Everyone said that the dunk contest is not good, just look at O'Neill's expression.
This year, O'Neal sat on the sidelines, a black face was hardly moved by the field, Jaylen Green's several dunks failed, Anderson's pending arm attempt, none of the players had a full score... , all of them are trying to characterize this tournament as bland, boring and boring, and can only hastily use the dunk success rate as a standard to crown Topping in a hurry. Judging from the performance in recent years, everyone is acquiescing to an irrefutable fact, that is, the dunk contest is becoming more and more ugly, whether it is ornamental and competitive, it is not the same as the past.
Last year, it was still possible to use the excuse of "no audience because of the epidemic", but this year there was no fig leaf at all, so that everyone could see the embarrassment of the dunk contest. Although the league has also tried to change the plight of the dunk contest by changing the format and other methods, it has had little effect, but it has made everyone more nostalgic for the glory days of the dunk contest in the past and the man named Composition Scott. When you mention Carter, the YYYDS that cannot be avoided in the dunk world, you certainly can't fail to mention the most famous one in the history of the dunk contest, that is, the 2000 San Francisco All-Star Dunk Contest in which Carter was enshrined.
On the evening of February 12, 2000 local time, after the dunk contest was suspended in 1998 and 1999, the Auckland Stadium re-hosted the first dunk game of the new century, which in the future is also the most star-studded, the most wonderful and enough to forever record the history of youth, and it is also worth looking back and admiring several times later. Moreover, Carter's most worthy of the big book is that he single-handedly saved the dying, or the slam dunk contest that has entered the bottleneck period. Yes, the status quo of the dunk contest is actually a repeat of history more than twenty years ago.
At the beginning of the dunk contest, there were many well-known dunks, such as human film essence, Dr. J, Michael Jordan and so on. But then because the technical level became more and more uniform, such as a variety of crotch layers in an endless stream, over time, inevitably caused aesthetic fatigue, by the end of the 90s, the event has been unable to attract superstars, has become a stage for many newcomers to show themselves, ratings plummeted. Therefore, it was once rumored that the league intended to cancel the dunk contest, and indeed after Bryant participated in and won the 1997 class, the 1998 class was canceled.
Officials gave a good reason - then-president David Stern said, "If everyone thinks the dunk contest should be suspended, stop it." Rod Thorne, then vice president of basketball operations at the NBA, said: "We all feel that all the dunks have been done, and there will be no new moves in the dunk contest." Ras Granick, then NBA vice president, said: "The 2-3 consecutive dunk games have not been up to the level we expected, so we wanted to stop and see what to do." Then, in 1999, the NBA was shut down and the All-Star Game was lost.
But by the 2000 All-Star, the league somehow resumed the dunk contest, and painstakingly selected the contestants, 6 players are future stars, and are all good at dunking, can be described as star-studded, there are Carter, Maddy, Francis, Larry Hughes, Starkhouse, Jamison (after quitting due to injury, Ricky Davis replaced, yes, later went to the Cavaliers, said that James is the benevolent brother who came to assist him).
Maddy had no intention of participating, but was persuaded by his cousin Carter. The panels are also big names, namely Iceman George Gervin, Kenny Smith, WNBA star Cynthia Cooper, Rick Barry, and Smiling Assassin Isaiah Thomas. Off-topic, looking back at this all-star show, one of the most interesting parts is counting which stars you can see on the sidelines, such as young Duncan, Garnett, Iverson, Kidd in a blue suit...
Back to the point, before the game, Wenscat, who was slightly tired from participating in fan activities, thought that his physical condition was not good, and this All-Star was very likely to screw up, but he did not expect that he was stunned by virtue of his unborn physical fitness and basketball talent, as well as the courage to stand up to the knife, to pull the dunk event that had sunk to the bottom back to a new height, and dedicated a stunning performance that was difficult to replicate in the future, which seriously stimulated the ratings and the adrenal glands of fans.
The enthusiasm for watching the game lasted for more than ten years, and since then, in the technical field of dunks, his legend has become a solitary faction in the jianghu, and all aspects are unattainable for peers and future generations. There was no Carter after Carter, and every dunk he made in the 2000 dunk contest was truly a masterpiece of the times and left an indelible mark on the hearts of generations of young people.
According to the rules, the first round deducts three times, takes the sum of the two high scorers, and decides whether to advance or not. Larry Hughes and Starkhouse both played poorly and became foils. This tournament is completely a big fight between Carter, Maddy and Francis, and it is very exciting. The first dunk in the first round, in Larry Hughes dunk fly (according to the rules, only one deduction, no chance of deducting again.) Here can cue Jaylen Green) after only 30 points of the opening show, then still playing for the Raptors and wearing a classic black and purple color jersey Maddy appeared in the second appearance, he threw high outside the three-point line, the ball bounced, Maddy jumped 33 feet, pulled the ball back in the air, and scored 45 points.
Subsequently, the young rocket star Francis is not to be outdone, he threw the ball in the middle line, quickly assisted in the run, the legs were slightly bent, it was like a spring vertically, the moon in the air, one-handed dunk, its jump height was 40 inches (1 inch is 2.54 cm), which shows the superiority of the bounce.
