The No.1 Anti-Fans in Basketball-Chapter 36 "Leading by Example

The next day at 12 o’clock, the players were ready to head to the arena for training.

Hansen still arrived at the gym an hour early to train.

What was different from yesterday was that, not long after he started, he saw two people enter the gym.

He immediately noticed that one of them was James.

The person next to James must be his trainer.

Mike Mancias, if Hansen remembered correctly, that should be the name.

Ilgauskas had enthusiastically offered to introduce him the day before.

When James saw Hansen, he turned his head to exchange a few words with Mancias next to him, and then started training on his own.

After finishing his workout, Hansen was the first to rise and leave the gym.

However, as he walked out of the gym, Hansen noticed that a +5 appeared in the system’s negative fan value.

Ordinary people’s negative fan values are always +1, so the contributor of this negative fan value could only come from... James?

This was the second time since the one-on-one with Jordan that he experienced the celebrity effect on the negative fan value.

So why did James have something against him?

Was it because he didn’t take the initiative to greet him?

Or was it because he didn’t seize the opportunity to apologize for yesterday’s incident?

Hansen wasn’t sure, but he also realized that what Conningham said yesterday wasn’t an overreaction.

Back at the training venue, as Brown mentioned yesterday, many reporters had arrived on the scene.

Conningham was greeting Hansen, and Hansen walked over.

Just at this moment, James and Mancias also arrived at the arena.

"Why is LeBron always looking over here?" Conningham asked in a lowered voice.

"Who cares?"

Conningham secretly gave Hansen a thumbs up.

"Shaq didn’t come today?" Hansen now noticed that O’Neal wasn’t in the training venue.

"He said his knees were sore," Conningham had also heard it in the locker room earlier.

Is it a coincidence?

So is this O’Neal’s silent protest?

After everyone had arrived, Malone came over to gather the players for warm-up exercises, like running around the court and stretching.

However, Hansen now noticed something else, that James had already started to accept media interviews on the sidelines and was not training with the team.

"I got to the arena around 10 a.m., and I understand the pressure that our team is facing this season. We have no retreat, and I must lead by example."

As Hansen passed by during the warm-up run, he heard the content of James’s interview.

Hansen just laughed.

When he saw James at the gym at 11 a.m., the guy didn’t have a drop of sweat on him.

Was this saying he came to the arena at 10 a.m. for a meal?

Of course, this wasn’t what Hansen found most laughable; after all, he hadn’t been following James, and perhaps James came to the arena at 10 a.m. especially to watch game video.

What really made him laugh was that James, as the team leader, was not setting an example by joining the team’s warm-up, yet in the interview, he was talking about the need to lead by example.

By the time the warm-up on their side ended, James’s interview had just finished as well, with perfect timing.

After the warm-up was over, they proceeded to some non-contact on-ball exercises, mainly focusing on outside shooting practice.

The Cavaliers lost to the Magic last season for two main reasons: on one hand, no one inside could contain Howard; on the other hand, the team’s outside shooting was poor.

With the internal issues already addressed through a trade for O’Neal, naturally, the focus of their training was on outside shooting.

Besides regular training, Brown also arranged a special form of competitive training.

It was to pair up two players, take turns shooting a certain number of shots from designated spots on the perimeter, and during this process, an inside player would attempt to disrupt the shooter.

You know, this could simulate actual game conditions to the greatest extent and was a very effective method.

It just put a real test on the players’ abilities to shoot under distraction.

For example, Williams and Gibson were the first to go up, and after shooting 25 balls from all 5 spots, they both only scored 15.

They were the two with the highest output from the perimeter for the Cavaliers last season.

Next up were James and Conningham.

This group hadn’t even started yet, and Hansen couldn’t help but want to laugh.

He felt that if he stayed with the Cavaliers any longer, he’d soon become Cao Cao trying to navigate the Huarong Path.

Conningham had range, true, but his range was not up to the NBA’s three-point line yet.

