Tencent Sports News On February 13, 2000, Beijing time, Vince Carter won the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, which was the only slam dunk contest championship in his career. He only participated in that slam dunk contest once, but it changed the dunk contest forever because his dunk shocked everyone, including the famous Shaquille O'Neal and Kevin Garnett.

Carter's 2000 Slam Dunk Contest

Why is Carter, who has only won the slam dunk king once, respected as "Canadian Flyer", "Half-Man and Half God", "UFO", and "Slam Dunk King"?

Because he has given too many exquisite dunks, and the five dunks he gave in the 2000 All-Star Slam Dunk Contest are all masterpieces that people will taste again and again.

Carter's first intimate encounter with basketball was when he was 2 years old, when "Dr. J" Julius Irving had a game that mesmerized him. Since then, Carter has been imitating Dr. J's movements on the basketball court in his backyard, touching the basket with his fingers for the first time when he was 11 years old and dunking for the first time in sixth grade.

With his outstanding basketball talent and individual ability, Carter became the core of the team in high school, so he was often caught in the double by opponents. In one game, Carter was supposed to make a low-handed layup after a breakaway, but perhaps because he had been beaten so badly, he finally completed the attack with a shocking dunk. After Carter's dunk, the other nine players on the floor were so stunned that the referee had to run over to remind them that the game was still going on.

That dunk made Carter truly realize that he had super bouncing ability. Since then, he's been making great dunks, and he's been able to pull off the free-throw line in high school.

In the 1998 draft, Carter was drafted by the Warriors with the fifth pick in the first round and was later traded to the Raptors. In the second season of his NBA career, Carter was selected as an All-Star as the ticket king and was invited to participate in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.

In that All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, a total of six players participated, the other five were Steve Francis, Maddie, Ricky Davis, Jerry Starhouse and Larry Hughes. Late the night before the slam dunk contest, Carter lay restless in his hotel in Oakland, his thoughts simply not stopping, because he knew he had a big responsibility on his shoulders – to save the reputation of the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.

Ever since Michael Jordan and Dominic Wilkins had their classic showdown at the 1988 Slam Dunk Contest, the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest has entered a dark period. In the '90s, it was difficult to get the stars interested, and the outside world often laughed at the lack of excitement and competition. In addition, the slam dunk contest was not held in 1998 and 1999 due to the shutdown, so the 2000 slam dunk contest is particularly important.

"The slam dunk contest has been struggling for a while," said Russ Granick, then N.B.A.A. vice president, "in large part because a lot of the top players don't want to play." ”

"There's such a discussion, and all the dunks that can be staged have been staged." Rod Thorne, then NBA's executive vice president of basketball operations, "Maybe a little bit lacking in creativity. ”

At that time, the dunk contest was on the verge of disappearing, and during the 1998 All-Star Weekend, NBA bigwigs discussed replacing the dunk contest with a shooting contest called a "2-ball," in which an NBA player and a female basketball player team up.

Fans, the media, and the league itself reacted differently to the possibility of the slam dunk contest being canceled.

"I remember thinking like, 'You're in New York, why didn't you have a slam dunk contest?' New York Journal reporter Frank Isola said.

"This is our predicament, and despite a lot of criticism and dissatisfaction, we are very optimistic about the project internally." "It was the most exciting time of the day before the All-Star Game, so our TV partners weren't really trying to rule it out," Granick said. ”

Fortunately, the NBA announced that it would resume the slam dunk contest during All-Star Weekend in 2000. The league knew that a good result had to be achieved in resuming the game, so the top priority was to attract a big star to the competition, and that big star was obviously Carter.

"I just don't feel like I'm a creative dunk," Maddie said, "and I was like, 'Why would I know Carter was going to win?'" I see him dunk every day, he's so creative. ”

As Maddie said, Carter didn't disappoint the league, and at the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, he came up and staged a "360-degree turn to catch a big windmill dunk" and scored his first 50 points in the slam dunk contest. O'Neill was stunned, and Garnett immediately jumped up from the bench .......

"O'Neill and Garnett, their jaws are on the ground." David Harge, the Raptors' public relations manager at the time, said, "They couldn't believe what they were seeing. ”

"When you see that dunk, you really can't control what your mouth says, you know what I mean?" Former NBA star Allen Iverson said, "Basically, 'Oh my God. Or, 'Wow, what do you see?' ’”

"People are going crazy," Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki said, "and I think I was so excited that I broke someone's ribs." ”

After a few minutes, the scene fell silent, and "Stackhouse was just shaking his shoulders like, 'Is this real?' TNT sideline reporter Cheryl Miller said.

Carter's second dunk, "180-degree windmill dunk after rebounding", was the first dunk he had planned. After he completed this dunk, four judges immediately scored 10 points, and what about the other judge, Kenny Smith? Only 9 points were given.

"We're like, 'You're kidding, aren't you?' "He was almost never a judge on the slam dunk contest again, and we killed him." ”

"I definitely want a perfect night." Carter said, "That was my goal, and he ruined my goal." ”

Although he didn't score 50 points, Carter then staged three creative dunks such as "Maddy assists crotch change dunk", "elbow hangs basket dunk" and "one step forward to the free throw line and slides with both hands to dunk", and won the championship of the dunk contest with a perfect performance.

"I didn't expect that." "I don't think I'm going to lose at all," Francis said. I kept thinking I'd win. ”

"If you say, 'Which three dunks are the most classic dunks in the dunk contest?' Former Raptors player Butch Carter said, "You're always going to pick these three: Dr. J's free-throw line dunk in Denver, Jordan's free-throw line dunk in Chicago, and you'll definitely pick Carter's elbow in the basket." ”

"Everybody thinks like this: God bless Vince Carter." Miller said, "The Slam Dunk Contest is back. ”

"I was a part of it," Iverson said, "and I could tell my kids that I was part of that night." ”

Perhaps, Carter himself did not expect that his only appearance in the slam dunk contest would change the game forever.

It's just a shame that Carter only participated in one slam dunk contest, and he explained why: "That night in 2000 was so wonderful, why break that memory? ”

Yes, the memories of that night are wonderful!

(Clapping)

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