NBA: Warrior godfather.

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After Curry won the three-point contest, before he had much time to celebrate, the highly anticipated Slam Dunk Contest arrived.

This year's Dunk Contest lacked the "star power" it once had. Or rather, all Dunk Contests after 2000 seemed to have lost that special touch.

The participants this year included Nate Robinson, Shannon Brown, Gerald Wallace, and DeRozan. They represented three generations of players: the older, the middle-aged, and the younger. Among them, Nate Robinson was the defending champion and had won the Dunk Contest twice before. This was his third attempt at winning the championship trophy.

The first to appear was DeRozan, selected 9th overall this year, who received intensive training after being drafted by the Raptors. Although not as flashy as Curry, his performance was solid among the rookie group.

DeRozan averaged 23.1 minutes per game, with 8.6 points and 2.6 rebounds on 49.8% shooting. He was very efficient, ranking 6th among rookies, and was also very active on the defensive side of the ball. Definitely worth the Raptors' 9th pick.

Not only was his mid-range shooting solid, but DeRozan's physical condition was also very good. He often performed powerful tomahawk dunks in games. Today, he came to participate in the dunk contest, which attracted a lot of attention.

But disappointingly, DeRozan's first dunk was fairly basic. It was a one-handed axe dunk with no new ideas. The only thing notable was that he took off from a very long distance, but this obviously didn't impress the judges, and he scored just 42 points.

The second player to appear was Shannon Brown. This role player from the Lakers is known for his dunking ability. His in-game dunks are explosive, and people were excited to see him perform.

However, Shannon Brown's first dunk was also a disappointment. He tried a step-in move just inside the free-throw line, followed by a 360-degree spin in the air. However, the move was too difficult to control, and after failing, he changed it to a very mediocre dunk. The judges were clearly disappointed, giving him just 37 points.

Gerald Wallace, of course, was there to fill up the numbers. After his third attempt, he scored 38 points with a standard dunk.

The final was contested by two-time Dunk Contest champion Nate Robinson, which drew cheers from the crowd. However, many people felt that if Nate Robinson weren't so short, he wouldn't have won two Dunk Contest championships.

If you ask who the tallest player in the NBA is today, many fans might struggle to answer. But if you ask who the shortest player is, they would immediately name Nate Robinson.

Standing at just 5'9" (1.75 meters), he's the shortest active player in the NBA. But he has incredible athleticism and has repeatedly pulled off amazing dunks. He once wowed the audience with a dunk over Dwight Howard and was crowned Dunk King.

Of course, Nate Robinson doesn't survive in the NBA just on dunks. He has a solid three-point shot, with a career three-point shooting percentage around 37%, and he's more than willing to take them, even though his height limits him. His finishing ability around the basket isn't that high, but he's still a relatively high-quality role player.

His first dunk was much better than the others. He executed a windmill dunk after catching the ball and scored 44 points, the highest score among the four.

In the second round, Shannon Brown was still struggling. Even though he invited Kobe Bryant to assist him, a simple one-handed dunk wasn't enough to impress the judges. He scored just 41 points, bringing his total to 78.

Gerald Wallace's second dunk was also underwhelming, scoring only 41 points, the same total as Shannon Brown.

But DeRozan was different. He performed a windmill dunk after catching the ball from the side of the backboard and scored the first 50 points of the contest, which drew loud cheers from the crowd. However, his performance was nowhere near the roar and tsunami-like cheers that Curry had gotten after winning the Three-Point Contest.

Nate Robinson still advanced to the final. He scored 45 points with a slightly underwhelming dunk in the air and moved on to the final against DeRozan.

In the two rounds of the final, both DeRozan and Nate Robinson's dunks were mediocre, and some fans even left early. In the end, Nate Robinson narrowly defeated DeRozan with 51% of the votes, winning the championship for the third time.

Throughout the Dunk Contest, Liam wasn't very energetic and was even a little drowsy. He was feeling tired after another long day.

Curry sat next to him, watching with great interest. A shooter who doesn't want to be the king of dunks is no good at point guard. Everyone on the Warriors team doesn't know that the most obsessed action of a certain superstar in training is dunking.

