Chapter 97: Ice and Fire.
As expected, Han Sen's post-game comments stirred up a huge controversy.
First off, Khalil was forced to resign.
ESPN and Nike have intricate ties, and those connections meant that as long as Nike applied some pressure, ESPN would make the 'right' choice. However, Khalil found a new job at TNT the very next day. As ESPN's biggest competitor, TNT welcomed him with open arms at this critical moment.
Secondly, Han was attacked by LeBron fans and quickly trended online.
"A guy who can't even get on the court dares to criticize the team's star player."
"LeBron averaged 34.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 6.8 assists against the Magic. No one on the Cavaliers has the right to question him."
"If it weren't for LeBron bringing you to Cleveland, would you even be where you are today? Ungrateful!"
"LeBron has it too hard. He's been carrying a bunch of nobodies to the Eastern Conference Finals year after year. He's given everything to Cleveland."
"I've said it before, Hansen is a high-level LeBron hater. Get him out of Cleveland!"
…
Then came comments from certain media personalities. What did they have to say?
Naturally, they regretted voting for Hansen on their All-NBA ballots.
"His defense is actually pretty bad. He just looks good because he's on a bigger stage with the Cavaliers."
"Check the stats of the players he's guarded. It looks like he's stopping them, but he hasn't really stopped anyone."
"Anthony Parker's minutes were affected by his lack of playing time. He deserved a vote more than Hansen."
...
Lastly, the Cavaliers began to fall apart.
The team's ultimate goal had been to win the championship, but now that goal seemed lost.
Moreover, Han had publicly fallen out with LeBron at the press conference, which meant only one of them could stay in Cleveland.
Originally, this wasn't even a question. Hansen had played well in one series, but it was just one series. LeBron's place in Cleveland was unshakable.
But now, even LeBron's future with the Cavaliers was uncertain.
Shaq, whose contract was up, would likely join a new team to chase another championship regardless of whether LeBron stayed.
The outside world was in chaos, but Han didn't care.
Just like during the three-point contest, no matter the outcome, he wouldn't lose out.
He didn't continue playing NBA 2K. Instead, having recovered from his injury, he resumed training.
Of course, his training intensity was lower than before. He didn't want to injure himself again during the off-season.
Then there was the [Hater System].
Thanks to LeBron fans, his [Hater Points] had been accumulating rapidly, reaching a total of 600,000.
That was enough for him to exchange for two or three second-tier talents.
But he wasn't in a rush.
Right now, he faced a serious issue: injuries.
Genetics are predetermined at birth.
Talent due to race is something that cannot be ignored.
Hansen didn't know why the Hater system existed, but he had a general sense of its purpose— to break through the limits imposed by natural talent.
But now, his body couldn't support his further progress.
This meant that if he wanted to approach or even become an All-Star caliber player, he had to find a way to exchange for "Steel Bones."
And that required 2 million Hater Points.
Perhaps that was why the system categorized the talent as first-tier— because giving an Asian man an indestructible body would be like putting an exoskeleton on a human, a direct evolution.
Relying solely on offending fans or dating Swift in a relationship doomed to fail wouldn't generate enough Hater Points.
To achieve his goal, he needed to do something that would cause the entire internet, or at least a significant portion of basketball fans, to hate him.
But such a plan couldn't be devised overnight.
So every day, his morning routine was to reflect on himself.
But this kind of thing often required a flash of inspiration, and so far, he hadn't had a breakthrough idea.
If he couldn't think of something, he'd clear his mind by watching this year's NBA Finals.
It was the Magic versus the Lakers in a rematch.
He called Chris Rondo to join him in Cleveland.
Watching a game is always better with a buddy.
Peanuts, sunflower seeds, squid rings, beer, soda, and dried fruit.
The two men sprawled out on the soft sofa, enjoying the most relaxing day Han Sen had experienced in a while.
Rondo, however, wasn't as excited this time because he had placed a heavy bet on the Cavaliers, only to see them eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Han remarked on Rondo's betting habits: "Next time, ask me before you place your bets. Have you forgotten how you won last time?"
