nycdaug Chapter 373 O'Neal: Michael Lang, dunk on him properly and show that Chinese guy his true skill
Chapter 373 O'Neal: Michael Lang, dunk on him properly and show that Chinese guy his true skill
Naming a trophy after a player is a recognition of that player's outstanding contributions in a particular field.
Julius Erving is the "GOTA" of the dunking world!
Prior to this year's All-Star Game, the league office issued a statement announcing that the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest trophy would be named the "Julius Erving Trophy".
So whoever wins the Slam Dunk Contest today will be the first to take home the "Julius Erving" Cup.
Julius Erving held up the trophy in his hand and showed it off.
He then looked specifically at Wang Xiucheng and nodded to him.
It seems to be saying, "Bring this trophy back to New York."
As a New Yorker and Brooklyn Nets legend, Julius Erving naturally hopes that Wang Xiucheng can bring the trophy, which was just named after him, back to New York.
In fact, Julius Erving has never won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Wang Xiucheng smiled at him.
This relieved Julius Owen; seeing Wang Xiucheng like this, it seemed that the problem wasn't too serious.
The fans in the stadium were extremely excited for this last individual event of the day.
Even big-name celebrities are the same.
James, Curry, Durant, Davis, Jokic, Doncic...
All the star players who will participate in tomorrow's main match appeared at this stadium today.
Durant, in particular, even though he had already decided not to play in the main game, still came to the venue in person to cheer for Wang Xiucheng.
James and Curry sat on the ground in a more secluded spot, at least quite far from the basketball hoop where Wang Xiucheng was warming up.
The two of them also kept their heads down from time to time, as if they were talking about something.
Others didn't know, but brows, who was right next to him, heard it all clearly.
"I hope this guy won't ask us to retrieve the ball again this year."
"No, the warm-up is about to end."
"That's good. I was laughed at for a long time when I went back last year."
"By the way, have you made reservations for the nightclub tomorrow night?"
"Of course, they're all the prettiest girls..."
Anthony Davis was stunned. These two guys were discussing nightclub business during the dunk contest.
and……
The thick eyebrows on his face started to twitch.
And these two guys went to a nightclub without me?
Okay, you wait, I'll call your wives tomorrow night!
Let's see how you die!
After all the guests had been introduced, the dunk contest officially began.
The three people, including Wang Xiucheng, returned to their seats in the waiting area.
Only Pelicans' Murphy remained on the court.
He will be the first to appear tonight.
Zion, who, like Durant, was unable to participate in the main game, stood on the sidelines clapping enthusiastically to cheer on his brother.
Murphy wiped his hands on his shorts, then went to the basketball cart on the sidelines and grabbed a basketball.
Meanwhile, a one-and-a-half-minute countdown appeared on the huge screen outside the basketball hoop.
Murphy must complete his dunk within 90 seconds.
But Murphy wasn't in a hurry; he patted the ball twice, seemingly trying to find his rhythm.
All the fans were focused on Murphy, eager to see what the first dunk of the night would be like.
The answer was soon revealed.
About five or six seconds later, Murphy came to the side of the basket and tossed the net toward the hoop.
At the same time, Murphy accelerated towards the basket.
However, the basketball did not seem to hit the side of the backboard, so Murphy did not jump, but slowed down and kept the basketball in his hands.
Murphy's first attempt failed.
Just as Murphy raised his arms to rally the crowd, a man rushed in from outside the baseline.
The man, dressed in casual clothes and sporting dreadlocks, rushed out from behind Murphy and snatched the basketball from his hands.
The sudden turn of events left some fans bewildered.
what happened?
Are some fans causing trouble?
Like a naked person running in a football match?
But soon, when everyone saw who had stolen the ball, they understood what had happened.
The man who had already intercepted the ball and was charging toward the basket was none other than Alvarado, nicknamed "Old Six".
Alvarado rushed to the basket and threw the basketball onto the backboard.
Murphy, who had been following closely behind, jumped high to catch the basketball, spun 360 degrees, and slammed it into the basket with both hands.
With a thud, Murphy landed.
The fans applauded, and some players also stood up and applauded.
As the first player to go out, it's already quite impressive that he was able to complete this dunk in one go.
But precisely because it was the first dunk, the referees will definitely be conservative in their scoring.
Wearing a retro Pelicans jersey, Murphy returned to the sidelines, bumped fists with players like "Old Six" and Zion, and waited for the referees' scores.
The replay was shown twice on the big screen, and the referee's score was already displayed.
Starting with the first Wilkins, the scores are 48, 47, 47, 46, and 45.
The final score was 46.6 points.
Upon seeing the score, Zion, "Old Six," and Murphy himself all muttered something, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with it.
As the scoring ended, Sims, the second player to perform, had already taken the stage.
Without any fancy moves, Sims grabbed the ball with one hand, took a running start, and threw the ball onto the backboard.
Then Sims jumped high, caught the basketball with both hands, and slammed it into the basket.
It appears that Sims didn't make any other moves; he simply and cleanly slammed the ball in.
But the next moment, everyone realized that Sims was hanging with both arms inside the basket.
This is a dunk with arms hanging down, and even with both arms hanging down.
Applause erupted again; at least Sims jumped high enough.
As for this move... it's alright.
Back on the sidelines, Sims chatted with Giannis, who was holding a child, and seemed fairly satisfied with his performance.
The replay on the big screen has started.
It was only then that everyone realized that when Sims was hanging up the arm, one arm wasn't actually hooked in.
That's... not so bad!
49, 49, 48, 48, 44.
Karl Malone only gave this dunk 44 points.
47.6.
Sims' final score for this dunk was 47.6 points, ranking ahead of Murphy and temporarily in first place.
The scoring rules for this year's Slam Dunk Contest have changed; it's no longer a 10-point system like last year.
Instead, the system was changed to a 50-point system for each referee.
The final score is the sum of the scores from the last five judges, divided by five.
Therefore, this year's scores will be accurate to one decimal place.
Sims, who entered the NBA in the same year as Wang Xiucheng, looks very young, but he is actually 4 years older than Wang Xiucheng.
Sims returned to his seat, and McCronn stood up.
A burst of enthusiastic applause suddenly erupted in the audience.
Everyone knows McCronn is very capable, but how much he can demonstrate today remains to be seen.
But this doesn't stop everyone from having high expectations for McCronll.
At the very least, give that guy who hasn't even appeared yet some strength.
O'Neal even shouted from his seat at the broadcast booth:
"McCrown, dunk properly and make that Chinese guy show his true skills!"