It's indeed exciting!
It's not just about living another 30 days; obviously, that's the most important thing, the most crucial thing to achieve tonight.
But the thrill of enjoying the scene of thousands cheering is truly awesome!
It really can bring limitless motivation and the strongest desire to win!
Zhang Hao seems to somewhat understand why some high school geniuses quickly fade away upon entering college or the NBA.
Because no matter how exceptional a high school student is, they're usually only compared with other students from their state. In college, there are so many geniuses, and older opponents who are also talented but more experienced. One is no longer the brightest star, and many geniuses end up becoming anxious and then fade away.
Acknowledgment and support are incredibly important!
There are indeed examples of those who endure loneliness and train hard for years before suddenly making it big, but most people need applause and cheers to boost their motivation.
Because as athletes, to succeed is really difficult.
But the harder something is to achieve, the more you want it, which is why so many people continue to pursue their ultimate goal. There are many examples in the NBA; future stars like Payton, David West, and Malone are willing to take a low or even minimum salary from strong teams while they could easily act like the Goji Brothers, clocking in and out, earning money for a few more years without pushing too hard. In their youth, if they didn't strive so hard, they might end up earning for more than ten extra years, akin to the protagonist in the basketball novel "I Don't Want to Be the Big Boss" that Zhang Hao read before he traveled through time, playing for thirty years.
After Zhang Hao finished his first dunk, soon, the second player to take the stage was drawn.
Ricky Davis.
He wanted to struggle, so he attempted a dunk he clearly couldn't perform—a 360-degree body spin between-the-legs dunk.
Separately, Ricky Davis can execute these moves beautifully, but if he were the first to perform, choosing either one of these dunks would likely earn him high marks, though a perfect score might not be possible. But with Zhang Hao shining before him, he had to challenge himself with difficulty.
Then... the movement wasn't smooth. The key issue was that after the 360-degree spin and the between-the-legs move, the height was insufficient; the ball hit the rim.
Dunk failed!
For the second dunk, Ricky Davis chose a slightly easier one, a straightforward between-the-legs dunk.
The judges are professional indeed, and with two dunk kings on the panel and the other three being former NBA All-Stars, they scored based on the second dunk without intentionally giving lower marks due to the first failure.
However, Ricky Davis is better suited for dunks showcasing pure leaping and power. The commentators from the American Cable TV Station were commenting how Ricky Davis is more suitable for full-powered extension tomahawk-style dunks. Yet he lacks awareness in this aspect; the completion of the between-the-legs dunk was high, but it lacked aesthetic appeal.
Only scored 35 points!
With this score, Zhang Hao checked the performances of Desmond Mason and Carter, who hadn't yet taken the stage, and concluded Ricky Davis was eliminated.
The subsequent contestants, Dean Grove and Miles Simon, obviously gave up on struggling. Before entering the selection competition, they thought they had potential, maybe even the chance to become popular. But upon reaching the preliminaries and seeing Zhang Hao and Carter's performances, they lowered their expectations, with their goal being the finals decider.
Now, the two feel that participating in the competition is more about friendship first, competition second, and enjoying oneself above all.
Indeed, with a relaxed mindset, both performed their dunks well. The difficulty wasn't high, but the movements were smooth and fluid, leading to scores of 38 and 41 respectively.
Ricky Davis was furious and trembling, having come with full confidence, only to end up at the bottom?
No way!
There are still two more competitors! Ricky Davis hoped the next performances would be worse than his; only then could his wounded spirit be consoled.
However, the next to last, Desmond Mason, seeing the performances of the previous three, calmed down. Ever since the selection competition, he has viewed Zhang Hao and Carter as his biggest rivals. When the two did even better than in the selection phase, he was indeed surprised and eager to explode.
But he knows that it's more important to steadily proceed to the finals!
No hasty moves; he must steadily secure high scores.
Desmond Mason executed a beautiful airborne single-handed power dunk off a high bounce pass and scored 45 points.
There's difficulty, a relatively high difficulty level, there's visual appeal, and enough fluidity. Plus, completing such a dunk obviously sacrifices some jump height for higher difficulty and more flamboyant techniques... However, by doing so, the power isn't as effectively showcased, and that's Desmond Mason's only advantage. Zhang Hao finds this future dunk king formidable!
Next up was Carter.
The audience was eager, watching Carter walk onto the stage with little expression, seemingly unaffected by Zhang Hao's "clear-the-floor dunk."
Zhang Hao sat crouched at the court's edge, focusing on Carter.
Witnessing Carter dunk in person! Last time wasn't enough to satisfy!
These past couple of days, Carter's spectacular 360-degree windmill turn during the selection contest gained him some fame. Compared to Zhang Hao's graceful but in terms of difficulty not particularly high free-throw line dunk which might not score as well in the eyes of seasoned NBA fans, Carter indeed garnered more anticipation.
Of course, with Zhang Hao's "clear-the-floor dunk" tonight, people have realized that these two 18-year-olds both possess the potential for becoming top-tier dunkers in the NBA.