aircannonsinc Chapter 415 The Greatest Slam Dunk Contest in History! Starting with a Joke
Chapter 415 The Greatest Slam Dunk Contest in History! Starting with a Joke
"Bang!"
"Hahahahaha!"
God knows what's wrong with Marbury. The first challenge of the competition was supposed to be a simple one-handed layup, but who knew this guy could make the layup fly up into the air.
An NBA player takes a three-step layup without any contact or defense, and then "bang!" misses.
How rare is it to see such a scene?
Anyway, it's much less common for it to hit someone than Yamcha's Wolf Fang Wind Fist.
Although Marbury immediately picked up the basketball and scored, and succeeded in subsequent passes and maneuvers, his missed layup will definitely become a classic moment.
It has been passed down through generations!
From now on, whenever there's a skills challenge or someone makes an NBA highlight reel, Marbury's shot will definitely be included.
After smoothly progressing to the high post jump shot, Marbury showcased his offensive guard prowess, successfully making the shot on his second attempt at what is generally considered the most difficult part!
After making the shot, Marbury immediately grabbed the basketball and sprinted across the court!
He wanted to rush to the frontcourt to make one last layup and end the game.
Then, perhaps feeling that his missed layup was too embarrassing, Marbury wanted to get revenge.
So instead of going for a layup, he opted for a dunk.
He needed to vent his anger! He needed to let loose!
He wants to show off his physical fitness!
"Bang!"
Another dull thud. Marbury pulled hard on the rim, but that's basketball.
It flew.
Good grief, he slammed it all the way through!
Lin Tian was completely stunned.
The Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix are actually the same person?
How rare is it to see someone miss two layups in a skills challenge?
Anyway, it's much harder to see someone successfully show off than Vegeta.
What's even more embarrassing is that Marbury was venting his anger on this play, so he dunked with tremendous force, almost like a full-force "violent dunk".
So, this shot flew incredibly high, and Marbury could only stand dumbfounded under the basket, waiting for the ball to fall, then jump up, grab it, and shoot it.
Although this time was less than 2 seconds, Marbury felt that this period of time was longer than a whole season.
This is incredibly embarrassing!
"48.2 seconds!"
The incredibly honest timer gave a very truthful answer.
Marbury didn't even look at the score. He quickly ran back to the rest area and found a towel to cover his head.
Ostrich mode activated!
I have no face to see Jiangdong, no, I have no face to see the elders of Phoenix!
What Marbury found even more unacceptable, and which severely damaged his self-esteem, was Payton's attitude.
There was no attitude whatsoever! No mockery, no communication whatsoever!
This complete disregard clearly caused Marbury's self-esteem to plummet.
"You're so mean." Lin Tian muttered to the guy as he prepared to go on stage.
These seasoned veterans really know exactly how to break someone's mental state.
Payton, who was the second to take the court, was also in high spirits. He didn't encounter too many difficulties along the way. Although he made some mistakes, there were no embarrassing moments. His last time of 31.3 seconds was a very good result.
Given Kidd's form and shooting ability, unless he gets incredibly lucky, Payton has basically secured a spot in the finals.
then
Kidd has arrived.
For Lin Tian, the main event of the night has arrived!
"Jason, don't be nervous, you can make it!" Lin Tian waved his arms, indicating that Kidd had to keep going.
Kidd had lost the composure he had displayed earlier when stirring up trouble. He cursed, glared at Lin Tian, and walked towards the competition field without saying anything more.
Game start!
Layup, no problem!
His dribbling around cones and passing were almost perfect, all done on the first try!
Then Kidd arrived at the point he knew would become his nightmare, a point that everyone else was eagerly anticipating.
Two points from the top of the arc!
"Bang!"
Sure enough, the first shot he threw missed.
"Bang!"
Then Kidd took the ball from the side, but missed again.
"Huff huff"
On the third shot, Kidd wasn't in a hurry. He calmed himself down, took a deep breath, aimed at the basket, and jumped to shoot.
"Bang!"
FUXX!
