in2ebook Chapter 142 Wang Xiucheng's Assistant Guest at the Slam Dunk Contest
Chapter 142 Wang Xiucheng's Assistant Guest at the Slam Dunk Contest
The entire stadium applauded and cheered for Toppin.
This year's Slam Dunk Contest, thanks to Wang Xiucheng's sudden emergence, is considered to be the least suspenseful individual event.
But Topin still signed up for the competition, and that courage alone deserves everyone's applause.
Looking at this year's participants, you'll find that apart from Toppin, there isn't a single established spiking player.
Do you really think the league didn't invite LaVine Gordon and others?
They just didn't want to come.
What are you doing here?
To be a supporting character?
Every time Wang Xiucheng performs a free throw line dunk in a real game, LaVine immediately responds with one in the training gym.
But when the alliance invited them, they just wouldn't come.
This is one of the reasons why the dunk contest was decided early on.
So at least in terms of courage, Toppin, Anderson, and Anthony are worthy of respect.
Toppin picked up a red, white, and blue basketball from the ground and waved it upwards with one hand to stir up the emotions of the fans in the stadium.
Spike Lee didn't hold back his applause, standing up to applaud Toppin.
Not far away, Melo Anthony was also shouting something at Toppin.
Toppin took a deep breath and began his run-up from the sideline of the basket.
A few steps later, Toppin jumped, switched the basketball between his legs, and then, with one hand, hit the backboard with the ball before slamming it into the basket.
With a loud thud, the basketball hit the rim.
A collective sigh of regret rippled through the crowd.
"This is too difficult." Zhang Weiping stopped sitting, took the microphone, and stood in front of the glass of the live broadcast room, looking at the scene below.
"Toppin needs to dunk between his legs first, then bounce off the backboard, and then dunk. This requires a very high level of jumping ability," Zhang Weiping explained, watching the replay on the large screen in the arena.
Toppin picked up the basketball, stirred up the atmosphere again, dribbled the ball, and stood on the sideline once more.
He leveled out, took a running start, jumped, dribbled between his legs, banked the ball, and dunked...
With a thud, the basketball hit the front edge of the rim again and bounced back onto the court.
Regretful voices were heard again at the scene.
Not far away, Carmelo Anthony was gesturing wildly as he explained something to his son beside him.
Anthony seemed to acknowledge the difficulty of the dunk.
Toppin picked up the basketball, preparing for his third and final attempt.
If he fails again this time, the five judges will only give him a base score of around 30 points.
That was something he couldn't accept.
Knowing that Wang Xiucheng would participate in the dunk contest, he still came to participate, not to get second place.
He's already got enough of second place.
But the most urgent task now is to get the points.
Therefore, Toppin chose a safer and more mature move this time.
This time, Toppin stood near the free-throw line, threw the basketball towards the backboard, jumped high, caught the ball with both hands, quickly switched it between his legs, and then slammed it down with a powerful dunk.
With a loud thud, the basketball was slammed into the hoop this time.
Tuoping landed on one foot and then shook his head slightly.
He didn't seem very satisfied with his performance, standing on the sidelines with his head up, watching the big screen and waiting for the replay.
Giannis Antetokounmpo stood next to Toppin and said something that made Toppin nod repeatedly.
The replay ended quickly, and the scores from the five judges were released.
10,9,8,9,9.
45 points.
Wilkins gave it a 10, while Drexler gave it an 8.
Clearly, the scores given by the two coaches left fans somewhat puzzled.
10 points is obviously too high, but 8 points seems too low.
Nine points is a score that fans consider acceptable.
The applause and cheers suddenly intensified.
Because Wang Xiucheng finally got up.
Wang Xiucheng bumped fists with Toppin, then took off his jacket, revealing his Rockets jersey number 12 underneath.
Wang Xiucheng's jersey is a special edition from the Rockets during the Spring Festival, and his name on it is written in Chinese characters.
The entire stadium cheered, eagerly anticipating Wang Xiucheng's first spike in the final.
Wang Xiucheng did not immediately take the field, but instead took off another jersey in the waiting area.
Fans then realized that Wang Xiucheng had been wearing two jerseys, just the same color, and no one had noticed until now.
Taking off his outer jersey with the number 12 on it, Wang Xiucheng revealed a retro-styled red Rockets jersey underneath.
Furthermore, the number on this jersey is "11".
Above the number "11" on the back, there are three more letters.
YAO!
Wang Xiucheng was actually wearing Yao Ming's retro jersey!
At this moment, many Chinese football fans watching the live broadcast were overcome with emotion and became excited.
