The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 469 - 238: 2014 NBA Trade Deadline

After reaching a bottleneck with "Death Entanglement," Hansen began looking for opportunities to accelerate his accumulation of dislike values.

Previously, he hadn’t needed that man, but now it was time to bring him into play.

Although Jordan had retired, his fan base remained massive.

One could say, the majority of basketball fans in this era were essentially fans of Jordan.

This was evident from the sales of AJ sneakers.

Jordan was hailed as the god of basketball not by his own proclamation, but through the recognition of the media and fans.

In fact, before James popularized the term GOAT to the extent of being overly common, Jordan and the title of the greatest player in history were firmly linked.

Domination of his contemporaries, peak period filled with honors, genuinely ranking first in all statistical lists—this was the dominance of Jordan.

Not to mention, Jordan had propelled Nike to a divine status alongside the impact of his series of legendary stories.

In this era, one might criticize Jordan’s personality, but no one would question his skills.

Therefore, even though Hansen had already become a back-to-back Finals MVP and was showing signs of becoming the top player in the league this season, his claim to snatch the title of GOAT from Jordan still brought him substantial negative impact.

In fact, the media day hadn’t even ended when social media exploded.

"Grizzlies are strong because the team is strong, Bulls are strong because Jordan is strong; is there any comparison between the two?"

"Hansen’s career trajectory is similar to Kobe’s, and he hasn’t even surpassed Kobe yet; how dare he talk about surpassing Jordan?"

"This is sheer clout-chasing; now everyone thinks they can call themselves the GOAT?"

"Hansen will regret the words he said today; his disrespect towards Michael will provoke many to challenge him."

...

During his first night in New Orleans, Hansen fully experienced the terror of Jordan’s fans.

In just one night, his dislike values skyrocketed by over 300,000!

Jordan has been retired for ten years, and his influence remains terrifying.

However, this was also related to Hansen’s current popularity and the way he chose to speak out.

The All-Star Weekend was inherently a global focal point for fans, with practically all sports media present.

This was akin to farting loudly on a crowded subway during rush hour; attracting odd glances was inevitable.

However, UA seized this wave of Hansen’s for strong promotion.

Fans need fresh topics; they had grown tired of hearing the term "Jordan’s successor" since the turn of the century.

This was why James’s previous statement, "Don’t be the next Kobe, be the first yourself," had garnered a huge response.

Now, as the first person to boldly claim surpassing Jordan, Hansen was bound to be criticized, but this actually also boosted the fans’ anticipation for him.

After all, up until now, Hansen delivered on his promises—bringing a championship to Memphis, achieved; and establishing a dynasty, already a two-time champion.

He said he would surpass Jordan, and although it seemed impossible now, he was only in his fifth year of his career.

He and Kobe, whom the fans cited as an example, were clearly different because in those two championships, Hansen was the MVP; he was the absolute core of the team.

Using some dedicated Hansen fans’ words, a fifth-grade Jordan was still without a championship, while Hansen already had two and was aiming for a dynasty.

So, although it sounded unbelievable, there was space for publicity.

Who knows, right?

The next day during the official All-Star practice session, reporters once again approached Hansen to ask about yesterday’s issue.

"Did you lose sleep last night?" the reporter began somewhat tactfully.

"I had the best sleep I’ve had this season, you know, the All-Star Weekend is a rare relaxation time for me."

"The external public opinion pressure is great; do you want to retract what you said yesterday?" seeing his response, the reporter chose a more direct approach.

"No," Hansen answered succinctly, his dislike value was happily rising!

The focus of the day was supposed to be on Silva’s official inauguration press conference.

Hansen’s uproar truly stole the limelight from the other party.

However, Silva’s response when asked about this matter at the press conference was also very interesting.

"I’m happy to see a player in the league who dares to challenge the greatest of all time; we all look forward to what will happen in the future."

This new league commissioner, who clearly knew the weight of Hansen and UA, opted not to offend them easily.

The last day of the All-Star game was unlike the previous year; Hansen chose to coast this year.

Just as he mentioned to the reporters yesterday, the regular season had been very draining for him, and the All-Star Weekend was an ideal time for rest.

Although he possessed an incredible physical endurance, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t get injured; the risk was relatively smaller, as proven two years ago when James inadvertently injured him during the finals.

The main event of the day unexpectedly featured Irving, who was making his first All-Star starting appearance.

The Cavaliers had finally shown improvement this season, now ranked tenth in The East, and the weak state of The East this year even gave them a chance to aim for the playoffs.

Irving’s confidence was significantly boosted; although his scoring hadn’t increased much this season, his average assists rose to 6.1 per game, meeting the standard of a core point guard.

On the All-Star stage, a confident Irving thrived, ultimately scoring 31 points and 14 assists to lead The East to victory and claiming the All-Star MVP title.