Every time Curry participates in a training session, he has to practice dunks. Although he doesn't use them in games, in the training room, Curry performs tomahawk dunks, reverse dunks, and 360-degree spins. As for windmills and between-the-legs dunks, Curry failed multiple times before finally succeeding, since his wingspan just wasn't enough, and he had no choice but to give up.

He saw Liam looking like he was about to fall asleep and said with a strange look:

"Boss, isn't this Dunk Contest exciting? DeMar's dunk was so creative!"

Curry and DeRozan met during the draft and hit it off right away, becoming fast friends and staying in frequent contact.

Liam looked at him sympathetically. The silly guy has never seen the world. How unfortunate...

After watching the epic showdown between LaVine and Gordon, he had lost interest in the Dunk Contest.

Maybe this is the fate of the Dunk Contest. After its decline, a genius always emerges to save it. There was Carter before, and LaVine and Gordon after. Thanks to them, the dead Dunk Contest came back to life.

Liam just hoped the league wouldn't let Wade be a judge for the Dunk Contest. He clearly wasn't suited for the job.

The Next Day:

Finally, the most exciting All-Star Game arrived. Curry was selected as a starter for the first time, which thrilled him. After waking up in the morning, he kept talking to relieve his anxiety.

Dell and Sonya also came to Arlington to cheer for Curry's All-Star Game. Seth had to play at Duke, and Sydell had school, so they didn't come during the day. Curry attended the training session, and Liam accompanied him. The two spent the day shopping in Arlington.

Finally, the day passed, and the much-anticipated All-Star Game arrived.

This year's All-Star lineup was still full of stars. The only regret was that Kobe couldn't play due to an injury, which disappointed fans who wanted to see "23 vs. 24."

But the two new faces selected for the All-Star Game this year had caught people's attention: Rose and Curry. The two rookies had faced each other in the Rookie Challenge two days ago, and today, they would be enemies in the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, one was a starter, and the other was a bench player, so their playing time would be staggered.

Still, the media had suggested before the game that Rose and Curry would be "eternal rivals": Curry had won his first NCAA championship by defeating Rose, and both were point guards—one was the first pick, and the other was the second. Their playing styles were on opposite ends, and both led weak teams to the playoffs… These were natural enemies!

Immediately, a journalist asked the two what they thought of each other. Curry was having fun during training when he was interviewed. He cheerfully said:

"Derrick and I are really good friends. There are no enemies. None at all. I have no competitive relationship with him… but I'd better hope I don't meet him in the game, or I'll give him a beating, haha."

The journalists asked Rose what he thought of Curry's statement and were surprised to find that Rose actually smiled.

After hearing the journalist's paraphrasing of Curry's response, Rose couldn't help but smile and said:

"Did Stephen say that? He was bragging. When we played against the Bulldogs, he didn't dare challenge me because he knew I'd beat him on both ends of the court… As for our relationship? Obviously, we're good friends, and we're not enemies just because the Bulls and Warriors only face off twice a season."

As soon as the reporter saw the two joking with each other, they knew they had a good relationship. However, if the reporter could understand this, they wouldn't be a reporter. They exploited their ability to take quotes out of context and made the conversation between the two sound full of tension, as if it were a challenge, which fully captured the fans' interest. Many people wanted to see Curry and Rose face off in the All-Star Game.

During warm-ups before the game that night, Curry found Rose, stretched his face, and asked with a fierce look:

"Hey! Derrick, did you really say I don't dare challenge you one-on-one? Can you play both offense and defense?"

But before he could finish, he couldn't help but laugh, letting out a strange, duck-like chuckle.

Rose looked at the comedian-like guy in front of him and couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you know unless you try? You're the starter in the All-Star Game. You can request an early exit with George Karl and sync it with my time. Let's have a bull-rush in the All-Star Game. What do you think? Are you up for it?"

The more Rose spoke, the brighter his eyes became, and there was a hint of excitement in them. Memphis couldn't beat Butler, and the Bulls couldn't beat the Warriors, but could he still beat Curry?

One-on-one relies on physical aptitude. With his wingspan and athletic ability, Curry would never be able to guard Rose, but he could still limit him effectively.

