September 26, Beijing time, is a lot of anniversaries about basketball. For example, this is the 17th anniversary of Jordan's second comeback; it's Billups' 42nd birthday; it's Pippen's 53rd birthday. But today, more fans may still be swept away by a dunk.
Eighteen years ago today, the Sydney Olympics gave birth to what may have been the greatest dunk in basketball history — the Dunk of Death.
Carter made a steal in the backcourt of the U.S. game against France, then jumped high and flew straight past 2.18-meter center Frederick Weiss to complete the dunk.
The ornamental and historical status of this dunk has long been unquestionable, and 18 years have not washed away people's deep impression of it. So we will not repeat this dunk today, but to pick up the background of that dunk - big center Weiss.
Regarding Weiss, many stories say that he was sullen after being detained by Carter, and even retired from the army because of psychological problems. But in fact, the year he was detained, Weiss was only 23 years old. The dunk did leave a psychological shadow on him, but his basketball career didn't end with his retirement announcement until March 2011.
Overall, Weiss's career has been fantastic. At the age of 16, he was drafted by the giants CSKA Moscow in the Europa League draft, and then played in the Spanish League, the Greek League and the French League, and was selected for the All-Star Squad of the French League four times. In 2000 – just a few months before being detained by Carter – he also helped the team win both the French Cup and the French First Division Basketball League. Even at that Olympics, he helped France win the silver medal.
As the premier European center at the time, Weiss also participated in the 1999 NBA Draft and was selected by the Knicks with the 15th pick in the first round. Unfortunately, after playing in the Summer League for the Knicks that year, he suffered a serious back injury. Then, his agent went to jail for a lawsuit. A series of encounters prevented him from negotiating contracts with any NBA team. In 2008, the Rockets acquired the right to sign him in a deal involving Artest. But it was only a symbolic chip, and the Rockets didn't move the idea of signing him.
After retiring from the army, Weiss opened a tobacco shop and a bar in the central French city of Limoges, and the small business did well. He also worked as a basketball analyst for a French television station.
And for the dunk that people pay the most attention to, Weiss has actually come out of the psychological shadow long ago. He admitted that he was really under a lot of psychological pressure, and even his teammates laughed at him regardless of his feelings, and Carter even apologized to him for it. But when asked by reporters if he would avoid or just rip Carter off if he did it again, his answer was more open-minded than anyone:
"No, because then he might get hurt and I'd be ashamed."
So, after 18 years, we really don't have to worry about Weiss. The most important thing we should do about that dunk is respect - whether it's Carter, who is struggling to jump and want to surprise the fans every time, or to Weiss, who insists on standing there defensively reduced to a background board, but is still worried that his opponent may be injured...