As the sound of the ball smashing into the basket echoed, the scene instantly exploded!
Pierce originally kept his head down, afraid of a collision and a blunder, but when he felt the ball taken from above him and someone flying over his head, he immediately looked up. He saw Zhang Hao leaning forward and performing a backward dunk, and he instantly got excited. After Zhang Hao landed and turned around, Pierce was the first to rush over for a hug.
The Inglewood High School team members and a few girls with Aprile Clark soon rushed in from the sidelines.
Zhang Hao high-fived each of them to celebrate, and when it came to the tennis beauty Aprile Clark, Zhang Hao gave her a hug.
No special intentions, but there should be a difference in how men and women are treated, and to be a bit more considerate to... No, I mean to be more considerate to girls, or else it won't fulfill the girls' idea of gender equality.
The dunk contest in basketball is akin to sprinting in track and field, being both the shortest in duration but most exhilarating!
From the sprint to the dunk, Zhang Hao's slam took only a few seconds but directly brought the atmosphere to the most intense moment of the night!
Outstanding leap, nearly perfect dunk completion, top flexibility, smooth movements, and full of graceful beauty...
Those distracted spectators, upon hearing the wild cheers of the scene and seeing the Inglewood High School students celebrating crazily with Zhang Hao on the court, couldn't help but regret!
Julius Erving exchanged a wry smile with NBA dunk king Larry Nance beside him. This... made it tough for the players coming up next!
Looking at those contestants... Oh, Julius Erving noticed when he looked at Carter that Carter didn't show a "holy cow" expression. Not even the fear of a strong opponent but rather... more interested?
Yes, Carter didn't have that Ricky Davis look of wanting to curse, nor the resigned expressions of Dean Grove and Lakers management's second-generation player Miles Simon, nor Desmond Mason's look of intense excitement mixed with apprehension before it was even his turn.
Carter was just intrigued, just eager to get on the court for a showdown with Zhang Hao, without any sense of worry or dread.
Julius Erving felt like he'd hit the jackpot! Although the odds are not high, if these two make it to the NBA in the future and reenact incredible dunks there, this dunk contest will certainly be recalled. He would be credited for having the keen eyes to bring these two into the finals, and then to select them for the showdown. Of course, that would require Carter's upcoming dunks to satisfy him.
Listening to the cheers from the audience, interspersed with shouts of "10 points," Julius Erving and the other judges exchanged looks and all gave 10 points!
The meaning was clear: clear the stage mode!
Scoring a perfect dunk on the first attempt directly triggers the clear stage mode, meaning the judges have already chosen their dunk king! As for the upcoming contestants, if they think they can outdo, they better pull off an even prettier dunk, or be eliminated.
One dunk king is enough—competition is naturally good, but being unbeatable is also excellent. That's sports; no one cares about the weak.
When the host confirmed the scores, and the cheers erupted once more, along with the jubilant cheering of teammates and girls beside him, Zhang Hao also got excited as the on-screen prompts finally showed up!
"Special contract player: Zhang Hao, successfully achieved a perfect dunk in the McDonald's High School All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.
Congratulations to the host for earning the reward: 30 days of lifespan.
Remaining lifespan: 422 days, available lifespan: 421 days."
Another month to live!
\(^o^)/!