His defender height, only 191 cm, leaping in the air, stretching and flowing, very visual impact, you know, he was repeatedly among the top ten balls with his tomahawk split. The judges gave him the same 45 points.
At the age of 25, Carter came out, he had a bald head, muscular, strong figure, O'Neal on the sidelines had set up the camera, because Carter was so stylish, his every move was like a show, before jumping, he walked through the midfield with the ball in one hand, sipped his mouth to the basket, probably with an estimate of the distance in his heart, and then walked back to the midfield, raised his arms, 45 degrees on the right side, ready,
The camera gives his cousins Maddie and Larius expectant eyes, he strides three times, takes off, turns 360 degrees in the air, connects to the big windmill, lands perfectly, springs on the ground twice, and walks expressionlessly toward the side of the field, while pulling the jersey out of his shorts.
O'Neill's mouth was pursed into a 0 shape, Uncle Mu raised his arm, the audience and the judges brushed together to show ten, the live commentary could not help themselves, exclaiming "let's go home" and "let's go home". The thrill is that he is not skilled in this dunk action, and the success rate in training is extremely low. He had wanted to use the second dunk, but changed his mind temporarily before the game.
The second buckle, Larry Hughes, Starkhouse, and Ricky Davis, are still relatively unseasonable. Maddy, Carter, and Francis all do their best. Maddy took Carter's help to complete a split dunk and scored 49 points. Francis still showed amazing bounces, after throwing the ball, he jumped 38 inches high, holding the ball in the back, body in front, came to a powerful dunk, and after landing on the ground, he jumped and jumped with great satisfaction.
Many players directly run under the basket and lie down in a piece, indicating that they are convinced. (The atmosphere at that time was really good), did not give full marks, there was no reason.
Carter is still challenging the difficulty, offering a classic rebounding back half of the big windmill. The jump height is 35 inches, the difficulty index is five stars, and the judges score 49 points.
In the last dunk of the first round, Maddy, who had advanced early, turned around and folded the back buckle to score a perfect score.
Francis cooperated with his teammate Old Cat, hit the board, the air movement was very beautiful, jumped high, like sitting on a stool in the air, but accidentally dunked and flew, scoring 33 points.
And the Carter classic continues, he made the whole audience stand up, the narrator shouted "it's over" - with Maddy, jumping 37 inches, wearing crotches in the air, big windmill dunks, undisputed full score. His two-fingered celebratory movements, his mouth with gestures saying that the game is over, has become one of the most classic pictures in NBA history. Carter and the judges clapped one by one, and Isaiah Thomas was so excited that he jumped straight over the judges' table.
Advance to the second round, and the winner or loser will be known. Before the first buckle, Francis buckled, Carter walked past him and recited two sentences, suspected of being garbage. He scored 43 points with an aerial loop windmill dunk. Maddy jumped 33 inches and scored 45 points for self-propelled deduction.
Carter was once again a hit, directly hanging his arm to dunk, looking everyone stupid, O'Neill and Francis were dumbfounded, with three big words clearly written on their faces - never seen. Regarding this dunk, James Posey, who played for the Nuggets at the time, said: "Everyone's expression is, this is a very ordinary dunk. But they didn't know that Carter had inserted his entire elbow and hung it on the basket with his elbow, and it took a while for people to suddenly realize the beauty of this action. ”
In the second dunk, Maddy dunked and flew out of the championship race. Francis and Carter were in a duel, but Carter was even stronger. Francis took out his housekeeping skills to make the final blow, he folded his body in the air, showed a strong waist and abdomen strength, and scored 48 points by throwing himself, with a total score of 43 + 48 = 91 points. To win the championship, Carter needs a minimum of 42 points.
Carter did not give in, long distance to help the free throw line jump gliding dunk, this action Julius Irving, Michael Jordan, Rick Barry have done, but they are one-handed, Carter is two-handed. Carter scored 48 points.
Carter was seen as the savior, and Reggie Miller said without emotion: "Everyone was thinking: 'Thank goodness Carter fell from the sky and the dunk contest is back!'" That tournament showed a very high standard, let everyone appreciate the ultimate charm of basketball and dunk technology, the bounce, speed, explosiveness, stretch, and ethereal sense of physical talent they showed were all amazing, even if Francis and Maddy's actions were placed in other competitions, it was still possible to win the championship, especially Carter, who combined strength and beauty to the extreme, made an epoch-making feat, and it was difficult for anyone to really inherit its mantle.
The times are different, the influx of the Internet, more and more actions and gimmicks have become commonplace, the threshold of fans is getting higher and higher, it is difficult for you to stimulate their excitement again, just like those copied terriers in the spring evening are already difficult to laugh at the well-informed audience, forcibly scratching people's arm sockets will only make people disgusted, and the dunk action innovation is large, the creative space is getting smaller and smaller, so it is inevitable that it will not jump out of the clichés.
Gordon and LaVine have brought the dunk contest to life, but maybe it's just a throwback.