exciting part because you don’t have the time to pay attention to anything else.

After the first two points, both players scored 9 points, which was a very high level of performance.

There were already some unstoppable cheers at the scene.

By the time the third throw was over, the difference in scores between the two teams was only 1 point.

But when the fourth point started, the watershed of the game appeared.

Thompson began to miss shots in a row, while Hansen, after his touch finally improved, turned into a ruthless shooting machine.

Before the last point, Thompson's score was 16 points, while Hansen had reached 20 points!
The outcome is still uncertain, but the outcome seems to be beyond doubt.

Thompson finished shooting first, and his score was fixed at 24 points, which is still an excellent statistic.

Han Sen did not miss the opportunity this time. He made all the free throws and the final score was fixed at 30 points!
Han Sen, who conducted three-point training in the form of a three-point contest, and who brought [Elementary School Student's Blessing] to a bottleneck, finally raised the three-point contest to the 30-point era by himself!
What he said before the game was correct, he did deceive Curry, because... the future is also his! -
Dividing line -
①: Eastern Conference starting lineup: Irving, Hansen, Paul George, Durant, Gasol

Substitutes: Lowry, Isaiah Thomas, Wade, DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, Horford, Drummond

Western Conference starting lineup: Curry, Kobe, Leonard, James, Anthony Davis

Substitutes: Westbrook, Paul, Harden, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Aldridge, Chris Bosh
②: When Hansen participated in the three-point contest in 2010, the full score was 30 points. However, since 2014, the three-point contest has added a full-flower ball point, and the full score has increased to 34 points.

(End of this chapter)