Kidd swore again, and then clearly lost patience on the fourth and fifth shots.
"Bang! Bang!"
Two more pieces of refined iron were produced, and the Kidd Iron was incredibly crisp and dry.
And then...
There are no more balls.
All five balls in the basket have been thrown.
The NBA, in its first year of holding this event, clearly overestimated the players' shooting abilities.
Although they sent people to retrieve the balls, they didn't assign anyone to arrange them.
Kidd stood there stunned for at least two seconds before the staff realized he didn't have the ball and quickly passed it to him.
"Bang!"
After another crisp crack, Kidd was already in despair.
When will this ever end?! You just can't seem to make the shot, huh?
"Bang!"
Amidst the cursing, there was another piece of refined iron.
Lin Tian, Payton, and the other stars on the sidelines were all laughing so hard they were doubled over. Even the clown O'Neal was lying on the floor, his whole body twitching.
Even Marbury, who had just been ostrich-like, has now removed his towel and raised his head.
His eyes gleamed with a sharp light!
As long as someone else embarrasses him, then he doesn't feel ashamed!
If someone's with me, then I can do whatever I want.
"Whoosh!"
Finally, a satisfying cracking sound rang out, but Kidd's mood remained terrible.
He didn't vote for it.
Lin Tiantou was in the rest area by the sideline.
"Let's go, Jason! Let's go, it's in! Stop shooting!"
It's not very lethal, but extremely insulting!
Someone standing off the court can casually make a shot, but I, Kidd, standing right here, can't make a shot?
Leaving? Not voting anymore?
Damn it, do I have no shame?
"Bang!"
Even someone as calm and composed as Kidd is about to break down.
He began to regret it; he shouldn't have mocked Marbury earlier. What does karma mean?
I'm even more pathetic than him now.
How many iron bars have been forged so far?
Endless!
"Whoosh!"
Another crisp sound, but it wasn't Kidd who threw it.
This time it was Payton who threw it!
"Come on, Jason! We both agree to let you go!" Payton was grinning from ear to ear. Besides getting to see two jokes in one night, he was also on fire, easily sinking a long-range three-pointer.
What is happiness?
This is happiness!
Leaving? FUXX! Don't I have any dignity?!
After uttering a curse, Kidd turned and left!
Staying here would be truly embarrassing.
How many irons has he broken in a row?
If he keeps throwing like that, his miss count will go into double digits!
Eight iron ones in a row!
Kidd felt he would never have the face to appear in the Skills Challenge again.
After quickly completing a layup, Kidd finally finished the game.
"1 minutes and 19 seconds!"
An incredibly embarrassing number was announced, and Kidd was still completely dazed when he left the field.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? Why am I participating in this bullshit competition?
Kidd could even imagine that this 1 minute and 19 seconds would be etched on his entire career, becoming his trademark.
I regret it so much! Why did I even agree to participate in this?
He's so bad today he can't even display the digits after the decimal point!
This is incredibly embarrassing!
Because of Marbury's 48.2 seconds and Kidd's 1 minute and 19 seconds, Lin Tian was incredibly relaxed when he entered the game. He walked the course as if he were taking a leisurely stroll, and he didn't even accelerate when he went for a layup. He completed the entire course with ease, giving a time of 32.1 seconds.
Lin Tian was 0.9 seconds slower than Payton, so he went first in the final.
But everyone could see that Lin Tian wasn't exerting any force at all, and wasn't putting in any effort at all!
He just played around and somehow got this result.
Then, less than 5 minutes later, everyone saw Lin's full-power level.
Layup, slalom, pass, and shot—all on the first try!
When it came to the final layup, Lin Tian sprinted across the court and suddenly jumped up from the free-throw line. After gliding all the way, he delivered a one-handed slam dunk from the free-throw line, easily slamming the basketball into the basket!
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect! Lin made no mistakes, Lin made no oversights! Except for the last dunk when he might have been about a second faster if he had continued sprinting, Lin did everything perfectly!"
"I think it will be a long time before anyone breaks Lin's record tonight. It will most likely become a benchmark and an unattainable height in the Skills Challenge!"
