The Indiana fans didn’t even react immediately; it was only when Carter ran back that they gasped in astonishment, wondering what the hell had just happened in their minds.
The Raptors’ bench was equally filled with awe; this dunk was more exciting than many performances in dunk contests, and because it happened during a game, it was especially electrifying.
After the game, this dunk was replayed on TV repeatedly and later became an essential dunk material on the Internet—it might not even rank in Carter’s future classic in-game dunk rankings.
Because Carter’s career had just begun, he still had many games to play and many balls to dunk.
Almost from this dunk onwards, more and more people started paying attention to Vince Carter, especially Toronto fans; Carter began to trigger the Michael Jordan effect that Chicago once experienced.
A large number of fans, particularly young ones, flocked to the arena to watch the Raptors’ games just to see Carter’s dunk performances.
In the NBA, there are dunkers everywhere, and those who can’t dunk are rare; there are so many talented dunkers.
Yet Carter’s in-game dunks were visually more spectacular than Michael Jordan’s.
Using a rare talent, he combines his 41-inch vertical leap with his technique, power, and grace to create a unique visual wonder of dunking.
His energetic first step, air-like jump, and flowing, imaginative moves make his dunks so captivating.
Additionally, Carter is a very old-school player; he has no tattoos, no piercings, and no gangster or street vibes, filled with the demeanor of the older generation of superstars.
When other rookies call the coach "Coach," "Boss," "Chief," Carter uniquely sticks to calling him "Sir."
During Carter’s games, whenever he holds the ball close to the basket, the atmosphere on-site instantly boils over, buzzing without stopping, with flashing lights popping everywhere.
Once a dunk is made successfully, the scene explodes; fans celebrate like a festival, high-fiving and cheering each other.
Such scenes were once abundant at the Philadelphia Spectrum when Dr. J Irving made his successful dunks.
When Carter played away games, if he hadn’t dunked yet, fans on the sidelines shouted, "Hey Vince! Dunk one! I bought this ticket just to see you dunk!"
The allure of Carter’s dunks reached such heights; in other aspects, he might not be comparable to Jordan, even less to Gan Guoyang.
But in dunking, the most appealing scoring method in basketball, Carter indeed achieved a high level, drawing fans to watch his games.
Gan Guoyang was similarly generous with his praise. Before the game started, he shook hands with Carter and said, "Looking forward to your dunks, make sure to put on a good show."
Carter sheepishly smiled, somewhat nervously; last season, he recklessly tried to dunk over Gan Guoyang’s head but ended up getting blocked heavily.
Gan Guoyang’s defensive judgment was very precise; he didn’t wait for Carter to reach his highest point to try to block him—that would be untouchable—but initiated his movement early to block.
Moreover, Gan Guoyang’s strength was too overwhelming, and Carter’s impact couldn’t push through, naturally failing to dunk over and getting blocked directly.
Later, Carter wanted to try again, but Gan Guoyang found an opportunity on offense to mismatch against Carter—a forceful dunk scared Carter, making him afraid to casually rush in to dunk anymore.
This season, Carter’s strength is greater, and his skills are more refined; it’s unknown if he has the courage to challenge Gan Guoyang, trying to dunk over this historical top center.
The Raptors’ record is promising this year, having retained Marcus Camby and Damon Stoudemire, and added Carter, forming a youthful trifecta.
Camby is tall and long-limbed, outstanding in help defense and blocking, guarding the three-second zone in the interior.
Damon Stoudemire is fast, swift, nicknamed "Mighty Mouse," with strong offensive prowess.
And Carter is a standard, versatile swingman between positions two and three, comprehensive skills, outstanding shooting; Carter’s average points this season have reached 25.7 points, elevating him to a top scorer in the league.
With them as the core structure, the Raptors have built a young, competitive team with a remarkably offensive performance.
To balance the team’s offense and defense, the Raptors also traded Antonio Davis from the Pacers, Gan Guoyang’s former armed defender.
Relying on such a young, energetic lineup, the Raptors have already surged into the playoff zone in the Eastern Conference, with their top goal this season being reaching the playoffs.
Comparatively, the Trail Blazers are a typical veteran team, but when the game began, the Trail Blazers didn’t engage in a half-court battle like typical veteran teams against young teams.
The Trail Blazers took the initiative, aggressively attacking from the start against the Raptors’ defensive weaknesses—Kobe and Brellock used screens and ball rotations continuously on the outside, driving into the Raptors’ three-second zone.
Stoudemire’s offense is strong, but his defense is limited by size, basically breaking through with ease.
The Trail Blazers exploited this and kept using breakthroughs and rotations on the outside, mobilizing the Raptors’ already lax defense.
Faced with such skirmishes, the Raptors didn’t ponder too much; you attack, I attack as well, and it’s all about who scores more.
Consequently, the opening phase saw both teams accelerate the pace, with the inside players just following behind the small guards, running back and forth.