The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 161 - 114 "Unhappy

When Hansen and Swift were fiercely arguing in the SUV, social media was blazing hot too.

The first ones to jump out were the LeBron fans, defending James.

"Others treat you as a good brother, but you can’t even save face for them, Hansen is just an immature kid."

"Who hasn’t had a bad game? Kicking someone when they’re down because of an injury? I actually thought your support for LeBron was admirable."

"This is just a regular season game, I don’t know why Hansen had to overreact, wait until the Heat wins the championship, and he’s still stuck in Memphis not even making the playoffs!"

Just as Hansen had said before, the LeBron fans were nowhere to be seen when he needed them most, but were all too eager to criticize him.

This time, however, Hansen didn’t need to activate his own burner accounts, because the comments below were already pummeling them.

"Your master’s unilateral ’good brother’ is always used as a scapegoat, I’ve never heard Hansen say he was LeBron’s brother, but I’ve heard him call LeBron a coward."

"LeBron doesn’t even dare to face Hansen one-on-one, he tried to pass to DW but got intercepted, that play cracked me up."

"No wonder they say you guys are dimwitted, your most ’brilliant’ decision is to think you’re supporting LeBron, haha!"

"This is just a preseason game, this is just a regular-season game, this is just a playoff game, this is just one championship, it’s just basketball."

Knights fans were also unusually active.

"If Hansen had stayed with the Knights, I believe tonight would be our public execution of that ’traitor’, but as it stands, we’re only spectators!"

"I still don’t understand why we had to trade Hansen on draft night? Couldn’t we have waited until after the ’traitor’ made his decision?"

"Danny Ferry was just a scapegoat, the management are all that ’traitor’s’ lackeys."

"How I miss that night, Hansen alone knocked Boston out, shouting this was his turf, damn management screwed everything up!"

After returning to Memphis, the Grizzlies faced back-to-back home games.

Their first home opponent was the perpetually rebuilding Timberwolves, basically an easy win.

In that game, Randolph didn’t play, but Hansen and Guy respectively scored 29 points with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals and 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, while Conley also contributed 14 points, 7 rebounds, 11 assists.

It’s proven that with weaker teams, you really can pad your stats.

Their second opponent was the Phoenix Suns.

The Suns are a high-tempo team, and when two completely different styles meet, it’s a battle of pacing.

Randolph returned for this game, but under Nash’s lead, the Grizzlies couldn’t slow down the pace.

In the end, the Phoenix Suns won the game 123-118.

Randolph lost efficacy in such a fast-paced game, scoring only 12 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and contributing 3 assists from 4 out of 11 shooting.

Yet, Hansen and Guy, the two sharpshooters from the perimeter, performed well, with Hansen achieving 23 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, and Guy tallying 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists.

After three games, the Grizzlies had 2 wins and 1 loss.

Hansen performed exceptionally well, averaging 24 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3.7 steals over three games, almost doubling his scoring from last season.

Though it’s a small sample size, it was clear that he had the potential to be the core of the team.

Moreover, it was worth mentioning that Hansen’s average playing time reached 35.8 minutes, much higher than last season, and increasing with each game.

It’s known that after playing an amazing series against the Celtics, even the Knights management recognized his potential, but the biggest concern outside was his injury history.

But now, while James was still troubled by an elbow injury from last season, Hansen was in great health.

"He’s going to be the ’Most Improved Player’ this season." Barkley even started popping champagne for Hansen on air.

After the game against the Suns, Hansen visited Guy’s home.

Guy’s residence was a mansion, very similar to O’Neal’s when he was in Cleveland, with a garage filled with luxury cars.

Most NBA players are paid monthly, but some can get advances, and Guy was one of those with such privileges.

A contract of over eighty million, even after taxes was more than forty million, and with advances, the twenty million in hand made buying houses and cars a trivial matter.

Guy took Hansen on a tour, his eyes unable to hide the pride.

Becoming an NBA player is a class leap, but becoming a top-paid NBA player is entering the elite class.

"You play this too?" What Hansen found surprising was that in Guy’s mansion, there was also a boxing ring.

He momentarily thought he was still in O’Neal’s mansion in Cleveland.

"Yes, boxing, it helps boost your confidence, and it also enhances focus, body coordination, and balance, it really is helpful."

Guy said this excitedly, even hopping onto the ring to demonstrate some shadow boxing for Hansen.

Hansen now understood why Guy had improved so much this season.

He had seen O’Neal’s boxing ring before, thinking it was just a hobby of O’Neal’s, but it seemed quite popular among NBA players.

And what Guy said made sense, boxing and basketball have a lot of intersections.