Basketball's No. 1 Anti-Fan

Chapter 404 True and False King
This photo doesn't mean anything. At most, it only shows that Tatum took a photo with James when he was young, but Hansen has already understood what Hughes wanted to express.

"When I was playing in Cleveland, Jason was allowed into the arena and even the locker room, and he and LeBron had a great chat."

Hughes' next words also verified this: Tatum and James have a close relationship.

Han Sen looked at the photo again. He had felt a strange sense of disharmony when he first saw it. After realizing what Hughes wanted to express, he found that disharmony.

Kobe fans and James fans are two completely opposite groups, but Tatum took a photo with James wearing Kobe's jersey.

This guy is an alternative!
Hansen returned the photo to Hughes: "I'll talk to Jason once."

Hughes' eyes were filled with gratitude after hearing this, and he said from the bottom of his heart: "Thank you!"

For Tatum now, if nothing changes, there are only two results: one is to continue to stay in the Kings and be criticized; the other is to be judged as a half-scratch lottery ticket and sent to another team as a trading chip.

But neither of these outcomes is good for Tatum.

The former needs no further explanation, but the latter is extremely uncertain. Just as Jokic can grow rapidly under Hansen's favor, if the new team has even less patience with Tatum, he is likely to be lost in the crowd.

This is also why Hughes is truly grateful, because theoretically there is a third possibility: Tatum makes a change.

This year, two games are scheduled for Christmas, one each in the East and West, and both are focus games.

The two teams facing off in the Eastern Conference are the Cavaliers and Celtics, while in the Western Conference it is the Pelicans and Kings.

In the East, it was a contest between two old rivals, while in the West, it was a classic dialogue between Hansen and James.

Compared to the Eastern Conference, this year's Christmas game in the Western Conference is a game that fans pay more attention to.

Because the Pelicans are obviously stronger than the Kings this year, and after Hansen went to the Kings, he got the nickname "The Real King".

Where there are true ones, there are naturally false ones. You should know that the nickname King can be traced back to high school. At that time, in order to sign James amid the siege of Reebok and Adidas, Nike gave him such a nickname when they met him.

In other words, regardless of whether it is self-proclaimed or recognized by the outside world, James has been the king for 16 years, but now it has come to the stage of true and false king.

Therefore, the outside attention this game received was unprecedented.

It was also on the day before Christmas Eve that Hansen invited the entire team to his own manor for a barbecue party for the first time.

Compared to Cleveland, because the estate here has an artificial lake, the barbecue parties by the lake have a much more intense atmosphere.

Also at the party, Hansen asked Cunningham and Guy to bring a large box of stuff. When they opened it, they found a whole set of electronic products from a certain major Dongfang brand, including mobile phones and tablets.

The value of this Christmas gift is not too high, but Han Sen is not just giving it as a gift this time, because this is the brand he endorses.

Every NBA player is not an individual. There are many spotlights around them, so when these products appear, it is equivalent to free advertising.

This is advice from Atkinson, who has been at UA for so many years and has learned a lot of marketing techniques.

While the other team members were eating barbecue and talking about gifts, Hansen called Tatum alone and went to the living room with him.

"Hughes came to see me and told me that you have a very good relationship with LeBron?" After sitting down, Han Sen got straight to the point.

Tatum was stunned. He didn't expect Han Sen to be so direct.

After coming to his senses, he nodded, but didn't know what to say next.

After all, everyone knows the grudge between Hansen and James, or it can be said that it can no longer be called a grudge, but a kind of hatred.

Han Sen smiled.

After meeting with Hughes, he probably already knew Tatum's attitude towards him and the reason why the two of them could not produce any chemistry.

Now seeing Tatum admit it, those things can be completely confirmed.

Because he is a time traveler, some of his knowledge comes from his previous life, and he subjectively judges that Tatum is a Kobe fan as the media has publicized.

Subconsciously, he would think that Tatum, as a Kobe fan, would have nothing in common with James.

But the photo Hughes gave shows that Tatum is an alternative. He admires Kobe and also regards James as his idol.

This is also normal. Kobe appears more on TV, while James is the NBA superstar that Tatum could frequently come into contact with when he was young, and James is the kind of person who does a lot of superficial work.

This also explains why Lu and Hughes said Tatum was a bit "childish", because Tatum's performance was essentially "awkward".

Your idol is being constantly insulted and humiliated, yet you are now on the same team with that person.

Theoretically, you know that the other person is stronger and more worthy of admiration, but you will always feel a little uncomfortable.

After all, your childhood idol is like the girl you liked in your childhood, she is your white moonlight. Maybe she has become different when she grows up, but deep down you still don’t want others to say bad things about her.

"Why do you play basketball?" After a moment of silence, Hansen looked at Tatum and spoke.

"To win." Tatum answered without hesitation.

Hansen looked at Tatum and nodded.

His biggest impression of Tatum before was his hard work, and there was nothing wrong with Tatum's competitive spirit.

"So what do you think is needed to win?" Han Sen asked.

Tatum didn't dare to look Han Sen in the eye, but after thinking, he replied, "Strength, strength like yours."

Although they felt uncomfortable, no one could deny Han Sen's strength, especially this season when he joined a weaker team. Han Sen demonstrated his personal abilities to the extreme.

Including the previous game between the Kings and the Warriors, Hansen's dominance at critical moments made it clear that as long as you are strong enough, you can overcome everything.

"anything else?"

Tatum looked up at Hansen with a puzzled look in his eyes: "Anything else?"

"If the team was just strong enough, there wouldn't be so many upsets."

Hansen's next words made Tatum fall into deep thought.

Yes, not to mention the upsets in a single game, there are many examples of the weak defeating the strong in the playoffs.

Even in Hansen's experience, he's done it both in Memphis and Cleveland.

"Determination." Han Sen then gave the answer.

"If you don't have enough determination, your choices on the court will become hesitant. If you don't have enough determination, even a fake move will not fool your defender."

Hansen's meaning was very clear, Tatum lacked determination in playing, and that was the cause of all the problems.

"I came here to win. I have the determination. I need teammates who have the determination. As for the rest, I don't care at all." Hansen's meaning is very clear. He is not concerned about whether Tatum is a Comey fan or a James fan. He is concerned about whether Tatum has the determination besides his strength. Obviously, if Tatum always has that "awkwardness" in his heart, then he will not have the determination.

Han Sen also had something to say. It's okay for Tatum to be a little bit weaker and take a longer time to grow, but if Tatum lacks determination, then he is not the teammate he needs.

Hansen spent his first Christmas Eve in Sacramento.

He gave gifts to his Kings teammates, and he also received a roomful of gifts in a physical sense.

Those were not only gifts from teammates, but also from friends. For example, Jokic gave him a huge lawn mower.

Of course, more comes from sponsors.

This is the result of Han Sen's hard work this year.

The all-round endorsement means that he doesn’t even have to buy anything anymore.

Just as Han Sen was enjoying Christmas Eve, something happened on social media that made this Christmas Eve not so peaceful.

That was a social media status posted by James, a picture of him training at the Golden One Arena on Christmas Eve.

These pictures of "Look how hard James is working, he's still training on Christmas Eve" are actually not a big deal, fans have become accustomed to them.

But more importantly, this photo was photoshopped, and the only thing that was photoshopped was a word, or to be more precise, a letter: S.

The Kings' team name is KINGS, and there will be an electronic screen displaying this on the second floor when the arena is in operation.

As a result, the training photo posted by James had the S photoshopped out. The meaning here is self-evident. It is a way of expressing that his KING is officially recognized and he is the real king.

This instantly caused the topic of the real and fake king to explode on social media.

And most fans think James is funny. After all, Hansen has 6 championships and dynasties. Unless you are an extreme James fan, it is impossible for you to think that James is the real king.

No one knows what is going on in James' mind, but maybe James thinks he is very smart to do so, after all, he is just hinting at others.

Just after spending this somewhat special Christmas Eve, the much-anticipated Christmas game officially kicked off at the Kings' home court, Golden One Arena.

It was a Christmas game, and with James personally warming up the game before the game, the stadium was not only packed with fans, but the enthusiasm of the fans was also unprecedentedly high.

During the pre-game warm-up, James' expression looked as if he was in spring breeze under the live camera.

He had forgotten the last time his team had such a big advantage over Han Sen.

The Warriors era doesn’t count, because although the Warriors are strong, the Cavaliers are definitely not weak as the defending champions.

That may have to be traced back to the Grizzlies period, and it must have been Hansen's first two seasons with the Grizzlies.

Although Han Sen won in the end, it was because of his restrained style of play.

But now, the Pelicans have an all-round advantage over the Kings.

There's no need to even compare the lineups; it can be seen simply by looking at the two teams' record rankings.

The photoshopped picture he took before the game showed his confidence in himself, as did the champagne before the game.

What's more, there is Tatum.

James smiled and walked towards Tatum, the guy he had been optimistic about.

Strictly speaking, he is Tatum's uncle.

After all, he taught Tatum a lot of basketball skills and even basketball concepts.

Tatum's current all-around playing style is somewhat influenced by his past.

Looking at James approaching, Tatum hesitated for a moment but still went to meet him.

His awkwardness did not entirely come from his childhood. After he entered the league, James helped him a lot in private.

After some pleasantries, James returned to the Pelicans' half. Under the camera, his face no longer showed joy, but rather a sense of pride that he was determined to win.

Han Sen made the stupidest decision this summer, so he must accept the consequences of that stupid decision!
After the opening ceremony, the starting lineups of both sides were announced one after another.

Kings: Mitchell, Hansen, Tatum, Sabonis, Stan

Pelicans: Holiday, Bradley, James, Davis, Baynes
Davis jumped to win the ball for the Pelicans, and with the cheers of the fans, the much-anticipated Christmas game began.

James seemed excited at the start, leaning against Tatum and reaching for the ball.

"Killing the familiar" is a common occurrence in all walks of life. James gave Tatum so much help off the court, so it is only natural for Tatum to return the favor on the court.

However, Tatum's defense on this ball was very strong, or it can be said that what he has been criticized for since entering the league is his offense, and his defense has always been on point.

Regardless of the effect, at least his desire to invest is very strong.

The result was that although James used his size advantage to bypass Tatum in his first back-to-the-basket shot, his shot was blocked by Stan and missed the basket.

James came up with an angry shot and missed it, but he neither asked the referee for a free throw nor showed anger. Instead, he touched Tatum's head while retreating to express his affirmation of the latter's defense.

After all, they are our own people, so it’s no loss if they don’t score. We can also show that we are giving up a goal at the beginning.

And at the end of the day, the Pelicans are much stronger than the Kings, so it doesn't matter if he plays a little recklessly.

James was relaxed at the beginning, but Hansen was completely different. He showed full commitment from the start.

After handing off to Sabonis at the high post on the right side, Hansen broke into the basket with the ball, forced the ball into the basket despite Davis' help defense and caused the latter to foul.

This ball was very difficult to score, and there was a burst of cheers at the scene.

Although the Kings seem to be weaker than both the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers, no one will deny Hansen's strength because of the Kings' weakness.

The scene also replayed Han Sen's goal at the beginning of the game.

Davis' timing of assisting defense was perfect, and the defensive pressure he put on it was very high. Even Bradley's assisting defense was about to be in place.

However, Hansen immediately jumped up to confront Davis in the air and then shot with a pull-up shot. This not only perfectly demonstrated his talent and ability, but also made everyone feel his determination.

Hansen went to the free throw line, and Tatum turned his eyes away from the big LED screen.

If his understanding of what Han Sen said was not so vivid when he communicated with Han Sen before, then he felt it deeply just now.

He could feel Han Sen's determination to win the game from every movement he made.

(End of this chapter)