One Year Left to Play-Chapter 37 - 11: Isn’t That Wonderful?

Five judges, two gave 10 points, three gave 9 points, and among those who gave 10 points was Julius Erving! 47 points!

Zhang Hao and his side thought that Ricky Davis’s dunk was indeed beautiful. He wondered why Ricky Davis would attempt such a difficult dunk for the first try; wouldn’t it be better to go with a straightforward powerful dunk?

Ricky Davis was also feeling frustrated; looking at the situation, if he had done this dunk first, a perfect score would have been possible!

Listen to the cheers from the audience; they’re no less than the ones Zhang Hao received after his dunk!

But now, Ricky Davis is still in despair. He scored 47 points with this dunk, but only got 35 on the first one, totaling 82 points, while Desmond Mason scored 45 on his first attempt, needing only 38 on his second to advance for sure, and it’s almost impossible for Desmond Mason not to score below 40.

As for Zhang Hao and Carter, those two scoundrels scored perfect points on their first try!

Ricky Davis, with a sullen face, walked to the side. He has lost count of the times he suffered for lack of clear self-awareness, and now it’s happened again...

But he doesn’t think it’s his own problem. He believes it’s someone else’s fault, like that Chinese high school student who turned on "clearing mode" from the first dunk of the night.

If it weren’t for this guy, Ricky Davis wouldn’t have gone for such a difficult dunk and lost his mind on the first attempt. Besides, this guy used him as a stepping stone on the second dunk!

Then the laid-back Dean Grove and Miles Simon went up to complete their final appearance in this year’s McDonald’s All-American Dunk Contest, scoring 39 and 40 points respectively, ending their journey in this dunk contest.

Both were considered eliminated along with Ricky Davis, with all three scoring between 75 and 85.

Desmond Mason took the stage, and the cheers from the audience rose once more.

Although the other two were obviously in a different league, the crowd still hoped Desmond Mason could produce something special, just like earlier when they had few expectations for Ricky Davis, who then surprised them with a great dunk.

This time, Desmond Mason brought a partner onstage, carrying a Polaroid camera.

Desmond Mason grabbed the ball with one hand, while his teammate lay outside the charge circle with legs bent... this scene might soon be banned!

Desmond Mason ran up and jumped over his teammate without dunking.

The teammate lying down took a photo, and the Polaroid ejected a picture. The teammate stood up and attached something onto the photo.

Desmond Mason took the photo, shaking it wildly with his left hand, dribbled towards the basket with his right, jumped from the left side of the basket, dunked with his right hand, and stuck the photo onto the backboard with his left. It stuck!

The cameras focused on the backboard, and the big screen displayed the photo on it. After a few seconds, the director replayed the shot from the baseline cameraman’s perspective at the moment Desmond Mason dunked, almost identical to the photo on the backboard!

This was interesting!

The dunk itself was very simple, extremely simple—just a dunk, and sticking a photo on the backboard. Nothing else.

But it was full of creativity!

The five judges smiled and exchanged thoughts and decided to give some encouragement, all raising the 10-point signs.

points!

Zhang Hao couldn’t help but applaud from the sidelines. This truly forced Desmond Mason into a corner, yet he pulled this off, and the judges bought it!

Nevertheless, Zhang Hao also felt the dunk deserved a high score, judging by the delighted audience.

Desmond Mason was surprised. He hadn’t prepared to compete with those two monsters for difficulty. He’d almost decided to give up, thinking competing with them would only lead to ruin, yet unexpectedly, his Polaroid-wielding teammate inspired an idea that earned him a perfect score!

Looking at his muscular build, Desmond Mason felt a sense of unreality... Turns out, as a powerhouse dunker from Texas, his true strength lies in creativity?

When Desmond Mason earned a perfect score for his dunk, the previous three were confirmed eliminated, as the next to appear was Carter, who could compete on equal footing with Zhang Hao!

As for Desmond Mason’s performance, Carter’s comment was - this companion was quite interesting.

However, to win with creativity, first, you need to establish a foundation in the judges’ minds—that you won’t lose to your opponent in terms of difficulty.

Take Carter and Zhang Hao for example, who are evenly matched in difficulty; creativity could offer a new route.

But if the judges are already aware of the ability gap, then creativity merely becomes the best consolation.

Of course, there’s also hoping for Carter and Zhang Hao to underperform—and that’s Desmond Mason’s chance after his moment of inspiration.

Carter walked to the court, reaching a location very familiar to Zhang Hao. It was the spot that left a deep impression on Zhang Hao during the 2000 Dunk Contest—it was outside the left side baseline!

Carter tossed the ball from outside the baseline, jogging leisurely towards it, catching it as it descended, and took off!

Carter’s superior jumping ability over Zhang Hao showcased itself. He didn’t need a long-distance sprint like Zhang Hao; he lept up high enough to be level with the rim!

In a 100-degree left turn, Carter, facing the baseline, swung the ball with his right hand leftwards, bringing it over his head, then dunking it to the right, completing a reverse windmill while appearing to stand in mid-air, facing the baseline.

Carter, "standing" as he descended, slammed the ball into the hoop!

Desmond Mason, holding onto a sliver of hope that those two might falter, felt his mindset crumble!

He couldn’t compete anymore!

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻!