pinnacle of basketball

Chapter 468 The 49-point dunk
"Gentlemen and ladies, the preliminaries of the NBA All-Star Weekend Slam Dunk Contest will start in 5 minutes. Applause is welcome, please be the judges of the Slam Dunk Contest today!!!"

"First of all, welcome to the god of basketball, six-time championship winner, the forever number 23 of the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan!"

In the first position, the curtain slowly rose, and the figure of Michael Jordan gradually appeared, and he was waving to all the audience.

In order to add to the mystery of the slam dunk contest, the candidates for the judges have never been disclosed, and the audience is also full of curiosity about the candidates for the judges.

Michael Jordan not only won the slam dunk contest championship, but also served as a judge of the slam dunk contest. This All-Star is his return to the public eye after many years, which evokes deep memories of a generation of fans. In the eyes of many people, Jordan is equivalent to the existence of basketball itself.

The first judge is such a heavyweight, which makes the audience look forward to it even more.

"Welcome the second judge, the giant in the NBA, Shaquille O'Neal!"

Before the curtain was drawn, O'Neal behind the scenes began to sway with the dynamic music. Although he was huge, he was flexible enough, and there was never a lack of laughter in the All-Star Game with him.

In the end, O'Neal also made a funny freeze frame, which eased the atmosphere of the tense dunk contest a lot.

"The third referee, half-human, half-god, the UFO dunk god from "outer space", Vince Carter."

Carter's entrance is much more serious. The years have not affected the murderous look on his face. When mentioning dunks, there must be discussions about him. The omnipotent UFO will be on the scene today to witness the take-off of the younger generation.

"The fourth referee, one of the strongest dunkers in the history of the slam dunk contest, the strongest dunk king who can complete any action at the free throw line, Zach LaVine!"

LaVine is the youngest of the four referees who have played. He just retired three seasons ago. However, he has left too many incredible dunks for the NBA. With him in the dunk contest, the champion has never been left behind. He can always meet all your expectations and bring you some surprises.

He is a well-deserved slam dunk king, even Jordan and Carter once admitted that LaVine's slam dunk is the strongest in history.

However, that was an evaluation a few seasons ago. With Barrett's crossing in and out, LaVine's position as the strongest dunk leader in history has been impacted.

"Fifth place, five-time NBA champion, 1997 slam dunk contest champion, four-time All-Star Game MVP, wife of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant!"

The fifth referee is the most unexpected. The league invited Vanessa, the wife of the late legendary star Kobe Bryant, to commemorate the legend in this form.

Although Vanessa is more than 50 years old, she still has the charm. In the years after Kobe left, she stuck to it consistently and never left Kobe.

The appearance of Vanessa brought tears to the eyes of many fans. Seeing Vanessa will always make people think of that paranoid man. How I wish it was him who sat on the referee's seat today.

However, Vanessa's acceptance of the league's invitation can be regarded as making up for Kobe's regret that he could not be there. The All-Star League tried to invite her several times before, but Vanessa declined them all. This time, it was Michael Jordan who personally lobbied Vanessa to agree to attend.

The five judges have gathered, which can be described as the most luxurious lineup of judges in the history of the slam dunk contest.

The judges were seated, and the dunk contest officially began.

According to the order of the lottery before the game, Richardson of the Grizzlies was the first to play. Before the dunk, he deliberately walked to Vanessa's side, greeted her, and then took off his jacket, revealing the "Purple Gold" No. 8, which was the jersey worn by Kobe in the 1997 dunk contest.

In the first buckle, Richardson chose to pay tribute to his idol.

Seeing that familiar number and that familiar jersey appeared in front of her eyes again, Vanessa's thoughts instantly returned to the past. Kobe in the No. 8 period was so unruly and charming.

Since it is a tribute, it is of course necessary to pay tribute. Kobe had completed many beautiful dunks in the slam dunk contest back then. Everyone was curious about which dunk Richardson wanted to copy.

Richardson put his hands on the basketball, tried to press the ball, and then ran along a 45° approach. He jumped up in three steps from the penalty area line, took the basketball from his crotch with his left hand, caught it with his right hand, and then dunked the basketball into the basket with a big arm loop.

Richardson's perfect reproduction of Kobe's crotch change in the 1997 slam dunk contest, although such an action is not uncommon today with more and more tricks, but at that time Kobe's dunk scored 49 points.

"Richardson knew he wouldn't get a high score for this dunk, but he did it anyway."

"Maybe he just wants to pay tribute to his idol."

Richardson can be said to be a perfect replica of Kobe's buckle. Even his body shape and height are almost the same, especially when he wears a Kobe-like jersey, which makes people dazzle inadvertently, as if what he sees is really Kobe.

Both Jordan and O'Neal were stunned and exclaimed, "He's back."

Even Carter, who is also known as the top four shooting guards with Kobe, felt that this dunk was exactly the same as Kobe's dunk back then.

Zach LaVine, who regards Kobe as an idol, has carried the same number as his idol throughout his career, and he has tears in his eyes.

Among the five, Vanessa felt the deepest. She only said one name after seeing the dunk, but it was full of emotion, "Kobe~"

Everyone is waiting for what kind of score the judges can give. The other four have already chosen their scores, and only Vanessa is still hesitating.

The referee showed their scores one by one. All four of them had a deep connection with Kobe, so they all wanted to give a perfect result after seeing such a perfect slam dunk, so all four of them gave 10 points by coincidence.

Although purely from the point of view of dunk, this dunk can not get 10 points.

Just when everyone was looking forward to the first full-score dunk of "50 points" in this year's slam dunk contest, Vanessa's scoring screen flashed a bright red "9 points".

40+9, Richardson paid tribute to a dunk and finally failed to get a full score.

"Oh~"

The audience exclaimed, they did not expect that the person who gave 9 points turned out to be Kobe's closest person.

The host interviewed Vanessa with surprise and asked her why she gave 9 points.

"In 1997, Kobe scored an imperfect 49 points for this dunk. This is an unforgettable result in his life. I know how dissatisfied he is with this result, and it is precisely because of this 49 points that he has become a better version of himself. From my personal point of view, I certainly want to give 10 points, but if Kobe gave it himself, I believe he would give himself 9 points. I just gave him the score he would give." Vanessa choked and explained, "Thank you, Richardson, Thank you so much."

Warm applause was given to Vanessa's affectionate explanation.

"May you and your family be happy forever." Not being able to get full marks makes Richardson slightly regretful, but it is already very good to be able to get the same marks as an idol.

After scoring, Richardson took off his Kobe jersey and gave it to Vanessa.

(End of this chapter)