When Hansen heard these words, his initial reaction was the same as when he first heard James call him "my good brother" on the plane, he thought it was fake.
But after giving it some thought, he seemed to understand it.
Because old fox Popovich, besides loving to play tricks on people, also liked to jinx players before the game, blowing bubbles of bad luck just like Barkley did.
You could tell from the way he described him as Kobe, who not only played well against the Spurs but also had epic failures in his shooting.
Whenever his mid-range touch wasn't working, it made the Spurs much easier to beat.
So, when it came to the Grizzlies' routine open practice that afternoon, Hansen chose to return the favor.
"Even last season I said that TD is the best player in the League, and I still stick to that, he's as underrated now as he ever was because of his humility, he should get more MVP votes than LeBron."