The Magic had more regular-season wins than the Lakers, so Game 1 of the Finals was held in Orlando.
Neither of them bet on the game, but they both favored the Lakers.
Rondo's reasoning was simple: Last year, the Lakers had "gentlemenly swept" the Magic 4-1, and since the Magic were weaker this year, it might be a repeat of last year.
Han was more cautious.
The Lakers hadn't been as dominant this season, even though Gasol had improved in the playoffs.
Plus, Kobe had re-injured his finger before the Finals, so he wouldn't be at his best.
But the Magic had bigger problems. Without Hedo Turkoglu, they were even more reliant on Dwight Howard, but the Lakers had Andrew Bynum, who could make life tough for Howard.
So it was less about who was stronger and more about who had fewer weaknesses.
When the game started, however, Han was surprised by how close the contest was.
The flaws of both teams were evident, but the Magic's outside shooting was on fire.
Carter, playing in his first Finals, seemed like he was on steroids, draining shot after shot from the perimeter.
In the final moments, with the Magic down by three, it was Carter again who came through, hitting a three-pointer off Howard's screen to force overtime.
"This is nothing like I expected," Rondo muttered in disbelief.
"Did you watch last year's Finals?" Han Sen asked. He hadn't watched them either, thinking the Lakers were clearly better than the Magic.
Rondo shook his head. He had been busy dating at the time.
Han pulled out his phone and began searching for news from last year's Finals.
What he found shocked him. Sometimes you really can't just rely on headlines.
The Lakers vs. Magic series wasn't at all what he had imagined.
In five games, only Game 1 had been a blowout, with the Lakers winning 100-75.
This wasn't surprising. None of the Magic players had Finals experience, and they couldn't be expected to handle the pressure right from the start. They probably got shell-shocked.
But from Game 2 onwards, everything was different.
Game 2 went to overtime, with the Lakers winning 101-96. Courtney Lee had a chance to win it in regulation, but Gasol's interference on his alley-oop attempt went uncalled, a decision that sparked much controversy at the time.
Now it made sense why the Magic wanted to replace Lee with Carter. If it had been Carter in that situation, he would have dunked it and sealed the victory— no controversy.
In Game 3, the Magic returned home and set a Finals record for field goal percentage, winning 108-104 over the Lakers.
If that interference had been called in Game 2, the Magic would have been up 2-1, not down 2-1.
In Game 4, both teams again went to overtime. With the Lakers trailing by three in the final seconds, Fisher hit a clutch three-pointer to send the game to overtime, where the Lakers eventually prevailed, taking a 3-1 series lead.
In the final game, the Magic players had lost all hope, succumbing to a 99-86 defeat and a gentleman's sweep.
No team in NBA history had ever come back from a 1-3 deficit in the Finals, and with the Game 2 no-call still looming large, the Magic knew the series was over. They just wanted to go home.
So it wasn't an easy victory at all!
If Lee's shot had been called interference, or if Fisher hadn't hit that three, the Lakers might have lost the series.
But that was Kobe's redemption season!
After the 23 vs. 24 storyline Stern had been pushing didn't materialize, the league needed to promote Kobe's positive image.
If they had advertised that the Lakers and Magic were evenly matched, it wouldn't have served that narrative.
So, people like Hansen and Rondo, who hadn't watched the Finals, just accepted the narrative they were fed.
Hansen already knew that the media was a powerful tool, but he still underestimated its influence.
Suddenly, something clicked in his mind. He stopped watching the Finals and picked up his phone to make a call in the corner.
You have to remember, the Cavaliers also won 4-1 against the Celtics in the semifinals!
Those who watched the games knew how intense they were, but for those who didn't, if the media portrayed it like the Lakers vs. Magic, wouldn't his achievements become worthless?
He immediately called Khalil.
After he had switched to TNT, he had been keeping a low profile, but now it was time for him to start making waves.
After finishing his conversation with Khalil, Han Sen still felt it wasn't enough, so he made another call to a senior executive at UA.
