Swedish national team head coach Mikko Riipinen praised Hansson's consistency, describing him as a player who keeps his team competitive day in and day out, according to Expressen Sport. Riipinen also praised Hansson's dedication, Expressen reported.
Hansson previously won the MVP award in the 2022/23 season with Umeå and has now completed his third season with BC Luleå, according to Expressen Sport. Earlier in his career, he had minor roles with Jämtland and Köping, the report said. According to Expressen Sport, Hansson described his early years as frustrating, as he often had to compete for playing time with American imports. He said he focused on challenging them in practice and developing specialist skills during summers. According to Expressen, Hansson's journey from a benchwarmer to back-to-back MVP honors was marked by relentless improvement each offseason.
It feels really fun, it is of course the biggest prize you can get. Great fun and a great honor to receive it.
BC Luleå finished third in the regular season and advanced to the semifinals, where they lost to Norrköping, according to Expressen Sport. Norrköping is currently facing Borås in the finals series, the same report indicated. According to Expressen Sport, Riipinen noted that without Hansson, BC Luleå would not have been a top-three team given the turbulence on the import side. Hansson described this season as his most efficient, citing his big role and the team's winning record as contributing factors, according to Expressen Sport. The semifinal defeat ended Luleå's title hopes, but the team's strong regular season was largely credited to Hansson's leadership, reports indicated.
Hansson was called up to the Swedish national team for World Cup qualifiers during the past season, according to Expressen Sport. For the national team, Hansson's contributions in the qualifiers were seen as a bright spot, though the squad faced challenges, Expressen noted. It remains unclear whether he will be selected for the upcoming qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Slovenia. Hansson has not publicly announced his future plans regarding potential contract or team changes. He credited years of intense training and learning to better manage his body for his rise, according to Expressen Sport. The World Cup qualifying campaign continues later this year, and Hansson's selection for the upcoming games will depend on the coach's plans, according to the report. The exact date of the MVP announcement and the other candidates for the award were not disclosed.
I have a big role in my team of course and I have been efficient in what I have done. It is probably my most efficient year that I have had. Then it must be mentioned that we win games. To be MVP you have to be on a team that wins games. We have won quite a few more games than we have lost. That contributes of course.
It has been many years of training, training, training... Almost too much. I have almost broken down so I have gotten better at taking care of my body in a better way.
The first years were of course frustrating because you feel that you want to play more. When I came into Jämtland there was often an American on the same position and you have to find other ways. The practices became like my games, to try to challenge people in practice to prove to others, but also to myself, that I can perform against Americans on my team in practice. In the summers I tried to take steps individually and find things that I can develop that can become a specialist skill.
Day in and day out he keeps his team competitive.
It is not easy to take on such a big role when the other teams do everything to stop Gustav. It requires efficiency with high numbers and what he does is very impressive. BC Luleå with all the turbulence on the import side would not have been top three without him.