Certainly, Curry wasn't foolish. He was stronger in a 5v5 game, not in one-on-one situations. How could he use his weaknesses to attack the opponent's strengths?

He feigned helplessness and spread his hands.

"Oh, I really want to do that, but who named me an All-Star starter? I want to take this opportunity to play against Wade. If you want to play one-on-one with me, I'll leave it to you. In the summer, take a moment to appreciate the power of an All-Star starter..."

"Haha, Stephen, I see you're really puffed up! Let's go head-to-head!"

"Hey, I still have to train…"

"I'll be your training partner!"

Before Curry could finish, Rose grabbed him and dragged him to one side of the court for a bull-rush showdown.

The East and West teams were training in the same gym. After seeing the two in action, the other players gathered around and began to laugh, making the atmosphere even more lively.

Curry had no choice but to face Rose in an American-style one-on-one duel.

The final result, naturally, was that Rose won. The American one-on-one rule is that a player can dribble the ball no more than three times before shooting. Rose guarded Curry directly and didn't give him any space to shoot a three-pointer. Curry wanted to break through but couldn't shake Rose off. Rose's quickness and wingspan were too much for him. With only three dribbles, Curry couldn't get past him and only managed to make a few shots due to his quick release.

Meanwhile, Rose used his confrontation and speed to directly break through Curry and drive toward the basket. On the first step, he got half a step ahead of Curry, on the second, he left him completely behind, and with three more steps, he reached the basket for a layup.

Curry tried to contest the shot but couldn't stop Rose's speed. Rose didn't care at all. He pushed Curry inside, jumped into the air, and either finished with a layup or a powerful dunk. Curry's short wingspan and defense weren't enough to effectively interfere, and he could only watch the ball go through the net.

In the end, Rose defeated Curry 10-5, a breath of relief after losing to him twice before.

After the duel, Curry rested his hand on his knee, rubbed his sore chest with his right hand, and said with a wry smile:

"Derrick, you're way too fired up!"

Rose gave him a deadpan look, but there was a smile in his eyes as he spoke in a slightly stiff tone:

"Well, next time you're in Chicago, I'll treat you to something delicious."

"Next time? Just say next season! Don't forget, I've already beaten you on the road this season!" Curry took the chance to counterattack.

"That's not necessarily true. If both the Bulls and the Warriors make it to the Finals this season, maybe you'll come to Chicago," Rose joked.

"Stop dreaming. Yeah, we might have that possibility, but our leader has magic power… the Bulls… never mind," Curry said with a feigned sneer.

"Oh? You want to make a bet to see who makes it to the Finals first—the Bulls or the Warriors?" Rose raised an eyebrow and said seriously.

"Alright, but that's way too far off. I think it's more reliable to bet first on who gets selected as an All-Star starter," Curry said with a grin.

"Haha... Just showing off. If I play with Liam and so many Colombian fans vote for me, I could be in the starting lineup too. If you want to bet, let's bet on who can get… MVP first! Are you up for it?" Rose looked at Curry with a provocative glint in his eyes.

Curry became serious and extended his hand:

"It's a bet! Let's see who wins MVP first and who becomes a superstar first!"

Rose also extended his hand, shook Curry's firmly, and said solemnly:

"Don't forget who will make it to the Finals first and win the championship!"

The two stared at each other and suddenly burst out laughing together.

The Night of the All-Star Game:

The All-Star Game that night was lively. Wade scored 31 points and led the East team to a narrow 141-139 victory over the West team, winning the All-Star Game MVP trophy, but this had nothing to do with Curry or Rose.

Even though Curry was an All-Star starter, he wasn't very familiar with the other stars on the team. He wasn't the type to be eager to perform. He was a calm spot-up shooter and only took a couple of three-pointers during the game.

Rose was already nursing a slight hip injury. Like in the Rookie Challenge, he pushed through until the end. He smoked with Curry in the corner and helped create the atmosphere.

After the game, Curry scored 9 points and 3 assists, while Rose had 5 points and 4 rebounds. Both of them finished the All-Star Game on a positive note.

But both knew that the real battlefield was the upcoming regular season. Their performance in the All-Star Game was just a sprint toward the playoffs.

End of this chapter

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