It was also time for his shoe brand to step up.
By the time Han returned, the game was already over.
Kobe had scored 8 points in overtime, helping the Lakers secure the win.
So, in the end, it still comes down to the star players.
Even though Carter played well, his ability to close games still couldn't match Kobe's.
After watching the game, Han Sen and Rondo started discussing investments.
This time, the main reason for inviting Rondo wasn't just to watch the game but to talk about business.
The basic idea was that Han would make the decisions, and Rondo would handle the execution. That way, if legal issues arose, Rondo could directly address them.
Of course, that wasn't Rondo's only job. He also had to use his photography skills to film a documentary about Hansen.
It wasn't a particularly sophisticated strategy; even LeBron had people filming him back in high school.
Otherwise, where do you think all that early footage of superstars comes from?
This can be understood simply as: Han Sen was beginning to build his own personal team, and Rondo was the first to join it.
Rondo hadn't expected Han to trust him so much and was so excited that he immediately expressed his desire to transfer to Cleveland.
Rondo didn't have a shot at the NBA, and with just one year left before graduation, transferring for convenience seemed necessary.
But Hansen told him not to rush— everything should wait until things settled on his end.
The next day, Khalil fired the first shot on TNT.
"If Han Sen were playing, the Cavaliers would have already won Game 1 of the Finals."
"Who's the real player that can help the Cavaliers win?"
"Han Sen gave everything for the victory; LeBron sacrificed everything for his stats."
"Does Cleveland need a player who can help the team win, or a king who can never win a championship?"
"Jordan put Nike on the throne; Nike put LeBron on the throne— that's the difference."
...
Khalil's explosive remarks left Han Sen stunned. It reminded him of Skip Bayless, the notorious LeBron critic who had sent out nearly 50,000 tweets, with 87% mentioning LeBron or his nicknames.
For a moment, Han Sen regretted making Khalil a partner instead of nurturing him as his number one anti-fan leader.
Naturally, Khalil's comments sparked a response from LeBron's team.
But each time, he easily parried their arguments, even holding his own.
It wasn't that Khalil was particularly skilled, but that his words were grounded in carefully spun facts, or polished truths.
The truth is like a sharp blade.
While Khalil was wielding double blades in a battle against LeBron's fans, UA also voiced their support for Han Sen on their official website.
Their approach was unique, much like what Hansen had done before— stating the facts.
"16th pick, 77th rookie, averaged 22.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in the Celtics series, with 46.2% shooting and 37.5% from three-point range.
G1: 33 points, the highest-scoring playoff debut by a rookie since Derrick Rose;
G4: 21 points, game-winning three-pointer, creating the famous 'I'm Your Daddy' moment;
G5: 35 points, defeating the opponent single-handedly in LeBron's absence, including a difficult game-winning shot, declaring, 'This is my House' ;
The future of Cleveland is already on the roster."
This move wasn't just at Han Sen's request but also because UA needed this opportunity to establish an image of defiance against the powerful Nike, which would, in turn, elevate their brand's impact.
Han Sen's confrontation with LeBron and UA's stance against Nike were mutually beneficial efforts.
Khalil's relentless output and UA's support steadily increased Han Sen's presence while further driving a wedge between him and LeBron.
They had become as incompatible as ice and fire.
Before long, mid-June arrived.
After six hard-fought games, the Lakers defeated the Magic 4-2, securing back-to-back championships.
Just as Hansen had seen in Game 1, the Magic played to their strengths, but the star power ultimately led to their downfall.
Kobe was named Finals MVP again, earning his fifth NBA championship ring.
At the championship ceremony, Kobe smiled with unmatched joy.
5 > 4. He had finally gained that "5".
However, during this time, LeBron seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.
Not only could his teammates not find him, but even the Cavaliers' staff couldn't reach him.
Yet Han Sen sensed something different in the air.
This feeling seemed all too familiar...
At that moment, Thomas called him.
Ferry wanted to have a chat with him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone