Chapter 360: Wade Dong's Background Slam
The All-Star Weekend was a celebration not only for the fans but also for the players, many of whom brought their families.
For instance, Huang Yu's 'mysterious girlfriend' made an appearance.
Rumor has it that she was a Hollywood superstar. After Huang Yu found Wade Dong to chat, his girlfriend also came over to greet Wade Dong.
However, Wade Dong merely nodded politely.
He wasn't familiar with the entertainment industry in this world and only recognized a few celebrities, all of whom were from Huaxia and introduced to him by Zhang Yang.
Huang Yu's girlfriend was a mixed-race beauty with stunning looks and a well-built body, especially her strong thighs, indicating her practical abilities.
Wade Dong glanced at her once and wondered if Huang Yu would even be able to play that night.
After all, this year's All-Star Weekend was highly anticipated by Huaxia fans as it featured two Huaxia players in the starting lineup.
If Huang Yu's legs gave out and he couldn't run, it would be embarrassing.
Some familiar faces were notably absent, like Kobe, Duncan, and Rose, but this year also saw the emergence of some rising stars, including second-year rookies Lillard and Davis, who made the All-Star reserves.
After yesterday's dunk contest, Lillard no longer dared to trash-talk Wade Dong.
...
The Western Conference starting lineup: Wade Dong, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love, Huang Yu, and Blake Griffin.
The Eastern Conference starting lineup: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George.
The league had an unwritten rule that All-Star head coaches couldn't serve consecutive terms, so both conferences had new coaches this year. The Western Conference coach was the Lakers' Mike D'Antoni, and the Eastern Conference coach was the Pacers' Frank Vogel.
After a thrilling player introduction, the 2014 NBA All-Star Game officially began.
The starting players walked onto the court, adjusting their jerseys.
"Clap!"
Before the tip-off, James came over to give Wade Dong a high-five, and then the two stood side by side, slightly bending their knees and placing their hands on their thighs, ready for the game.
Love and George jumped for the tip-off.
Love tapped the ball to Huang Yu, who dribbled to the frontcourt. Before he could prepare to pass, James suddenly appeared from Huang Yu's side and swiped the ball away with a palm.
After the steal, James dribbled towards the frontcourt.
"Bang!!!"
With no one in front of him, James performed a windmill dunk, slamming the ball into the basket.
Wade Dong stood next to Huang Yu and teased, "Is this your idea of having the energy to play?"
Huang Yu sniffed, "It's my first All-Star Game, so I'm a bit nervous."
"Hehe~"
Wade Dong smiled and ran to the backcourt for the inbound pass.
Durant passed the ball to Wade Dong, who dribbled to the frontcourt and then passed it to Love at the three-point line.
"Swish~~~"
Love's three-point attempt missed.
James grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it to Wade, who dribbled to the frontcourt. Seeing James rushing to the basket, Wade directly tossed the ball towards the rim.
"Bang!!!"
James caught Wade's pass in mid-air and slammed a one-armed dunk!
The score was 4-0!!!
James had a strong desire to dunk, possibly due to some lingering frustration from losing the dunk contest to Wade Dong the previous day.
This time, Wade Dong didn't stay back to receive the inbound pass.
Huang Yu dribbled to the frontcourt, using two crossover dribbles to drive from Wade's left side!
However, Wade's lateral movement was swift, and Huang Yu couldn't get past him. Huang Yu abruptly stopped, faked a move, and then pulled up for a jump shot against Wade's defense.
...
"Honey, you're so amazing~"
Huang Yu's girlfriend was sitting courtside.
Hearing his girlfriend's voice, Huang Yu loosened his grip, and the ball hit the rim's edge. George grabbed the defensive rebound and passed it to Irving.
Irving dribbled to the frontcourt.
Love pulled up to the three-point line to defend Irving, while the other players spread out, giving Irving and Love space for a one-on-one matchup.
Love was twenty centimeters taller than Irving, making it challenging for him to keep up with Irving's footwork. Irving started with a spin move, and Love shifted to his left to prevent Irving from easily getting past him.
After the spin move, Irving followed up with continuous crossover dribbles, throwing Love off-balance.
Then, Irving executed a body feint, easily getting past Love and driving to the basket. But the play wasn't over.
Seeing James rushing to the basket, Irving tossed the ball into the air.
"Bang!!!"
James caught Irving's pass in mid-air and slammed a two-handed dunk!
The score was 6-0!!!
"Oh yeah~~~"
The crowd went wild.
Three powerful dunks to start the game, and James was clearly in an aggressive scoring mood.
"Wade Dong! Wade Dong! Wade Dong!"
The fans in the arena also chanted Wade Dong's name, hoping for a response.
...
The Huaxia Live Broadcast Room.
Yu Jia, "James has dunked, but the fans are chanting Wade Dong's name."
Zhang Zhidao, "Although the All-Star Game is for entertainment, the fans are most eager to see the showdown between Wade Dong and James."
Yu Jia, "James is showing a strong desire to score."
...
After playing for over four minutes in the first quarter, Mike D'Antoni made substitutions.
He replaced Kevin Love, who had missed all three of his three-point attempts, with Dwight Howard, and replaced Huang Yu with James Harden. This was understandable, as D'Antoni was the Lakers' head coach.
If Alvin Gentry were sitting on the sidelines, he might have brought in Stephen Curry just two minutes into the game.
Wade Dong had already won an All-Star MVP once, and he wasn't particularly interested in such honors. After playing for a few minutes, Wade Dong wanted to take a rest, but he could only think about it.
If he only played for a few minutes in the All-Star Game, the fans would be so disappointed.
This was Harden's first All-Star appearance, and he was still excited. When he came in, he faced off against Wade and took a step-back three-pointer.
"Swish~~~"
Unfortunately, his shooting touch was a bit off, and the ball hit the rim's edge, bouncing high.
As George and Durant positioned themselves under the basket to fight for the defensive rebound, they saw a figure in the air.
"Holy shit..."
When they realized it was Wade Dong, George and Durant had almost identical reactions. They immediately moved away, leaving the area under the basket empty.
"Clang!!!"
Wade Dong grabbed the basketball in mid-air and slammed a rim-rattling dunk!
"Oh yeah!!! Oh yeah!!! Oh yeah!!!"
The crowd erupted.
"Holy shit..."
The celebrity spectators sitting courtside leaned back in awe!
This was Wade Dong's first score, and it was a rim-rattling dunk!
Only Wade Dong... He hadn't attempted any shots until now, and with this one, he scared off George and Durant, who were under the basket. If they hadn't moved away, they would have become Wade Dong's background props in the dunk.