Mr. Zhang Weiping suddenly choked up.
This is what inheritance is all about!
This is the story of how one generation plants the trees so that another can enjoy the shade!
Although it was Stern who brought the NBA to China, Yao Ming was the one who made the NBA flourish and generate huge profits in China.
At that moment, all the fans in the stadium, especially those with Chinese features, stood up and applauded.
It was given to Wang Xiucheng, and also to Yao Ming.
Wang Xiucheng stood on the court, and Jalen Green behind him also stood up and followed Wang Xiucheng onto the court.
Fans were filled with anticipation, as Wang Xiucheng's dunk actually required assistance from others.
Wang Xiucheng dribbled the ball to the opposite baseline, while Green stood at the center line.
Everyone was puzzled as to why Jalen Green was standing at the center line instead of under the basket.
Wasn't he here to assist Wang Xiucheng in dunking?
There was no time to think, because Wang Xiucheng had already made his move.
He slowly dribbled the ball from the opposite baseline, just like he was in a match.
Upon reaching the center line, Jalen Green, who had been waiting there, reached out for the ball, but Wang Xiucheng dribbled slowly behind him to avoid Green's hand.
He also took the opportunity to brush past Green's lunging body.
Then Wang Xiucheng accelerated, stepped into the free throw line, and flew up with the basketball in his hand.
Is it the free throw line again?
However, the distance from which he jumped from the free-throw line was such that his heel only touched the line slightly.
Many fans were thinking to themselves the moment Wang Xiucheng landed.
The distance from the free-throw line this time isn't as far as before.
But soon they discovered the difference.
As soon as Wang Xiucheng's feet left the ground, he began to spin rapidly like a top.
Was it a 360-degree dunk?
wrong!
It's impossible for a 360-degree rotation to be that fast.
So, could it be 720?
In mid-air, Wang Xiucheng held the basketball in one hand, like a spinning flower heading towards the basket.
Bang!
With a loud bang, the basketball in Wang Xiucheng's hand slammed into the basket, and he lost control due to the huge rotational inertia, rushing towards the side under the basket.
Fortunately, O'Neal was there as a huge cushion under the basket, and Wang Xiucheng plunged headfirst into O'Neal's arms.
Even so, O'Neal was knocked back several steps and almost sat on the ground.
With such a buffer, Wang Xiucheng was naturally unharmed.
Once he had regained his footing, O'Neal threw down the microphone in his hand and bumped chests with Wang Xiucheng.
As a result, Wang Xiucheng was knocked back onto the field and landed hard on his backside.
Others might not know, but O'Neal did. The scene that Wang Xiucheng and Green had just acted out was Yao Ming's signature move, a one-man show.
The entire stadium erupted in applause, celebrating the spectacular dunk.
All the players stood up and applauded.
Wang Xiucheng actually spun 720 degrees, which could barely be considered a jump from the free-throw line.
In all the time that the Slam Dunk Contest has been around, no one has ever dunked 720 in a real game.
You can imagine how difficult this is.
But today Wang Xiucheng actually completed it, and in one go at that.
This means that Wang Xiucheng must still have some reserves!
He didn't even use his strongest move.
In other words, Tuoping did not put any pressure on Wang Xiucheng at all.
This reminded many people of what Wang Xiucheng said during Curry's interview yesterday.
A dunk contest?
Do we still need to prepare anything?
Isn't it something that anyone with hands can do?
At first, everyone thought Wang Xiucheng was just bragging for the sake of the show.
But now it seems they were telling the truth.
What is a limit?
That's the limit, like Tuoping.
I failed to complete it the first two times, and in the end, I had no choice but to lower the difficulty and just get the points first.
For him, Wang Xiucheng's dunk was just an "ordinary" dunk!
On the contrary, Green's "skit" was somewhat creative.
Many of the younger fans didn't even know what Wang Xiucheng was acting in, so they asked their parents next to them.
Many fans in the stands waved their "10" signs around, and some even used two "10" signs to make a "100" to express their approval of the dunk.
After high-fiving each of the players who came over to celebrate with him, Wang Xiucheng stood next to the five scoring judges, waiting for his score.
The five old men didn't keep Wang Xiucheng waiting for long.
10,10,8,10,10.
48 points!
It was 48 points.
The entire stadium erupted in boos, and even O'Neal "angrily" went to the referee's table and pounded his fist on the makeshift table.
Wang Xiucheng wasn't bothered, because the person who gave him an 8 was not an outsider.
The player who scored 8 points was none other than Rockets legend Drexler.
The reason he achieved this score is quite simple.
He had previously given Tuoping a score of 8, so he gave Wang Xiucheng a score of 8 as well, treating him the same as everyone else.
Of course, what the audience didn't know was that Drexler secretly glanced at the scores of both people before giving his own score.
Only after confirming that they had all given him 10 points did he feel comfortable giving him 8 points.
He wanted Wang Xiucheng to win the championship more than anyone else.
The first round of competition has ended.
Wang Xiucheng scored 48 points, and Tuoping scored 45 points.
The real battle has begun.
Toppin stood up with a serious expression.
It was the last dunk.
Wang Xiucheng's 48 points give him a chance to compete for the championship.
After high-fiving Anthony and a few other veterans, Toppin took the basketball and went to the sideline.
He wanted to continue with the dunk he hadn't finished earlier.
He couldn't let himself leave with regrets for two consecutive years.
Taking a deep breath, Toping patted the ball and then suddenly charged forward.
Upon arriving at the designated location, he leaped up with his legs like springs, quickly switching the basketball between his legs. He then slammed the basketball against the backboard, and using the rebound force, he slammed it into the basket with one hand.
Bang!
It worked!
It was finally a success, and it was done on the first try.
As soon as he landed, Toppin pointed his finger at the large screen in the sky, as if to say, "Look, I succeeded."
The fans were generous with their applause and cheers.
Because fans know that only by achieving a draw can Wang Xiucheng truly demonstrate his abilities.
Spike Lee and Anthony excitedly rushed onto the field to celebrate with Toppin.
The replay began on the big screen, and the five judges started scoring.
The replay ended quickly, and the score finally appeared.
9,10,9,10,9.
The moment the score was announced, the fans were furious.
Toppin's spike only earned him 47 points.
He scored a total of 92 points with two dunks.
This means that if Wang Xiucheng scores 45 points on his final dunk, he will win the dunk contest.
The audience was naturally unhappy. They wanted to see the strongest Wang Xiucheng, not the Wang Xiucheng who easily won the championship without even needing to prepare.
Topin, who was also dissatisfied with the score, had no choice but to accept the reality.
"Come on, make me accept defeat wholeheartedly."
As they passed each other, Tuoping said to Wang Xiucheng.
Wang Xiucheng smiled wryly, "So what if I lost? I have to accept it wholeheartedly."
Amid cheers and anticipation from the fans, Wang Xiucheng walked onto the field.
Without picking up the basketball from the ground, Wang Xiucheng stood facing the players' tunnel, staring at it.
Everyone followed Wang Xiucheng's gaze toward the players' tunnel.
Is Wang Xiucheng going to ask for help again?
Previously it was Jalen Green, who performed a solo run that rivaled Yao Ming's. So who will it be this time?
The archway, which was specially equipped with dry ice devices on both sides, suddenly sprayed out dry ice.
A tall man in a suit appeared in the dry ice smoke.
The person obscured by the smoke looked even taller than O'Neal.
A person that tall?
Who is it?
Some people with Chinese features looked at Wang Xiucheng, then at the figure in the smoke, and suddenly shouted.
Just then, the dry ice smoke dissipated, and the tall man's appearance finally became clear.
It was Yao Ming!
Even though the archway was already quite high, Yao Ming still bowed slightly before walking through it onto the court.
At that moment, all the NBA players in the arena stood up and applauded Yao Ming.
Yao Ming is, after all, an NBA Hall of Famer, and their current wealth is partly due to his contributions.
The bigger the star player, the more they benefit.
For example, players of LeBron James and Stephen Curry's caliber have countless endorsements from Chinese brands.
NBA players who travel to China every summer to earn money are now considered a measure of whether they are stars.
Many players who signed contracts with China Fortune Shoes even earned more from playing for China than they did in the league.
Wearing a suit, Yao Ming walked and waved as he entered the field, where he bumped chests with Wang Xiucheng, who was waiting for him.
In fact, this was the first time the two had met.
But at this moment, Wang Xiucheng felt as if he were meeting someone he had known for a long time.
Perhaps it was the jersey that hung above the Fengtian Center every night that made Wang Xiucheng feel no sense of unfamiliarity with this senior who was almost a head taller than him.
Penguin Live Room.
Zhang Weiping said excitedly, "This is today's surprise! Yao Ming's appearance here is to tell everyone that China also has its own traditions."
Yao Ming was Wang Xiucheng's assistant.
This time it's not just Yao Ming being portrayed, it's Yao Ming himself!