Chapter 779: Chapter 779
His score brought pressure to the subsequent contestants.
Next up was Young Nance, who started off with a one-arm windmill dunk to pay tribute to his father.
This was a nostalgic dunk.
Especially since Old Nance was once a Cavaliers player, leading to huge cheers on-site.
However, Hansen didn’t care much for nostalgia, only scoring it an 8, bringing Young Nance’s final score to 44.
Then came Young Jones, who had the crowd on fire even before appearing.
In recent years, Young Jones has consistently warmed up with dunks at the home court before games, earning him immense popularity here.
Young Jones was ruthless, starting with a bang.
He enlisted Caruso as his assistant.
Caruso tossed the ball against the backboard, and as Young Jones charged in and caught the rebounding ball, he completed an under-the-legs dunk while leaping over Caruso.
As the ball slammed in, the entire Quicken Loans Arena erupted.
Hansen couldn’t help nodding; while Young Jones’s basketball skills need improvement, his dunking skill is perfect.
Hansen gave his first 10 of the night, giving Young Jones the evening’s first perfect dunk score.
Lastly, Gordon, who was highly anticipated, appeared.
As his former rival, Hansen was also looking forward to Gordon.
For his first dunk, Gordon had teammate Fournier assist him. Fournier hit the ball off the side of the backboard, and Gordon caught it to complete a 360° one-handed dunk.
Although Fournier’s pass quality was poor and the ball hit the side of the backboard, Gordon still managed to finish the dunk.
A spectacular dunk often follows a low-quality pass. This statement proved true.
Hansen awarded his second 10 of the night, giving Gordon his first perfect score of the evening.
From the first round of preliminaries, the strength levels of the four contestants were apparent.
If there were no mistakes, the finals would unfold between Young Jones and Gordon.
No surprises occurred after the second round of preliminaries.
Young Jones’s second dunk was similar to Gordon’s first but featured his signature under-the-legs dunk, earning him 49 points.
Gordon was more exaggerated, executing a similar move from back in the day, completing a reverse dunk after passing under the ball raised by Fournier.
This dunk bore Hansen’s "Scorpion Tail" style, earning him his second perfect score of the night.
Fans realized this year’s dunk contest was extraordinary.
Hansen took it seriously.
He knew these two were equally matched and both desperately needed the championship.
Gordon didn’t need saying, and Young Jones needed this championship to bolster his market value.
The finals started quickly, with Young Jones showcasing a baseline sprint followed by a 360° under-the-legs dunk.
Each dunker has their favorite signature move; for example, James loves the ax, Hansen loves the windmill, and Young Jones is crazy about under-the-legs.
But this dunk was Young Jones’s most spectacular of the night, perfectly showcasing his leap, ultimately earning him a perfect score.
The pressure shifted to Gordon.
When Gordon appeared, the crowd roared.
Because Gordon brought out the Magic Team’s mascot, Magic Dragon!
There was no paying homage, but the camera was already on Hansen on the sideline.
Fans felt an intense nostalgia for the dunk contest from years ago.
Magic Dragon stood beside the basket, holding the ball.
Gordon sprinted from the baseline, leaped to grab the ball above Magic Dragon’s head, and completed an under-the-legs dunk in the air.
The under-the-legs move wasn’t Young Jones’s exclusive!
Moreover, this dunk highlighted why Gordon is so popular with fans.
His body was like a tower, and upon jumping, it seemed like muscle was flying in the sky.
Gordon also knew how to display this contrast; after switching hands in the air, his legs spread 120° or more, creating a strong visual impact.
Hansen scored 10, and Gordon tied with Young Jones again.
The second dunk would decide the winner.
Young Jones stuck with under-the-legs, but this time, the difficulty increased.
He enlisted not just Caruso but also Kuzma, with the ball hoisted high above Kuzma’s head.
Young Jones took off following a sprint, grabbing the ball mid-air while completing the under-the-legs move, and simultaneously dunked over both people with a hand switch.
Hansen exchanged a glance with the judges beside him, acknowledging that the competition was exciting now.
But now, the pressure was on the judges.
If they gave a perfect score, the championship would either belong to Young Jones, or both would face overtime dunking.
Yet, giving Young Jones’s dunk anything less than a perfect score was unjustified.
After a brief eye exchange, Hansen and the other judges awarded a perfect score.
Gordon was backed into the corner.
These moments truly test a contestant’s pressure-handling ability.
Hansen turned his gaze to Gordon.
As a transmigrator, although he’d only seen Gordon’s "historical" 2016 dunk with Raven, he recalled Gordon had never won a championship.
So just like a court battle, Gordon needed to prove he deserved the championship by delivering a championship-level performance.
Just as he’d done back in the day.
For his second dunk, Gordon still enlisted Magic Dragon’s help.
But Magic Dragon wasn’t standing still, this time standing on a balance car, circling near the basket.
Gordon seized the moment, sprinting and jumping to grab Magic Dragon’s ball, honoring Carl Malone with a behind-the-head touch and completing a 360° dunk.
When Gordon completed the move in one go, the crowd roared again.
Because this was the classic "Only 50 points is perfect!" move!
If Gordon had dunked first, he would’ve already secured the championship.
The second dunk scores from the judges followed suit.
Everyone else scored a perfect 10 until it was Hansen’s turn.
He also awarded a 10.
With the buzz from the audience, this year’s dunk contest would mirror the classic as it headed into dunk overtime.
Just like when Hansen scored an 86, classics often appear unexpectedly before the game.
This dunk contest would once again be a classic showdown after years.
However, this overtime put more pressure on the contestants.
Players typically wouldn’t intentionally prepare an overtime move but rather choose from the moves they could usually execute.
Young Jones was up first again, attempting a high-difficulty challenge, saluting Raven’s free-throw line windmill slam.
His move was a success, accomplished smoothly.
However, the only flaw was his take-off distance, finishing a step inside the free-throw line. Follow current novᴇls on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
Raven and Hansen’s free-throw line duel back in the day wasn’t easily replicated.
Hansen scored it a 9, giving Young Jones a final score of 48 for this dunk.
That score meant the championship would most likely be decided in this dunk.
This time, without Magic Dragon.
Clearly, Gordon hadn’t planned for overtime dunks either.
Despite not having Magic Dragon, he called upon Fournier for assistance again.
Using a similar baseline setup as before, Fournier once again threw the ball toward the basket.
This time he didn’t mess up, and as Gordon sprinted, he caught the ball mid-air, gracefully completing a twisting glide windmill reverse dunk.
His move was spacious, with a high dunk difficulty.
Of course, compared to the final two dunks, the aesthetics were a little less impressive.
The replay’s slow-motion cut to the judges on the sidelines.
They were to decide the final outcome of this dunk.
The remaining four judges revealed their scores.
10, 10, 9, and 10 points.
Hansen was, as usual, the last one.
The crowd immediately focused on him.
If he awarded less than a 9, Young Jones would win the championship; a 9 would lead to a second overtime dunk, while a 10 would make Gordon champion.
A 9 was what fans most anticipated, as neither had displayed their former heights with this dunk.
Finally, Hansen gave his last score.
Not only for this dunk but for Gordon’s overall performance tonight. He deserved the dunk contest championship!