There were 17 seconds left before halftime.
Big Ball received the fast-break pass.
Wang Yi was the only one standing in his way.
But Big Ball wasn't worried at all, because Wang Yi had said earlier that, as agreed, he wouldn't defend him.
So Big Ball dribbled straight toward Wang Yi.
Just as expected, Wang Yi made no move to defend him. He simply jogged backward.
By the time Big Ball crossed inside the free-throw line, Wang Yi had reached the three-point line.
And by the time Big Ball charged to the basket, Wang Yi had only just reached a spot one step inside the free-throw line.
In other words, Big Ball had reached the basket completely unguarded.
But he wasn't planning to throw down a powerful dunk on this play.
To be safe, he jumped high, but didn't put much force into the dunk. He gently dropped the ball into the hoop instead.
It was true that players had missed dunks before, but that was either because they hadn't jumped high enough, they were too far from the basket, or they had dunked too forcefully and the ball had bounced off the back of the rim.
Big Ball had avoided all three of those factors that could cause a dunk to miss.
This dunk should have been a sure thing.
And yet, the next moment—
Just as Big Ball's right arm hooked over the rim,
the basketball somehow slipped out of his hand and flew away.
It hit the backboard, then bounced down to the floor.
The nineteen thousand people in the arena all froze.
"What? He missed a dunk?!"
"Holy shit, has Ball Boy been cursed or something?"
"Oh my God, I can't even watch."
In the NBA livestream on China's TikTok,
the viewers all watched this unfold