Before the game started, there was a player introduction segment.

John Wall, Terrence Ross, and Paul George of the East team were introduced one after another.

Immediately after were Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes, and Tang Tian from the West team.

In terms of strength, the East team was obviously stronger.

Ross was the defending dunk contest champion, Wall had top-tier bounce among guards, and George was a super dunker.

On the other hand, Lillard on the West team had only dunked 8 times in games this season, and Tang Tian was only selected because of his previous over-the-rim dunk. It seemed only Barnes could really dunk.

However, when Tang Tian came out last, the crowd erupted in deafening cheers.

Tang Tian was the league's leading scorer and playing at home, making him the absolute focus of the court.

Barkley in the commentary booth raised his hands, his gesture like welcoming the King of New Orleans.

Xiao Hua had originally planned to reform this year's dunk contest, but because he was still being supervised by the organizing committee, he continued to use last year's format.

The 6 contestants were divided into East and West teams, with two dunks in the preliminary round, and the total score determined which team won.

This was the preliminary round, with scores given by the judges.

Then the person with the highest score from each team would represent the East and West in the final.

Also two dunks, with the final dunk king voted by fans.

The difference between this format and the previous format was that the preliminary round was not a 6-person free-for-all, but a team-based competition.

Of course, in the finals, it still depended on who was stronger.

"Who will be the champion?"

Before the dunk contest began, the TNT big three and the ESPN dual-core started chatting again in the commentary booth.

This was a must-have segment every year: guessing the champion.

"Reggie, you guessed right last year, you go first," Brin said, looking at Miller.

None of the five of them were dunkers, so they could only rely on intuition. Last year, Miller's intuition led him to guess Ross.

"Ross."

Miller said with a smile, he was betting on Ross again this year.

This choice was quite safe, after all, Ross was the defending champion, and he had performed many brutal dunks in games this season.

"George." Kenny Smith followed with his choice.

"His physique is the most perfect, the dunks will be very visually appealing."

Smith was an analysis expert, and his analysis made sense. George was one of the few current players with a body type similar to McGrady and Carter, those super swingmen.

And in terms of physical fitness, George was not much worse than them.

"Charles, Shaq, what do you think?"

Brin looked at Barkley and O'Neal.

"Tang."

The two said in unison, then laughed.

Barkley was already optimistic about Tang Tian, while O'Neal was in a state of "if there's Tang, choose Tang, otherwise, whatever."

The opinions of the few people differed greatly.

This showed that no one was a sure winner this year, and it would only be known after the competition.

Not long after they finished chatting, amidst the cheers of the fans, this year's dunk contest officially began.

The first to appear were Wall and Lillard.

Both were point guards and matched up well.

However, the gap became apparent after the competition started.

Although Lillard made a layup dunk on his first attempt, it lacked visual appeal due to his height, and he only scored 36 points because he took three attempts to succeed. His second dunk, a spinning dunk, was also not outstanding enough.

In contrast, Wall's first dunk, a windmill spin, was successful on the first try, and his second dunk featured a dunk over the Washington Wizards mascot, amazing the audience and earning a full score of 50 points.

After the first round of PK, Wall won 93 to 78.

The East team took the first point.

The second matchup was between Ross and Barnes.

These were theoretically the best dunkers on both teams.

However, their performances were disappointing.

Ross won the dunk contest championship last year by paying tribute to Carter, but this year he lacked creativity, and both dunks were unremarkable, failing to impress the judges.

Barnes' performance was also not as expected. The player who once dunked over Howard in a regular game failed to complete his first dunk after three attempts.

In the end, Ross won with 85 to 76 points.

In this way, the East team led 2 to 0.

They had gained a great advantage.

Now it depended on whether Tang Tian could turn the tide in the last matchup and win back some face for the West team.

However, George from the East team was not to be trifled with.

He led his team to second place in the East this season, was in excellent competitive form, and his draft template was McGrady, making him a dunker in his own right.

George came out first.

Cheers erupted from the crowd.

George was also very popular now, as could be seen from his All-Star vote count.

The camera focused on George, and after taking a deep breath, he ran straight to the basket.

About a meter away from the basket, he leaped into the air, turning 360° in the air, and at the same time, he put the ball under his crotch with his right hand.

A 360° under-the-legs windmill!

Carter's signature move!

"Bang!"

George dunked successfully on his first try.

The place exploded.

The success rate of this dunk, the visual effect, it was simply amazing!

George was indeed a contemporary dunker!

The judges were also very impressed with this dunk, giving it a full score of 50 points.

This was also the strongest dunk in this year's dunk contest.

"Guys! What did I say!"

Smith laughed in the commentary booth at this time.

It seemed he was going to be the son of prophecy this year.

Barkley and O'Neal were also laughing at this time.

George's dunk was really strong.

The East team's lineup this year was really crushing the West.

The pressure was now all on Tang Tian.

Tang Tian got up, and the cheers from the crowd were overwhelming.

The West team was retreating steadily, and Tang Tian was now their only savior.

"What move will he use?"

Barkley turned to look at O'Neal at this time.

Both had guessed Tang Tian, and to defeat George's dunk, you definitely needed some trump cards.

O'Neal shook his head with a smile. Tang Tian hadn't called his assistant to the stage at this moment, so the move was indeed hard to guess.

Amidst the cheers of the fans, Tang Tian took the ball to the center circle.

This looked like it would be a dunk that required a long running start.

The cheers from the crowd died down, and Tang Tian ran straight forward with the ball.

He accelerated quickly, and when he reached the free-throw line, he landed directly on his right foot, his toes touching the free-throw line as he leaped into the air.

There was a gasp from the crowd.

He was going to perform a free-throw line dunk!

There were really not many players in NBA history who could complete this move, and even fewer who had completed it in a dunk contest!

Jordan, Dr. J, Pippen, Ibaka.

Amidst the cheers of all the fans, Tang Tian glided to the basket as if he had wings, and slammed the ball into the basket with his right hand as he fell.

"Bang!"

Another successful attempt on the first try!

"holyshit!"

Barkley cursed in the commentary booth.

The place exploded instantly.

Kobe, Curry, and others on the sidelines quickly jumped up from their seats and shouted.

If there was a dunk that could be more amazing than George's just now, it would be Tang Tian's free-throw line dunk!

Tang Tian's expression was relatively calm after landing.

Don't panic, home fans, the dunk contest has just begun, let's have a free-throw line dunk to calm our nerves first.