"24.1 seconds!"
"I think we can congratulate Lin on winning the championship in advance. Even if Gary succeeds in every aspect on his first try, he will still find it difficult to break Lin's record."
"Because he's not fast enough!"
With the commentator's commentary, Payton finally took to the court and began his final round of challenges!
However, Payton didn't have such a smooth run this time. He made a mistake in both the bounce pass and the shot, and in the end, he only managed a time of 36.3 seconds.
However, since he didn't embarrass himself and witnessed the other two guys' epic moments of embarrassment, Payton was still very happy even though he didn't win the championship.
He was even happier than Lin Tian.
What a stupid skills challenge! Whether you win the championship or not doesn't really matter. The most important thing is to have fun!
In particular, for Payton, these two embarrassing moments had another incredibly important meaning.
From now on, when people talk about embarrassing moments in the All-Star individual competitions, my 2 points in the Three-Point Contest will finally not be unique, and I will finally not be in a league of my own!
Tonight, I must have a few more drinks!
As Payton left the stadium with an incredibly happy smile, Lin Tian had already finished the awards ceremony and raised his second trophy of the night.
As for his acceptance speech, Lin Tian simply said, "I haven't prepared much, so I'll say it all after the dunk contest!"
Arrogant!
Extremely arrogant!
But Lin Tian's arrogance also proves that the most exciting, thrilling, and adrenaline-pumping part of the night is finally about to begin!
Slam Dunk Contest!
Many people aren't interested in three-pointers or skills competitions at all; they've been watching all night, waiting for this dunk contest!
Carter, Lin Tian, Richardson, Davis!
These four players, apart from Davis, are all top-tier monsters who can compete for the title of the strongest dunker of the 21st century!
In particular, the epic battle between Lin Tian and Carter in 00 became the benchmark for the Slam Dunk Contest and is known as the greatest Slam Dunk Contest in NBA history!
While Richardson may not be as famous as Carter and Lin Tian, his dunks are by no means to be underestimated. His 50-point dunks last year were absolutely amazing!
Everyone believes that he is the most likely guy to challenge Lin Tian and Carter to become the best dunker of the new century. His provocative behavior at last year's All-Star game also fully demonstrates his confidence!
The fact that Lin Tian and Carter accepted the challenge at the same time also shows that these two are equally confident!
As for Davis...
My brother is pretty good at basketball, but let's forget about dunking.
Let's just watch the top three matches!
Then, the fans noticed that Lin Tian was getting dressed!
It's time for a dunk. What's this guy wearing?
The host immediately posed the question to Lin Tian, asking him why he suddenly put on clothes.
"It's so cold. I didn't sweat much in the first two rounds of the competition, and it's really too cold now." Lin Tian said as he continued to put on his long-sleeved and long-legged training clothes. "I hope the dunk contest will make me sweat a bit, otherwise I might catch a cold."
Arrogant!
This guy is at it again!
The fans at the scene were already used to Lin Tian's arrogant behavior. They were no longer shocked by his arrogant remarks; they were excited and cheering!
At the same time, they also wanted to hear how the other players would respond.
"I will show everyone who is the best dunker of the 21st century. I'm here tonight with only one goal: to defend my title!" Richardson continued his confident statement, which naturally drew cheers from the fans.
"I don't want to lose to Lin twice, and I won't lose to him twice!!" After leaving the Pacers, Carter, who has become the Nets' number one scorer, still maintains his sunny and cheerful image, but he has also changed significantly.
He's more like a leader than Lin Tian's little brother.
"Very good, all the contestants have finished speaking. Now let's have the first round of dunks tonight!"
After the host finished speaking, the lights in the arena suddenly changed. Baron Davis remained on the court and became the focus of the entire arena, while the other three quietly retreated to the waiting area.
It's worth mentioning that Davis also interacted with the host and said a couple of harsh words, but nobody cared.
Everyone has forgotten what he just said.
In the eyes of the fans, Davis was just there to make up the numbers tonight!
The fans didn't take Davis seriously, and neither did the other three. Everyone thought that Davis was just there tonight as a warm-up act, and his job was simply to warm up the crowd!
Davis himself knew all this better than anyone else; he could sense everyone's disdain and even their urging.
Everyone is hoping he'll stop posing and finish his dunk quickly, so as not to spoil the fans' enjoyment of his individual performance!
Davis is furious and seething with anger.
He had long ago made up his mind to make a name for himself tonight, in front of everyone!
He wanted everyone to know that he was there to compete for the dunk contest title, not just to be a bystander!
Fueled by anger, Davis slowly walked toward the basket, glanced at the distance and height of the hoop, and then began to back away.
He was measuring the length of the court, slowly backing away, muttering to himself.
Davis's serious and focused demeanor successfully piqued the curiosity of the fans, who began to anticipate what kind of dunk Davis would deliver.
After retreating all the way to the three-point line, Davis muttered a few more words to himself, and then he suddenly moved!
Well, before his feet even moved, before he even started his run-up, this guy moved his hands first. He lowered the headband he was wearing a few centimeters down, blocking his own eyes.
Blind dunk! This guy's going to do a blind dunk!
Seeing Davis's expression, all the fans' expectations were raised.
A dunk without looking at the basket or the distance, purely based on feeling!
Can he succeed?
The entire room fell silent!
Everyone is incredibly excited!
Davis exhaled deeply and suddenly accelerated. He silently calculated his steps and distance, and then suddenly jumped one step ahead of the free-throw line!
Wow! That's so far!
The fans at the scene almost simultaneously gasped!
From that distance, and with his eyes covered, he dunked. Could Davis be the dark horse of this year?
What happened next stunned everyone! The scene fell silent instantly.
Because nothing happened.
Or, to put it another way, no dunks occurred.
First of all, the good thing is that Davis is very honest. The headband covering his eyes really does cover them completely, not letting any light out. In that respect, this guy isn't lying.
The problem is, apart from this, he has no other advantages.
He miscalculated the distance of his jump, and he miscalculated the distance between the basket and himself.
He jumped one step ahead of the free-throw line, swung his arms in a beautiful windmill dunk, and then, as he slammed down, he touched nothing.
He was at least 40 centimeters away from the basket!
To put it bluntly: This guy got a complete miss!
Then, Davis, who failed to dunk, obviously lost his balance. He landed in a very awkward manner, staggered a few times, and then fell directly to the floor.
Then the guy wouldn't get up. He clutched his ankle and screamed in agony. He didn't even remove the headband from his eyes before he started screaming.
Are you injured?
The fans at the scene immediately tensed up when they saw Davis fall to the ground and not get up.
The Atlanta team doctor rushed onto the court to check Davis's injury.
Meanwhile, New Orleans fans were also quite nervous.
Davis is the team's leader, and the team's current record is quite good, with a good chance of making the playoffs.
If Davis gets injured for such a ridiculous reason and misses the game at this stage, it's not just that New Orleans won't make the playoffs, but they'll truly become a laughing stock in the entire league.
"It's nothing, it's fake. Isn't this guy dreaming of developing his career in Hollywood? How come his acting is so bad?" Lin Tian stood up, glanced at Davis twice, and then quickly sat down again.
He could tell at a glance that this guy was acting.
How did you figure that out?
This person clearly landed on his left foot and then stumbled and fell, but now he's clutching his right foot.
Your right foot didn't even touch the ground, how did you get injured?
This isn't an act; I'll give you Lord Lin's head.
Lin Tian thought Davis's acting was bad, but Davis just wouldn't get up!
Two minutes later, a team doctor got up, found someone from the league, said a few words, and then a stretcher came in and carried Davis off the court.
The host announced with great regret, "It's very bad news. Baron has some ankle problems and has to withdraw from the competition."
"Let's give a warm round of applause and cheers to Balang, wishing him all the best and hoping he won't miss the match because of this! Best wishes to Balang, who has given everything for us!"
"That kid, he ran away?" Carter grinned, showing his big white teeth. "Scared away?"
"After you dunked such a miss, would you still have the nerve to stand up and keep dunking?" Lin Tian's stomach was aching from holding back laughter. He really wanted to laugh, but he couldn't!
Davis had already been carried out; if he were to continue laughing, it would damage his image.
He couldn't let people think that he, Lord Lin, was gloating, even though he really was that kind of person.
But laughing at this time is indeed inappropriate.
At the very least, nobody knew that Davis was faking an injury to feign injury, right?
Let's talk about it when we find out!
"I'm not going to dunk anymore, I'll just play dead and get carried out!" Carter and Richardson both shook their heads, agreeing with Lin Tian and praising Davis's quick thinking.
If it were either of them, they might not have realized so quickly that they had embarrassed themselves, and they might not have collapsed so easily and never got up again.
They had to pause for a moment to make such a correct response; if they had paused and then faked their injury, the effect would have been much less effective!
It has to be said that the point guard position is indeed a gathering place for the dirtiest, most cunning, and most shrewd foxes in the entire league!
Despite his resemblance to Li Kui, Davis is probably even more cunning than Wu Yong.
When it's time to back down, they back down incredibly fast!
After the two shared their thoughts, Richardson stood up and walked onto the field amidst cheers from the fans.
"His physical abilities are top-notch, needless to say. This guy has long arms and big hands, and his flexibility is superb. He's good at doing things like hand-switching and leg-over-leg movements in mid-air." As soon as Richardson left, Lin Tian asked Carter, "Are you confident you can take him down?"
"I'm still confident I can take you down!" Carter chuckled. "This time, I'm absolutely not going to lose!"
"I'm really looking forward to it." Lin Tian shrugged, said no more, and looked at Richardson.
As Richardson entered the game, the fans in the stadium quickly fell silent, waiting to witness a historic moment.
The star players in the front row all stood up, and several of them held DV cameras, aiming them at Richardson, wanting to capture this moment that could go down in history!
Everyone's expectations are at the top!
Just as Lin Tian said, this guy immediately showed off his special skill!
He tossed the ball from beyond the three-point line to the basket, then quickly jumped, catching the ball in mid-air with his left hand and sending it between his legs, while simultaneously spinning half a circle in the opposite direction.
Then, he raised the ball with his right hand and slammed it hard into the basket!
A self-toss and dunk with a 180° mid-air spin and between-the-legs dunk!
A ball whose power, fluidity, and aesthetics are all impeccable!
This guy's ability to control himself in the air is absolutely top-notch!
All five judges raised their placards, giving a perfect score of 50!
The fans at the scene cheered wildly, encouraging Richardson!
The perfect start to a dunk contest!
This shot set a precedent for the entire competition, establishing an extremely high standard!
Huh? What? You guys say this is the second dunk? Davis already dunked once?
Who cares about that!
This is only the first dunk!
Only three people participated in this year's Slam Dunk Contest! That's it!
After Richardson scored the first perfect score, Carter also stepped onto the court, ready to make his first dunk of the night!
This time, Carter stood behind the basketball hoop, and he again didn't give himself much running space, which is typical of his dunking style.
The main feature is a sudden, explosive burst of energy!
This time, Carter suddenly threw the basketball towards the backboard from behind, then stepped forward, jumped high, and caught the basketball in mid-air while circling it in front of him with both hands – his signature compass windmill!
At the same time, because of his high jump, Carter made a noticeable head tilt to avoid the backboard when he was over it. Then, when he had cleared the backboard and returned to the court, the windmill dunk was over. Only then did Carter exert force again and slam the basketball into the basket behind his head!
"boom!"
After another loud bang, Carter completed an explosive windmill dunk after rebounding!
50 points!
Unsurprisingly, it was full of Carter's signature explosiveness and sheer power!
Absolutely violent aesthetics!
Without any hesitation, the five judges awarded full marks!
Then, the fans in the stadium suddenly increased the volume and frenzy of their cheers once again.
Lin Tian is here!
After two perfect dunks in the first round, Lin Tian, who was the last to perform, also arrived!
