Chapter 160: Slam Dunk Contest (Part 2)

This year's Slam Dunk Contest rules have been slightly modified.

Each participant will dunk twice in the first round, and the five judges will score them. The top three scorers will advance to the final round, where they will dunk twice again. The highest scorer in the final round will be crowned the Slam Dunk Contest champion.

So, if all goes well, Wade Dong will only need to dunk four times to win the Slam Dunk Contest championship.

"Are you ready?"

Wade Dong asked Nash, standing near the three-point line ready to assist.

"Ready!"

Nash nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Hmm?"

Wade Dong felt that Nash's smile was a bit strange.

However, the dunk was about to start, so Wade Dong didn't think too much about it. He slightly bent his knees, ready to run towards the basket.

Just then, Nash's wrist flicked, and the basketball started spinning rapidly in his fingertips, spinning incredibly fast!

"Damn!!!"

All five judges exclaimed in surprise, thinking this was a planned move by Nash and Wade Dong.

"Damn!!!"

Wade Dong also widened his eyes, thinking Nash was messing with him.

It's important to note that a rapidly spinning basketball is very difficult to catch, and Wade Dong intended to complete a between-the-legs, behind-the-back dunk. This spinning basketball was too easy to slip out of his hands.

Moreover, this was not a pre-planned move by Wade Dong and Nash.

However, Wade Dong had already started running, and he began to jump when he was one step away from Nash. So, Wade Dong had no choice but to swat the basketball out of Nash's hand into the air to slow down its spin.

And Wade Dong's body was still rising!

He snatched the basketball back in mid-air and then executed a between-the-legs, behind-the-back dunk, slamming the basketball into the hoop!

"Wow!!!"

The crowd immediately erupted!

Even Jordan was excited and directly discarded the 9-point card, holding up the 10-point card.

This dunk was too difficult!

Wade Dong essentially completed four actions in the air: first, he swatted the basketball into the air, second, he caught the basketball in mid-air, third, he executed a between-the-legs move, and fourth, he dunked the basketball!

"10 points!"

"10 points!"

"10 points!"

The crowd stood up, waving their 10-point cards.

...

Yu Jia excitedly shouted in the broadcast booth, "This dunk will definitely get a perfect score!"

...

Next, the camera focused on today's judges.

Yao Ming held up the 10-point card, McGrady held up the 10-point card, Francis held up the 10-point card, Kobe held up the 10-point card, and the last judge was Jordan... he also held up the 10-point card without hesitation.

50 points!!!

Wade Dong's first dunk received a perfect score.

After completing the dunk, Wade Dong was also sweating. He walked up and intentionally pushed Nash, "You're deliberately messing with me!"

"Hahaha..."

Nash laughed, "I believed you would have a solution."

"Get out of here!"

Wade Dong pushed Nash again, but if Wade Dong had just done a between-the-legs, behind-the-back dunk, he might have also gotten a perfect score. However, the excitement level would not have matched the previous dunk.

That dunk was sure to become a classic in the Slam Dunk Contest!

It was precisely because of Wade Dong and Nash's pushing and shoving that everyone realized this was not a pre-planned move by Wade Dong and Nash. Nash's last-minute decision to spin the ball made this dunk even more impressive, as the two had not rehearsed it beforehand. This was their first collaboration, and Wade Dong managed to complete such a high-difficulty dunk on their first try.

After Wade Dong, it was White's turn to perform.

White was considered Wade Dong's strongest opponent before the All-Star Game.

The commentator said, "White has completed a 720-degree spin dunk before. He is an excellent dunker and will challenge Wade Dong today."

Everyone was highly anticipating White's performance, as besides dunking, White didn't have much else to show off.

Before dunking, White suddenly pointed at Wade Dong and said through the microphone, "I may not be as good as you at playing ball, but you can't beat me at dunking!"

"Wow!!!"

The crowd cheered, excited that White was talking smack to Wade Dong even before his dunk!

What kind of performance would he deliver?

"Amateur~"

Wade Dong sat on the sidelines, laughing as he watched White. Just as White started dribbling and running, Wade Dong threw a bottle of "clumsy potion" at White's head.

"Splash~~~"

White had just reached the three-point line when he suddenly slipped, losing control of the ball and falling awkwardly.

"..."

The arena fell silent.

"Hahaha..."

After the silence, the entire crowd burst into laughter.

Wade Dong laughed, "You should practice your dribbling before you dunk."

"This...?"

White rubbed his butt and got up, bewildered. How did he suddenly fall?

The smack talk he had just delivered now became a joke.

However, each player had two minutes for their dunk attempts, so even though White slipped on his first dunk, he still had a chance for his second attempt.

He first tried a 720-degree spin dunk twice without success. Seeing that time was running out, White changed his strategy and chose a simpler windmill dunk.

"Swish~~~"

This also drew cheers from the crowd.

Kobe and Jordan both shook their heads and gave scores of 7 points, while Yao Ming and the others gave 8 points. In the end, White's first dunk scored only 38 points.

In the Slam Dunk Contest, it's rare to see a score below 40 points. If White had started with a windmill dunk, he could have scored around 45 points. However, his consecutive failures with the 720-degree spin dunk and then choosing a simpler dunk showed a lack of ambition, which led to his low score.

White sheepishly walked off the court. With a score of 38 points on his first dunk, he was essentially out of the final round.

Jordan turned to Kobe and said, "This year's Slam Dunk Contest isn't much of a challenge for Wade Dong."

"That's true."

Kobe also nodded. Wade Dong's opponents were clearly not on his level, making it difficult for him to bring out his best performance.

Jordan joked, "Why don't you give it a try?"

"Why don't you?"

Kobe gave Jordan a look.

Jordan laughed, "I'm in my fifties, I can't dunk anymore. You're different."

"If Wade Dong signs up again next year, I'll sign up too."

Kobe stroked his chin, feeling a bit itchy to dunk after watching Wade Dong.