The winner of the dunk contest was no longer the main focus.
This year's dunk contest featured four incredible dunks by Wade Dong: the 720-degree spin dunk, the one-step-away-from-the-free-throw-line dunk, the double-crotch-dunk with a switch of hands, and the leap over four people for a behind-the-back switch-hand dunk!
Each dunk pushed the limits of human capability.
After this dunk contest, Wade Dong had proven the worth of NBA players.
There were people in this world who were not professional basketball players but were professional dunkers. They possessed incredible leaping abilities and made a living from dunking, practicing it every day. These individuals, purely focused on dunking, could even outshine NBA players in this specific skill.
As the saying goes, "There are masters among the common folk."
However, after this, Wade Dong took dunking to another level.
...
LeBron James' second dunk in the final.
He brought in Dwyane Wade, positioning him under the basket, intending to perform a leap-over dunk.
James prepared, sprinted from beyond the three-point line, jumped from a step away from Wade, flew over Wade's head, and as he dunked, his forearm directly hung on the rim.
Leap over Wade, forearm-hang dunk!
"10 points!"
"10 points!"
"10 points!"
The audience roared with '10 points'.
Although James' dunk was worth 50 points, it felt somewhat forced, and the fans were more eager to see Wade Dong's fifth dunk.
The judges unanimously gave James a perfect score of 50 points, just like Wade Dong's previous four dunks.
This year's dunk contest was undoubtedly the most spectacular in history, surpassing even the year when Jordan faced Wilkins and the year when Carter became a legend.
Wade Dong began preparing for his fifth dunk.
Before stepping onto the court, Wade Dong shrugged at James and said, "I'm out of ideas. It looks like I'll lose to you this year."
"Ha, ha..."
James gave a dry laugh.
Even if he won against Wade Dong, he didn't feel worthy of the dunk contest championship. He couldn't replicate any of Wade Dong's first four dunks.
Wade Dong didn't do any additional preparation.
He dribbled from beyond the three-point line, jumped from a step away from the basket, grabbed the ball with both hands, tapped the rim, and then dunked it.
The most challenging part of this dunk was the hang time.
It required tremendous core strength and sufficient hang time to execute this dunk.
The judges awarded Wade Dong another perfect score of 50 points.
"Sigh..."
After the successful dunk, Wade Dong sighed softly, "I have over a dozen more simple dunks like this."
James was perplexed.
For his fifth dunk, James had Dwyane Wade hold the basketball, and after leaping over Wade, he grabbed the ball and executed a crotch-dunk with a switch of hands, slamming the ball into the basket.
This dunk was ordinary!
Jordan and the others exchanged glances and once again gave a perfect score.
"Huh..."
Kevin Durant's expression seemed unnatural when he saw James receive another perfect score. He felt this dunk didn't deserve a perfect score.
...
Wade Dong then performed another behind-the-back switch-hand dunk with a crotch-dunk, earning another perfect score.
For his sixth dunk, James dribbled to the free-throw line, tossed the ball towards the rim, and executed a self-pass self-dunk with a tomahawk slam.
The judges awarded James 47 points, feeling embarrassed to give him another perfect score.
With this, Wade Dong once again claimed the dunk contest championship.
Wade Dong stood in the center of the court, holding the dunk contest championship trophy.
Bruce asked, "How does it feel to win the dunk contest again?"
"It feels good, but it's a bit lonely."
Wade Dong looked at Jordan and the others, joking, "But this year's dunk contest is probably the best ever, don't you think?"
"You're right, Dong!"
Carter nodded, "There are two types of dunks: Dong's dunks and everyone else's."
"Where's your pride as the dunk king?"
Jordan gave Carter a disapproving look but stood up and applauded for Wade Dong.
...
The following morning at 9 AM, the All-Star Game began.
Fans were still immersed in the previous day's dunk contest, and Wade Dong's announcement that he would no longer participate in future dunk contests left them feeling disappointed.
However, the fans understood that even if they looked twenty years into the future, no dunk contest would surpass this year's.
In the preliminary rounds, George's half-spin in the air with a crotch-dunk switch, Wall's leap over the mascot for a powerful reverse dunk, and Terrence's leap over O'Neal were all spectacular, but they were just supporting acts.
James' tomahawk slam that went over the rim and his reverse slam from behind the backboard were impressive.
Yet, all of these were overshadowed by Wade Dong's brilliance.
The 720-degree spin dunk!
The one-step-away-from-the-free-throw-line dunk!
The double-crotch-dunk with a switch of hands!
The leap over four people for a behind-the-back switch-hand dunk!
These four dunks directly entered the top five most difficult human dunks, and after the contest, fans dug up historical-level dunkers, including many street dunk legends, but even they would struggle to replicate any of these dunks.
Wade Dong accomplished them all.
Before the All-Star Game began, Wade Dong encountered Huang Yu.
Huang Yu hadn't attended the dunk contest the previous day, so when he saw Wade Dong, he said, "Dong, not going to the dunk contest yesterday will be my lifelong regret."
Wade Dong asked, "Where were you yesterday?"
"Emmm..."
Huang Yu's face turned red as he whispered, "I recently got a girlfriend, and yesterday I took her..."
Huang Yu stammered, and Wade Dong understood, joking, "To a hotel room?"
"Yeah."
Huang Yu nodded.
"So, do you still have the energy to play today?"
"Of course!"
Huang Yu nodded vigorously and added, "I'm actually very good."
"Telling me that is useless. I can't experience it, and I don't want to experience it either."
Wade Dong shrugged and walked over to chat with James and the others.
"Dong, you misunderstood me..."
Huang Yu wanted to explain, but he realized that Wade Dong genuinely didn't care about his skills, so he let it go.