Amidst the fans' wild cheers, Lin Tian pulled Jordan onto the court and asked him to pass the ball to him.
As soon as Jordan arrived, the fans in the arena erupted in another frenzied roar!
Two generations of Slam Dunk Contest champions have teamed up in a dream collaboration!
Is there anything more exciting than this?
Expectation!
"Lin didn't take off his clothes! Did he forget? Or does he think he doesn't need to take off his training clothes for the first round?" The DJ on site was the first to notice something was wrong.
Lin Tian was still wearing long sleeves and trousers!
Is he really that cold?
Whether he forgot or it was unnecessary, Lin Tian's dunk had already begun!
Jordan and Lin Tian had clearly rehearsed quite a bit. They were both standing in the corner, one in front of the other, and then they started their run-up.
Jordan, after approaching the backboard, suddenly slammed the ball towards the side of the backboard and then quickly walked away.
With a "snap," the basketball bounced back and landed right in Lin Tian's hands as he jumped after Jordan.
Lin Tianren caught the basketball in mid-air, raised his hands high, and looked like he was about to smash the rim with both arms!
Just when the fans thought Lin Tian was going to demonstrate his jumping height and power, Lin Tian suddenly pulled the ball back to his waist, and at the same time, his neck suddenly tilted, and he glided to the other side of the basket!
Then, Lin Tian suddenly exerted force with his waist and slammed his hands behind his head!
His powerful core strength propelled his entire movement, giving the fans the impression that Lin Tian's shot, while initially falling, actually rose slightly into the air!
An incredible double launch!
"boom!"
Then came a loud bang as Lin Tian slammed the ball into the basket with both hands, completing the dunk!
This time, Lin Tian is showcasing his gliding distance and power!
Gliding from one side of the basket to the other, Lin Tian's gliding distance definitely exceeded 3 meters. Coupled with the visual illusion of his second ascent in the air, the brilliance of this play was in no way inferior to the dunks of the two players before him!
50 points!
The third perfect dunk in a row has been achieved!
Without hesitation, the fans at the scene immediately launched another wave of the wildest and longest cheers and shouts!
Exciting! So exciting!
It truly was the best dunk contest ever!
At least the first round was incredibly intense and exciting!
90% of dunk contests don't have more than three crazy dunks to go to the finals, but this year, one dunk is enough!
Next up is the second dunk! And the last dunk of the preliminary round! After all three dunkers have finished, the person with the lowest score will be eliminated. The remaining two will have their scores from those two dunks reset to zero, and then they will have two more dunks to determine tonight's dunk champion!
Will there be a tiebreaker?
Is it possible for three people to get a perfect score at the same time?
With the anticipation of the fans in the stadium, Richardson began!
It was still a three-pointer from the 45-degree angle on the wing, and it was still a self-alley-oop and dunk!
He threw the basketball towards the basket, and at the same time, he suddenly accelerated, jumped up, caught the basketball in mid-air, and then swung it around in a wide arc, gliding from one side of the basket to the other. Then, he suddenly exerted force and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands!
That was an absolutely top-notch dunk!
"An impeccable dunk!" the commentator exclaimed again. "The only pity is that this dunk came after Lin's!"
"Lin's dunk was very similar to this one! Both involved a long glide, a windmill dunk in mid-air, followed by a reverse dunk. But the difference lies in the glide distance, the difficulty of the dunk, and the power of the final move."
"Jason is a bit lacking!"
"If it weren't for Lin's actions, I would have given Jason a perfect 50 without hesitation! But now, I think I need to reconsider!"
The five judges present also needed to consider their options. For the first time tonight, they whispered among themselves, discussing their points, before raising their placards.
49 points!
A score of 49!
The only one to give it a 9 was Hawks legend Pettit, who coughed twice and offered his explanation: "This is perhaps the highest-level slam dunk contest in history, so we believe the standards should be raised!"
"Jason's dunk would be a perfect score under normal circumstances! But tonight, we're going to deduct a point from him!"
"The same goes for Lin and Vince next!" (End of Chapter)