The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 398 - 207 [Illusion Step]_2

Randolph, having spent so many years in the League, could lend his experience not only to Little Gasol but also to Hansen.

After their discussion, Hansen was pretty much set on acquiring the "hook shot" Talent next.

After all, not all guards play high-post backdown; the talent for hook shots is vital when playing in the low post.

Of course, that wasn’t urgent for the moment; his immediate priority was to train his back-to-the-basket Talent to its limits.

However, that training couldn’t last too long because the 2013 All-Star Game was just around the corner.

This year’s All-Star game was being held in Houston, and Randolph had chartered a plane.

Apart from the three of them playing in the main game, Faried was also going; he’d participate in both the Rookie Game and the Slam Dunk Contest this year.

As soon as Hansen arrived in Houston, Harden called him up and took him to a nightclub.

Seeing this as the host’s way of welcoming and cleaning off the dust from travel.

The choice of venue was quite characteristic of him.

After arriving, Hansen realized Harden was quite a social butterfly, not knowing where he’d found a Taiwanese girl to accompany him.

Quite thoughtful indeed.

It seems his years of inviting Harden to his summer training camp were paying off.

Naturally, this was also related to Harden’s current move to the Rockets, which still held the legacy assets from Yao Ming. If Harden wanted a piece of the enormous East Market pie, it only made sense to deepen his relationship with Hansen.

"When we get to the main game, I’ll pass to you a lot to help you get the MVP," Hansen said with a knowing expression.

"No, no, I’m not interested in that stuff," Harden quickly waved it off, and more importantly, he didn’t feel he was qualified yet.

"What about you? I think you should take it, haven’t they been saying you lack an MVP?"

Hansen smiled and shook his head; the All-Star game was just an entertainment event, an MVP from this had no real value.

But what Harden said next almost made Hansen lose his composure.

"They say LeBron has four MVPs, including those from the All-Star games in the count. If LeBron never wins a championship later, they might come up with some Preseason Champion title or something; it’s still a championship anyway."

If Harden talked about a Midseason Champion, Hansen would’ve suspected he was a time traveler like himself.

But there was some sense in what Harden said.

Plus, with Harden being a gracious host and willing to play a supporting role, the chances were pretty good.

Not to mention, this year the Grizzlies were first in the West, and Joerger, the coach of The West team.

The All-Star main game hadn’t started yet, and Faried had already harvested some honor for the Grizzlies.

He scored 40 points and 13 rebounds in the Rookie Challenge, nabbing the Rookie Game MVP.

His style was perfect for such exhibition games, able to dunk and fast breaks so swiftly; playing a substitute in the Grizzlies felt somewhat underutilized.

However, it was a bit disappointing in the Slam Dunk Contest the next day as, with Hansen’s creative input, he scored 95 points in the preliminaries and made it to the finals, but ultimately lost to Terrence Ross.

As the time came to the last day of All-Star weekend, the curtains for the main game rose.

The atmosphere in the Toyota Center was electric.

Yao Ming, as a Rockets legend, was also there. He had been a judge in the Slam Dunk Contest yesterday and was now sitting in the front row of the spectator seats.

Hansen went over to greet him before the game.

Ever since Yao came to visit after Hansen’s injury, advising him not to rush his recovery, their relationship had significantly improved.

As they greeted each other, many Chinese fans were waving banners behind them.

A significant reason Yao had succeeded in Houston back in the day was the large Chinese market here.

Of course, today they weren’t here for Yao, but for Hansen.

Speaking of the market, Hansen hadn’t needed to lift a finger to consume what Yao had cultivated in the United States’ Chinese market.

Actually, it wasn’t just the Chinese; a considerable portion of the fans in attendance were wearing Grizzlies’ No. 77 jerseys.

This scene was met with varying expressions from other players present.

Teammates like Randolph and Little Gasol were used to it by now; without this kind of popularity, Hansen wouldn’t possibly have won the top vote-getter for three consecutive years.

Harden was envious yet expectant; getting a slice of such a large cake would suffice to satiate him.

Durant was visibly upset; being handsome was already enough, but overstepping him for his goddess, and even beating him with a game-winner on top of the popularity was too much.

He had to step over Hansen today to snatch that MVP and quench the dissatisfaction in his heart.

James, however, looked stern.

As the dignified Chosen One, losing the Finals was embarrassing enough, let alone falling behind in popularity.

He silently decided that today, Hansen must face embarrassment on the court.

Just as Hansen was finishing his greeting with Yao, he felt a chill on his back, unaware that he had already been cornered by rivals.

The game was about to start, and the starting All-Stars from both the East and West slowly took the stage.

Griffin won the jump ball for The West.

After Kobe dribbled the ball past half court, he passed it to James.

With no true point guard on The West’s team, James unhesitatingly took on the role of the facilitator.

But as James held the ball, the audience started jeering.

Because at that moment, the person guarding him on the court was Durant!

After their December game debacle, their rivalry was no less intense than that with Hansen.