With so many people watching from the sidelines, how afraid was Brown that James would lose, that he matched Conningham with him?

Sure enough, the competition was disastrous from the start.

From the first spot at the corner, Conningham took five shots and only made one.

Following James, who also didn’t fare much better, hitting just two out of five shots.

After the last five spots were compared, Conningham 4 out of 25 and James 10 out of 25, James won by a landslide.

Hansen was actually quite puzzled. He knew that James could develop a three-point shot; his proficiency later in his career, while not overly impressive, was at least enough to keep opponents from leaving him unguarded.

But why couldn’t he seem to develop it during this period?

Especially since he hadn’t bulked up to play power forward yet, which should have made it easier to develop.

Could it really be that he just didn’t practice?

Hansen and Parker were the last pair to take the stage.

Before Hansen went on, Malone came over and patted his shoulder.

He immediately understood; this was an opportunity Malone had arranged for him.

The Cavaliers were looking to strengthen their perimeter. Now, with this three-point contest, it was clear they were looking to pick their starting shooting guard.

Parker was the most likely candidate in terms of size, ability, and experience. frёewebnoѵēl.com

But Hansen wasn’t entirely without a chance.

And to demonstrate that possibility, direct confrontation like this was the most straightforward way.

Varejao was tasked with distracting them, a big man standing at 2.11 meters tall.

Parker’s shooting form was very standard, and he scored four out of five shots under distraction at the first spot, drawing cheers from the other players.

When Hansen took the stage, James’s gaze once again fell on him.

Hansen had no time to think about anything else at the moment, his attention was entirely on the court.

He caught the pass, jumped, and released the shot.

But as soon as he jumped, Vallejo’s interference seemed noticeably different from before, with a distinct lunging forward motion.

Hansen’s first shot didn’t go in due to the interference.

Was this targeted?

Hansen met Vallejo’s eyes, the playful look in the latter’s eyes was obvious.

"Andre, do your job properly," Malone reminded, just at that moment.

With his scheme exposed on the spot, Vallejo looked a bit embarrassed, but as Malone was the coach, he had no choice but to comply.

Hansen made the remaining four shots, his level of concentration extremely high.

The following time turned into a display by Parker and Hansen.

This kind of pressured shooting tested not only their shooting skills but also depended greatly on the players’ height and mental strength.

Those shorter in stature or weaker mentally struggled to maintain consistency under such strong interference.

However, both seemed strong in this respect.

Parker’s strength was expected, but Hansen’s strength was dazzling.

After all, the former had been a veteran in the League for many years, while the latter was just a rookie.

By the time both had shot at four spots, they were tied with 15 makes each.

Even Brown couldn’t help but turn his head and discuss with Malone.

In the final spot’s showdown, Parker remained steady, making four out of five shots.

And it was clear to see that Parker’s stability was particularly strong in the two corners.

Hansen’s shooting touch was hot in the final spot as well.

The first three shots all swished through.

After bulking up and adjusting to the new muscle memory, his energy felt more abundant than before, which made his shots, even at the fifth spot, still seem effortless.

"Swish!"

The fourth shot still hit the net cleanly.

Conningham couldn’t help cheering for Hansen.

Just two months apart, Hansen’s overall impression now felt a level stronger than during his time in the Summer League.

However, as Hansen was about to take his last shot, Vallejo lunged forward again.

Despite Malone’s previous warning, Vallejo still made his move in the end.

This time, Hansen’s reaction was markedly different. Previously caught off guard, but now prepared, he didn’t waver in the slightest and shot directly over Vallejo’s interference.

As if this was a clutch shot in a real game.

The basketball spun past Vallejo’s fingertips, flying straight towards the hoop.

The trajectory was true.

"Swish!"

Along with a crisp swoosh, just like during his match against Michigan State University, Hansen nailed the clutch shot!

This time, it wasn’t just Conningham, but many of the Cavaliers players who couldn’t help but applaud for him.

Making every shot at the last point, he was the only player on the court to reach 20 makes.

Hansen was strong!