Basketball miracles

Chapter 93 [Congratulations to him for securing second place]

Xiao Tu's second dunk was a powerful windmill dunk, achieved with a running start from the right baseline and a backhand slam!

This is another dunk that no one has ever done before! Xiao Tu's jump height is amazing. In slow motion, you can see that his head hits the rim on the right side, but he managed to dodge it by shrinking back.

He not only did the windmill dunk, but he also did a half-turn in mid-air to the other side for a reverse dunk. Even in 2015, let alone 1985, that would be an incredibly explosive, perfect performance. To do that, a player needs not only exceptional jumping ability but also extremely strong core muscles.

Based on Xiao Tu's current performance, he would win the dunk contest even if he participated alongside Vince Carter. Carter's 360-degree windmill dunk was indeed amazing, but not every move he made was that spectacular; he lacked creativity.

The judges didn't need to think; they immediately gave him full marks. They knew they weren't really qualified to judge Xiao Tu; they couldn't do any of those dunks.

Jordan's score was too low, so he had to go all out for his third dunk, which resulted in a one-handed dunk from the free-throw line, completed in one go.

He practically jumped off the free-throw line with his heels on the ground, and even then, it was a struggle. His body was completely straight; there was no airwalking or anything like that, and the move was clearly less impressive than Xiao Tu's free-throw line dunk.

After consideration, the judges still gave Jordan a perfect score, at least because his jump distance was far and his dunk was more beautiful than others.

With this perfect dunk, Jordan scored 136 points, slightly ahead of Wilkins' 134 points, securing a spot in the finals.

Wilkins, Larry Nance, and Dr. J Irving were all eliminated.

Wilkins should have been the Slam Dunk Contest champion this year and earned the nickname "Human Highlight Film." But his most difficult dunks were just the ordinary windmill, the two-handed windmill, and various reverse layups—nothing new.

His moves were far inferior to Xiao Tu's, and the judges simply couldn't bring themselves to give him a high score. In terms of popularity, he was just as popular as Jordan.

Jordan's moves were also ordinary, but at least he had a spectacular free-throw line dunk, which can be compared to Xiao Tu's first dunk.

Because of Xiao Tu, the scores of the other contestants were much lower than in the parallel world. Jordan used his "ultimate move" early to advance to the finals, and he had no more trump cards left.

Before the final, to allow the two players to rest and recover their strength, reporters conducted on-site interviews.

The reporter asked Xiao Tu for his thoughts. Xiao Tu smiled and said, "Everything was as I expected. Now all the viewers know who the strongest dunk king is."

The reporter asked, "How would you rate your opponent in the final, Jordan?"

"Congratulations to him for getting second place." Xiao Tu stopped there, leaving the rest to the fans to decide. He didn't want to say more, afraid that Danzi would try to ride on his coattails.

The two dunks are incomparable; Xiao Tu could win the championship with any dunk he throws at him.

In a parallel universe, Jordan's signature move was always the free-throw line dunk, nothing fancy. He won the Slam Dunk Contest twice, but the media criticized his second victory for lacking originality and accused him of being rigged.

Jordan's vertical jump was indeed impressive, but jumping high doesn't necessarily mean having a variety of moves.

Of all the dunks Xiao Tu had ever seen Jordan dunk with his head level with the rim, he could count them on one hand, but he had never seen him dunk a windmill. His windmill dunks were never even below shoulder height; they were more like layups.

Jordan was speechless during the interview, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. Admitting he was inferior to Xiao Tu? He couldn't bring himself to say it. His refusal to praise Xiao Tu would have made him seem petty.

Jordan immediately fell silent, his expression as if everyone owed him money. Many fans immediately thought he was boring and had a bad personality.

Xiao Tu also felt that Jordan's actions were wrong and would damage his personal image.

Petty? Silent surrender?

Silence, oh silence, either erupt from silence or perish in silence.

As the dunk contest finals began, Jordan felt immense pressure, while Xiao Tu was filled with a sense of accomplishment.

The fans in the arena were chanting "Shaw!" Even after Jordan went on the court, they didn't stop. Aside from Bulls fans, most other fans chose to ignore Jordan.

Jordan had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue with his usual dunks.

Xiao Tu watched quietly from the side, knowing that even Jordan couldn't immediately imitate the novel move. Jordan's eyes were a little red, but he hadn't activated his Sharingan.

Jordan unleashed what fans consider the most coordinated "two-handed windmill" dunk in history, scoring 42 points. The score was low because it wasn't really a windmill; it was a reverse layup followed by a two-handed dunk.

In a parallel universe, Wilkins won the championship by defeating Jordan with a simple windmill dunk, demonstrating how unpretentious Jordan's final move was. When it was Xiao Tu's turn to play, he started his antics again, this time going for something big. He went to the sidelines and approached Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was watching the game from the front row.

Xiao Tu knew this dunk would be a hit; no one had ever done this kind of live audience interaction before.

As expected, the audience applauded wildly, and many people laughed uncontrollably because Arno, who is known for his strength, is a size smaller than Xiao Tu and appears quite short.

"How about we team up? I'll leap over you and dunk, okay?"

"Haha, great!" Arnold walked onto the court with a cheerful smile.

So, the 188cm tall "Terminator T800" put on sunglasses and stood in the middle of the paint. The fans were practically going crazy at the sight; who would have thought there would be a dramatic twist to watching the slam dunk contest?

Xiao Tu had already decided to perform a dunk over a person and even pulled people up on the spot.

Jack Nicholson also came to watch the competition, but he was too short, only 175cm, and the jump over him was too easy, so Xiao Tu called on the future governor.

The Terminator movie propelled Arnold Schwarzenegger to stardom; it was the most popular science fiction film of 1984. Schwarzenegger needed exposure, but one blockbuster wasn't enough to make him a superstar.

This exposure was beneficial for both of them; celebrities who entertain the masses are more relatable. Arnold started playing a cold, robotic character, and the audience roared with excitement.

Xiao Tu calculated the distance perfectly and jumped, his legs spread apart as he flew over Arnold's head, completing a powerful right-hand slam dunk in one go!
The atmosphere reached its peak. After Xiao Tu and Arnold hugged, Xiao Tu put his arm around Arnold's shoulder and waved to the fans together.

Arnold returned to his seat and high-fived the person next to him, grinning from ear to ear. He really made a splash today; it was more entertaining than appearing on a comedy variety show.

Heinson laughed and said, "Shaw's performance was absolutely brilliant. I think he has a real talent for acting."

Stockton nodded: "He really knows how to have fun. Nobody would ever think of teaming up with a celebrity fan on the sidelines. The performance was amazing, a crossover collaboration."

Heinson laughed and said, "Shaw is a true star. He brought more joy to the fans today than all the other stars combined."

Jordan, the biggest supporting actor tonight, was stunned on the sidelines. He only came to his senses when someone called him and he remembered that it was his turn to play.

Jordan's stunned expression was captured on camera, and viewers in front of their televisions saw a close-up. In the internet age, he might become a meme.

Jordan fully understood why Xiao Tu called it a "dimensional reduction attack"; their ways of thinking were fundamentally different.

Xiao Tu is particularly adept at having fun; he only dates famous women, and these celebrities were already trending before the weekend. Jordan, on the other hand, can only operate within the basketball world; even if he wanted to interact with people, Hollywood stars might not pay him any attention.

Jordan's mentality was severely affected, and he completely lost his fighting spirit.

He completed a baseline half-turn dunk, but only scored 40 points.

Xiao Tu felt that giving this move a score of 40 was being too lenient with the player. Jordan had already done it once before, exactly the same, the only difference being that he stuck out his tongue.

The fans gave Jordan only a few scattered ovations, and then they all started chanting "Shaw!" again.

After Xiao Tu came on the court, he stretched his limbs, took a long run-up in the backcourt, took a big step in front of the free throw line, jumped, turned 360 degrees, and slammed the ball down with his right hand!

He finished it in one go, cleanly and efficiently!

Stockton yelled, "That's amazing! He's like Skywalker and Dr. J combined! Cheers! He's incredible!"

Heinson said, "I can only describe it as 'brutal,' that was a 360-degree dunk!"

Stockton said, "Except for the first dunk, Shaw didn't imitate anyone. It was all his own creation, a dunk that no one else in the world has ever done."

The audience at the scene kept shouting, and people in front of their TVs stared at the screens waiting to watch the replay, afraid of missing a single detail, wanting to imprint this dunk deeply in their minds.

Commissioner David Stern practically wanted to kowtow to Xiao Tu, because the viewership of this dunk contest had broken NBA records, far exceeding the viewership of last year's All-Star Game.

Xiao Tu's statement, "White people can fly too," now seems too modest; it should be that white people are the best at flying!

(End of this chapter)