Bab 19: The Celebrity Effect of Haters.
The one-on-one between the two wasn't the standard American-style duel with dribbling or time restrictions.
Han Sen passed the ball to Jordan, and the game officially began.
As soon as Jordan received the ball, he raised his hand for a shooting motion.
Han didn't fall for the fake.
Then, the moment Jordan dribbled, he burst forward, dribbling with his right hand and accelerating.
His first step was fast, and his center of gravity was incredibly low.
Not just the first step — the second step was also quick.
Luckily, Han's lateral speed was fast enough to keep him parallel to Jordan.
Then, Jordan didn't dribble a third time. He grabbed the ball with one hand and soared toward the basket.
Han timed his jump to block.
Since Jordan was now a player, he felt no need to hold back out of respect.
However, to his surprise, Jordan seemed to predict his move. He pulled the ball down early, switching to his left hand for a reverse layup.
He tried to adjust in mid-air, but Jordan hung in the air, waiting for Han's hand to come down before releasing the ball.
The basketball, as if guided, dropped steadily into the hoop.
"Oh!"
After scoring, Jordan let out a strange noise.
The onlookers were left speechless.
This was a 46 years old man?!
"Ohhh~"
Jordan, dragging out the sound, turned to Hansen and said:
"Are you showing respect to your elders?"
Laughter erupted from the sidelines. Trash-talking was as natural to Jordan as drinking water.
Han's face darkened. Now he understood why Jordan hadn't cleared the court — it was due to his absolute confidence in his own abilities.
And that rumor was most likely true.
Jordan at 50 or 46 couldn't play in the NBA because his body and stamina wouldn't support it. But when it came to one-on-one — something he had played his entire life — he would never lose.
Han Sen resumed the game, now fully focused.
If he lost to 46-year-old Jordan, it would be another major highlight in Jordan's legendary career.
Jordan received the ball, this time without any fakes, choosing to drive straight down the left side.
Most players had a preferred hand or a habitual attack mode, but Jordan was equally adept on either side.
Han Sen quickly kept up, positioning himself in front of Jordan, not giving him any room to start his move.
Jordan accelerated.
His ultra-low center of gravity allowed for rapid speed changes.
Han Sen found his own center of gravity involuntarily shifting backward due to Jordan's burst of speed.
Just then, Jordan slammed the ball forward and came to an abrupt stop, pulling up for a jump shot.
In that moment, Han Sen truly felt Jordan's terrifying skill.
His rhythm changed so quickly.
It wasn't like Wade's sheer speed, but the defensive pressure was just as intense.
If this were the old Han, before practicing with Wade, he wouldn't have had any way to deal with this.
But now, his defensive skills had drastically improved, especially with his heightened focus. His reaction was quick.
He leapt forward with all his strength, almost jumping at the same time as Jordan, extending his long arms to apply pressure in the air.
Jordan leaned back in mid-air.
If this had been 20 years ago, his vertical leap would have been enough to support a deep fadeaway to avoid such interference.
But 46-year-old Jordan, while still incredibly skilled, no longer had the same leaping ability.
Jordan was forced to raise his shot angle to avoid the block.
The ball barely cleared Han's fingertips but hit the front of the rim and bounced out.
"You're old," Hansen said, looking at Jordan after landing.
Trash talk should be reciprocated, after all.
Bickerstaff, on the sidelines, gave a light cough.
Han didn't look at him, instead picking up the ball and heading straight for the three-point line.
Losing to a 46-year-old Jordan in front of so many people could hurt his draft prospects.
And besides, there's no way Jordan would take offense to a little trash talk after asking if Han Sen was playing as an athlete.
The Basketball God wasn't that petty.
Hmm?
As Hansen reached the three-point line, he suddenly noticed a change in his system's hater points: +15.
He was shocked.
During the season opener, he had been arrogant in front of the press, and his hater points only increased by 13.
But now, with just one line of trash talk, he had gained 15 points.
And it was a one-time increase, meaning it came from one person.
That person wasn't likely a spectator... It had to be Jordan.
Han no longer cared if Jordan was petty because what had just happened overturned his understanding of the hater system.
He had thought that gaining hater points depended on the number and intensity of haters, but now it seemed it also had to do with who the haters were.
Do haters have a celebrity effect too?
Han Sen wasn't sure since the hater system didn't offer any way to communicate.
The only way to verify this was to keep experimenting on Jordan.
Jordan inbounded the ball. Hansen received it and immediately drove right at full speed.
Jordan's size and quickness had earned him 9 All-Defensive First Team selections in his 14-season career, and as a perimeter player, he had even won DPOY — the defensive player of the year award.
Although older now, his defensive instincts were ingrained deeply. Han Sen's only advantage was Jordan's deteriorated physical condition.
As Jordan moved to keep up, Han made a sharp between-the-legs move, then stepped back for a three-pointer.
In an instant, he and Jordan were more than a meter apart.
Jordan lunged forward, but it was too late.
You couldn't see it as clearly when Jordan was on offense, but now that he was on defense, it was obvious — like Hansen said: he was old.
No one can resist time, not even the once-immortal God of basketball.
Swish!
Han Sen's shot cut through the net.
The spectators gasped, and Curry even stood up from his seat, hands on his head in an exaggerated display of shock.
That guy was still a clown at heart.
Han Sen, without reacting to his shot, extended his hand toward Curry: "Sit down, it's just a routine play."
At the same time, Han Sen saw his hater points increase by another 15.
It seemed his assumption was correct.
Suddenly, he realized — could Jordan really be this petty? Would he lose his draft spot over this?
But there wasn't much time to think about that now. After all, trash-talking and gaining 15 hater points was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Han Sen maintained possession. This time, Jordan pressed in, not giving him any room to dribble easily.
Under the tight defense, Hansen's weakness in handling the ball was exposed, and he missed a forced shot.
With the ball back in Jordan's hands, he switched up his offense again, moving from face-up play to a post-up game.
Jordan's drives were strong, but his post-ups were even stronger. It was like how fans knew his turnaround fadeaway better than his low-to-the-ground drives.
His post-up pressure, his feel for his defender's center of gravity, his timing for the spin, and the distance he created after spinning were all top-notch.
Though he couldn't jump as high anymore, his turnaround fadeaway was still unstoppable.
Han Sen guessed Jordan's spin direction correctly, but he still couldn't stop the shot.
The basketball went in cleanly.
"You're just going to watch me shoot all day, and there's nothing you can do about it."
After scoring, Jordan continued to trash-talk.
It wasn't until now that the spectators noticed Jordan's expression had become serious.
Of course, Han Sen was just as serious.
As the one-on-one deepened, the trash talk and physical contact between them escalated.
Neither wanted to lose this match.
The score alternated back and forth, reaching a tie at 8-8 before a clear turning point appeared.
Jordan's stamina was running out.
Han Sen's stamina wasn't exceptional either, but at 20 years old, he was certainly stronger than the 46-year-old Jordan, who hadn't been in regular training.
Han Sen scored two more points in a row, bringing the score to 10-8.
He now had a chance to finish the game.
This time, he decided to go for a post-up, directly leaning in.
Sure enough, before he could even start trash-talking, his hater points increased by another 15.
Han Sen's post-up skills weren't polished, but Jordan was clearly struggling on defense now. The saying "the old are afraid of the young" held true — Jordan simply didn't have the energy to keep up.
After a few exchanges of force, Han Sen felt Jordan's hand clamp down on his.
He tried to push off, but Jordan's arms were strong, forcing him to use more force.
Eventually, he managed to shake Jordan's hand off, but he used too much strength, causing his hand to smack into Jordan's chest.
Crack.
At that moment, he heard a crisp sound.
Jordan's exhausted face suddenly contorted in pain.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone