Original subtitles

In continuing our chapter on playing in the post,

this next move is called the slam dunk.

When the player is in close range,

he jumps and throws the ball directly into the hoop using a dunking motion.

We have Billy here to demonstrate.

Why don't you show us how it's done, Billy?

Sure, Coach.

[Coach applauds]

Well done. How did that feel?

Really good, Coach.

I'll bet.

It may look simple, but the slam dunk is rarely used because of its difficulty.

But when it does happen, it can sure be exciting.

[crowd cheering]

[Chang] From the free-throw line, he dunks!

[shouts] What's he gonna do?

Crossover. He pivots, he pivots, he pivots.

Oh, he splits defenders.

[Chang shouts]

[grunting]

- [sighs] - [laptop ringing]

[Chang] Oh.

Whoa, dude!

- I did it. -I barely recognize you.

[Chang] Good, aight?

Freshman Chang is no more.

Chang 2.0 is here, baby.

I'm moving up. Last year, I was, like, here.

But after this, I'ma get some more fire clothes,

expand my social media presence, make a viral video or two.

- Boom, parties. - [crowd cheering]

Boom, girlfriend.

Boom, I'm up here.

- [Bo] What if you end up trying too hard? - [Chang] Trying too hard?

You ever think Kobe ever asked himself, "Gee, I wonder if I'm trying too hard"?

If you wanna get somewhere, you have to evolve.

All right, so like in Pokémon.

-Like in Pokémon. - No, no, no, no, no.

-"Charmander, I choose you." - No.

[Chen, in Mandarin]

[Chang, in English] Kobe.

♪ Then it hit me ♪

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Hey, don't touch. Don't-- Just...

[Chen grunts]

- It's weird. - [scoffs]

What?

Nothing, it's fine. It's fine. Let's go.

["Damn Right, Pt. 2" playing]

♪ Yeah, one, two, fleeka You wanna pop my speakers ♪

♪ Three, two, three Better blow your mama's teeth out ♪

[students chattering]

♪ I chew like I'm pika Then I spit like I'm Nina ♪

♪ Wish you merry Kwanzaa Set fire to my sneakers ♪

♪ One, two, fleeka Might need some anesthesia ♪

♪ See me in the bleachers But I caught up like Anita... ♪

First day of school. Are you nervous?

No. I'm not a freshman, Mom.

- Okay. - [chuckles]

Are you coming to the hospital on Saturday?

Yeah, I was actually thinking about that.

I know volunteering at a hospital is, like, a good look for colleges,

but most of the other kids at school have jobs and money.

Why do you need money now?

You'll have lots of money after you go to a good college.

First of all, that's not necessarily true in today's economy.

And secondly,

I've heard that having a high school job better prepares a kid for college success.

Xiao Ming, volunteering was your idea.

You always change your mind.

So find something and stick to it.

I will once I find the right thing.

[chattering continues]

[school bell rings]

- [sighs] - [whistle blows]

[gym teacher] Good morning to everyone. Hope everyone had a great summer.

We've got a little basketball drill today.

We got a foul shot, through the cones, layup on the other side.

You sprint back. Score however you want.

The first team through gets a pat on the back.

Chang with the lion's mane. I like it.

[Owen] Hey, why you gotta swagger-jack Matt though?

- [students laughing] - [student] Don't pick on Chang.

- [gym teacher] Okay. You ready? - [whistle blows]

All right. Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Who's getting down there first? Let's go.

Come on. Layups. Get down.

Oh, man. That was a travel though.

- You gotta dribble the ball. - [ball bounces off rim]

Go through. Go all the way through. Go through the cones.

Come on, Jeff. Hit that layup.

Let's go, Maya. Straight back.

All right, come on! Let's shoot down.

Come on, kid. All the way down. Through the cones!

You got it. Put a little work into it. A little effort!

All right, here we go, Chang.

Go, Syd. Come on, Syd. Come on. You can do better than that.

All right, Chang. There you go. All right, Matt, you're right behind him.

Through the cones. Every cone, every cone.

Come on, Matt. You've got him.

Just a little bit behind him. Little bit behind.

You've got him. Hit that layup.

There you go. Let's go back.

Let's go, let's go. Come on, Matt. Come on, Matt.

We got Chang for the three.

[gym teacher groans, laughs]

- [students clamoring] - [gym teacher] Oh!

Let's go! That's what I'm talking about, man.

- [Syd chanting] - [gym teacher laughing] Hey!

- You got up there. Great job. - [Owen] That was awesome.

Hey, guys, great job all around. All right. Let's go, Chang.

[student] Coach, you gotta put in Chang.

- [Syd] Sick. [laughs] - [Owen] That play was crazy.

Ah, almost, dude. Hey, next time dunk it.

Hey, you kind of cheated though.

Relax, it's gym class. Stop trying so hard.

[all laughing]

- [students chattering] - [school bell rings]

[marching band playing "The Ecstasy of Gold"]

[Mr. Ryan] Okay. Okay.

Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.

- [both panting] - [Mr. Ryan] Oh, my god.

- It's like band camp didn't even happen. - What happened with the hair?

- [Mr. Ryan] Didn't even happen. - [sighs] I wasn't feeling it.

Ah, man, I was hoping you'd stick with it for at least a day.

Yeah, I will. When I find the right cut.

[Mr. Ryan] Chang!

Chang, uh, this is Kristy. She's gonna be our new snare player.

Sup?

Chang? Hello?

[chuckles] Uh, sorry.

I need you to take her to the storage locker and get her a kit.

All right? Set her up?

- Uh, kit, yeah, yeah. Kit. - [Mr. Ryan] Thank you.

Okay, band! Instruments up. Instruments up.

We're gonna take it from the top of the song.

Wow. You guys take this pretty seriously.

Oh, yeah. In case you didn't notice, Mr. Ryan is a bit intense.

Intense is good.

Means you're passionate about something.

[chuckling] Oh, yeah, totally, same.

- Got it? - Yeah, I got it. [sighs]

Here, let me help.

You play a lot?

I do.

Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, the Beatles. I mean, they're classic.

- So good. - What about you?

- You into rock? - Oh... [scoffs] ...yeah.

- Who do you like? - Uh...

Metallica. [scoffs] I love Metallica.

- They're my faves. - Okay.

- Yeah, you like them, right? - Ah, they're all right.

I'm not big into favorites though, so...

Oh, yeah, yeah, me either.

[chuckling] I mean, why compare?

Every band is, like, special, you know?

- Exactly. - Yeah.

Oh, shoot. I just-- I forgot to lock up.

- Wait a second? All right? - Okay.

- Just-- I'll be right back. - Okay.

Game time, baby. Let's go.

[Matt] Anyway, so we were playing this nationally ranked team from out of state,

and Drake was at the last game.

- Sick. - Yeah.

I mean, the energy's gonna be crazy.

You, uh-- You don't want to miss it.

Hey, Matt.

Uh. What's up?

Uh, this is Kristy. She's-- She's new.

- Uh, yeah. I-I know. - Yeah.

- [chuckles] We should get back actually. - [Kristy] Okay.

Uh, wait. [stammers] So, Saturday, you coming?

- Um... - [chuckles] What's on Saturday?

[Bo] We're supposed to volunteer on Saturday.

[Chang] Bro, this is way more important.

- Yo, Kristy and I were vibing, all right? - [Bo sighs]

Dude, she's legit the best drummer I've ever seen.

And she's into '90s rock.

Since when are you into '90s rock?

Since today. Yo, what's your Spotify password again?

It's "Itachididnothingwrong." It's one word, all lowercase.

What are you gonna do about Matt?

He's got his beautiful blue eyes on her.

I don't think he's her type.

Try saying that when he's flying through the air like a Greek god.

[shudders]

- Yeah, I'll-- I'll handle him. -You'll handle him?

- [laughs] - [vehicle approaches]

[garage door opens]

Oh, shoot. I gotta go. I'll talk to you later?

All right. See ya.

- [door opens] - [Chen] Xiao Ming?

[door closes]

["Connection" playing]

[slow motion] Iso.

♪ Another heart has made the trade ♪

[crowd cheering]

♪ Forget it, forget it, forget it ♪

♪ I don't understand How a heart is a spade ♪

[Matt grunts]

Ref, are you blind? They're trying to massacre my boy out there.

- [crowd clamoring] - [Matt] Ref!

- There's no hard foul? - Please!

It's okay, honey. This ref is an idiot. He's an idiot!

- [whistle blows] - [ref] Technical foul!

- Whoa! - Idiot!

- [crowd booing] - [Mrs. O'Neil] Come on!

[Mr. O'Neil] Are you kidding me?

What happened?

Matt was whining too much so the ref T'ed him up.

Just play, dude.

[Kristy] You seem pretty into basketball?

Oh, yeah. I'm a huge basketball-head.

I used to spend, like, five hours a day at the park.

Really? Why aren't you out there then?

Uh, 'cause I swore a blood oath to Mr. Ryan.

- Now all my free time goes to the band. - [chuckles]

[whistle blows]

- [crowd cheering] - [Matt] All right, come on.

- [player] I got it! - [Chang] By the way,

there's this sick music shop in town,

and I heard they got some new kits yesterday.

- Tamas. - Really?

Yeah. It's what Lars Ulrich plays on, right?

Yeah. Yeah, it is.

[crowd cheering]

[Mr. O'Neil] Ref, time out. Time out.

- Time out! - [whistle blows]

Anyway, if you want, maybe sometime we can, you know, go and make some--

Kristy! Hey, you made it.

This is for you.

[team chattering]

- Here we go, Matt. Come on. - [crowd chanting] Let's go, Havoc!

- Let's go! - [team] Havoc!

[crowd cheering, applause]

[Havoc coach] All right. Come on.

Damn it!

- I mean, the energy's gonna be crazy. - What's on Saturday?

[crowd cheering]

[Kristy] See that?

["Naw Naw" playing]

♪ Uh, I'm about to wake up, lace up Count blue face up ♪

[partygoers chattering]

♪ Never been a waiter So I'm not a fan of waiting up ♪

♪ Last night feelin' really low... ♪

♪ This time about to take the gold ♪

♪ Come second? Naw naw ♪

♪ Learn a lesson? Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Enjoy the present? Yeah, yeah ♪

[song continues]

Hey.

I got you a drink.

Thanks.

This party is crazy.

[chuckles] Yeah? This is cool, right?

Yeah. These mostly school people?

Uh, yeah.

Oh. Sup, Todd?

[chattering continues]

- [chuckles] So loud in here. - Right. Right.

Uh, this way.

Wow.

[chuckles] What a shrine.

Yeah.

You know, he scored 62 points that game.

In three quarters.

And he could have had more,

but they were already up by 34, so Phil Jackson took him out.

Out of mercy.

So, he's, like, your favorite player?

[grunts]

[Chang] Kobe's my hero 'cause...

he saw every obstacle as an opportunity.

Every challenge put in front of him, he saw as a way to improve.

He could face anything, 'cause he wasn't afraid.

What about you?

You afraid?

Hey, Kristy.

What are you doing in here? I've been looking everywhere for you.

I wanna introduce you to a couple of my friends.

Um. Yeah. Yeah. Um. Yeah, okay.

[Matt chuckles] All right.

Chang, who invited you?

- Uh, I was-- - We're just playing.

We're playing 2K. We need another player.

- No, I-I need to go look-- - Ah, come on, man.

Real quick.

[Owen, Syd chuckle]

I don't really feel like playing now.

- I gotta go back-- - [Syd] Have fun, bro.

- Hey! Hey! - [Syd] Have fun, bro.

- Yo, what the hell? Guys? - [Syd laughs]

Not cool, man.

[grunting, fighting on video game]

- Hey, Timmy. - [Timmy] Wanna play?

Not right now. You got big.

You look the same.

[partygoers chattering]

[Chang groans]

[shouts]

Matt! I'm gonna--

[Chang grunting, shouting]

[pants] Okay. What would Kobe do?

[sighs]

[grunting]

[grunting]

[grunts]

["Feelin' Like" playing]

Ew.

- [Syd] What the... - [Owen] Didn't you lock the door?

The dream school's gotta be Duke.

It's literally got everything. It's got the history, the culture, like--

Hey, guys. Hey.

- [chuckles] - Where'd you go?

Oh, I made a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in the basement.

- [chuckles] - Yeah. Wild, right?

Oh, great game today, man.

Super clutch. [grunts]

- Thanks. - [Chang] Yeah.

Yeah. Uh, look, we were kinda having, like, a private convo here, so...

Oh, really? Yeah, about what?

About where Matt would like to go play college ball.

Wow. Hey, you got your offers in already?

Chang, I'm just gonna be straight up.

You're, uh-- You're kinda messing with the vibe.

- I mean, do you really think-- - This is dumb.

Matt, you're just, like, so cool, right?

Facts.

Okay, okay, but why?

Is-- Is it 'cause you got nice 'fits, and a nice house?

You're like the human version of a poached egg.

Oh, okay. Yeah, you can dunk.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, that's pretty cool.

But whoop-de-do, all right? So can a lot of people.

Let's go, Kristy. Come on. Kristy?

[Matt] You can't.

Yeah, I could if I tried.

Uh, no, you couldn't.

I mean-- Hey, guys, I-I just have a question.

Just curious, who here thinks Chang can dunk?

[partygoers laughing, booing]

I-I could if I tried.

- No, you couldn't. - Yes, I could.

Come on.

I mean, you could try as hard as you like but, uh, yeah, you are never dunking.

Okay, says who?

- Uh, says everyone, like... - [partygoers laughing]

Why not? Huh? Why not?

[grunts]

- [partygoers gasping, groaning] - [Matt] Ooh. We got a Chang overboard.

- [partygoers laughing] - Yeah!

- You wanna see a dunk? - [partygoer 1] Yeah.

- [partygoer 2] That's it. - [partygoer 3] Here he comes.

[partygoers laughing, groaning]

[partygoer 4] That's what I'm talking about.

Yeah, man. Let's go!

Thank you, Mrs. O'Neil.

Not at all. Good seeing you.

It's been so long since you've come by the house and hung out with Matt.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Hi, Chen.

Hey, Susan.

Uh, I-I'm so sorry to worry you like this.

Matt had some friends over after the game. They lost track of time.

You're wet.

[Mrs. O'Neil laughs] Yeah. They were horsing around,

and Chang fell in the pool.

You know how boys are.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] I did already.

- [Mrs. O'Neil] Good night. [chuckles] - [Chen] Good night.

- Thank you. - [Chang] Thank you.

[Mrs. O'Neil] Bye, Chen.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] I'm sorry.

Matt invited me to his big game, so I wanted to be supportive.

It was an accident.

[in Mandarin]

- [in English] I'll pay for a new one. - You don't have money.

Yeah, because you won't let me get a job.

Someone pushed you?

No. Why would you even say that?

I'm your mother. I know when you're upset.

Well, I'm not, okay?

[stammers]

[in Mandarin]

[Chang on laptop, in English] Says who?

Uh, says everyone, like...

[partygoers laughing]

- [water splashes] - [partygoers gasping, groaning]

[sighs]

[students chattering]

[Chang] Hey! Matt!

- Yo, you trippin', man. - [Chang] Hey, shut up, sidekick.

- What you say, man? - [Matt] Hey, hey, hey.

Let me handle this, man.

[sighs]

What's good, Chang?

You said I couldn't dunk? I bet you I could.

- [students laughing] - What?

Dude, you're still on this?

[Chang] Yeah.

On the night of the last home football game,

I bet you I will dunk on that hoop right there.

[students groaning]

- [student 1] Okay. - [scoffs] Wait, sorry. You're serious?

- You actually-- - Yeah. I'm afraid so.

Wow. That is, uh, that's straight up the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Not as dumb as your face after I dunk on it.

[all laughing, jeering]

[student 2] What? What?

Okay, Chang, look. If you want it, you can have it, bud.

What are we putting down?

Loser has to shave their head.

Bro, that's it?

- Boo! - [all booing]

- Boo! - [student 3] Do something else!

Dude, nobody cares if you shave your head, Chang.

- [student 4] Yeah. - Fine. Let's raise the stakes then.

- Your Kobe jersey. - [student 5] Matt!

- Dude, no way. - Oh. What? You shook?

Man, you have nothing that I want.

I have a first edition Charizard Pokémon card.

- Shadowless. - [gasps]

- [student 6] Shadowless, bro. - Yeah. He knows what that is.

Worth three grand. Minimum.

- Yeah! - [students cheering]

- [student 7] Let's go! - [student 8] Yeah!

[student 9] Whoo!

[cheering continues]

- Got yourself a deal, my friend. - [student 10] Yo!

- Bro, everybody's talking about you, dude. - Really? What are they saying?

Uh, that you let stinky Matt know what's up, man. [laughs]

I'm proud of you, dude. The-- The Charizard?

- Yo, I had no choice. - [both laugh]

Yo. Look, I just got here. I-I don't wanna be in some drama.

You're absolutely right.

I'm so sorry. Saturday must have been so awkward for you.

So, this bet thing has nothing to do with me, right?

No. No, no, no, no. It's between me and Matt.

We-- We go way back.

Okay.

[sighs] Apology accepted.

That being said, I have ten bucks on you dunking.

I don't like to lose money.

- [laughs] - Oh. Uh...

- I'll see you later. - Yeah. [stammers]

Hey, don't worry! My man's got this!

- I got this! - [Kristy] Okay.

["edamame" playing]

[Chang] Yo, so this guy has this bulking program.

I'm gonna copy exactly what he's doing, and then I'm gonna double it.

- [Chang grunting] -♪ Yeah, and you're not ♪

♪ Bad B Keep on going till you hit the spot ♪

All right. Minus 1,700... [mumbles]

- I saw this on a TV show once. - What?

- [breathing heavily] You got me? - Yeah, I got you.

- [Chang] You sure? - No, I got you.

[grunts]

- You know what I need? - [Bo] What?

An alter ego.

- [Bo] Yeah. Yeah! - Like The Black Mamba.

Like a-- Like a cool color and then an animal.

Sixty-eight, 69, 70.

Seventy-- Let's go.

You can be The Green Frog.

[Chang] I like the thematic relevance, but how about something cooler?

- What's cooler than a frog? They jump. - I got it. The Brown Kangaroo.

- No. [laughs] That sucks. - [Chang grunts] The Brown Kangaroo.

[Chang grunts]

Yes, the Flea, because proportional to its body size...

- I don't like bugs. - ...the flea jumps higher than any animal.

So, if you were a flea, you'd be dunking on a hundred-foot rim.

- You're making that up. - You'd be dunking on a hundred-foot rim!

- You're making that up. - I read books, pal. Try it sometime.

- Technique. Whoo! Ten more. - [grunting]

- A grasshopper is an insect! - But it's, like, a cool insect.

Ten more!

I got it. The Red Panda.

Do pandas jump?

Not at all. It's ironic.

♪ She got a big bad dumper Drop it low ♪

[grunts] Four.

- I like it. I like it. Yo, The Red Panda. - [Bo] Yeah. Yeah! Red Panda!

- The Red Panda. - Red Panda.

I am Chang, The Red Panda.

- What sound do they make? - [both imitating red panda growls]

- [grunting] - Yeah! [cheering]

- [both cheering] -♪ I'ma pop you like a pea ♪

♪ Yeah, edamame ♪

♪ Yeah, feel so hot Like I'm chillin' on the beach ♪

[both grunting, growling]

♪ Yeah, baby in the sun Like the Teletubbies ♪

[song continues]

- No, it's more like a quarter of that. - Two feet? [laughs]

[both] Small steps.

- [red panda growling] - [song ends]

- [alarm beeping] - [Chang groans]

[grunts]

[groans]

Ah!

[groans]

[marching band playing "The Ecstasy of Gold"]

Sup, nerd? How do you feel? Better?

No. Yo, is this what being old feels like? 'Cause it sucks.

What's that?

Deer jerky.

They're, like, the super athlete's animals.

Ninety percent fast-twitch muscle.

- Want some? - Duh. Gimme.

[sighs] Yeah, I barely added an inch.

- It's been, like, one week. - I know. When is it gonna start working?

Dunking yet?

Uh...

No. But, you know, it's a process, and I trust it.

[laughing] Okay.

Well, if you're not busy, um...

need a new pair of sticks. You said you know a place, right?

Yeah. Yeah.

Cool. Did you wanna...

You-- Oh, yeah, yeah. Uh, I'll meet you over there.

- Yeah, absolutely. Okay. - Okay. Cool. Yep.

- [grunts] - [groans]

Dude.

[Lenny] Defense wins championships.

In three years, they're gonna be in the championship. Guaranteed.

I'm telling you. I can feel it in my bones.

- I'm telling you. I can feel it. - [door opens]

- Chang. - [Chang] Hey, guys.

[Lenny] You must be Kristy.

Hi.

[Lenny] Go on. Have fun.

Thanks, Lenny.

Yeah, I just told them I was gonna bring some people.

- Right. - Oh. [laughs]

[Kristy laughs]

Hey.

Wow.

[Chang] Sick, right?

Tama's one of my dad's faves.

- Yeah? - Yeah.

- Is he a drummer? - Oh, yeah.

He was in two bands growing up.

He was nice.

Did he teach you how to play?

Not at first.

Believe it or not, I, uh... learned by playing Rock Band.

- [chuckles] The video game? - Yeah.

He saw me spending so much time on it,

and I guess he just thought I needed to learn how to play in real life.

Sounds like a cool dad.

He was.

He, um, passed.

Cancer.

Oh, uh... I'm sorry.

Don't be. It happens.

Well, I bet he'd be really proud of you.

'Cause you're really, really good.

Thanks.

What about you? Your dad teach you anything cool?

Uh, basketball, I guess. Yeah, he's a huge basketball fan.

Mm-hmm. So that's why you wanna dunk.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, he'd probably think it's pretty cool.

But I actually don't get to see him that much.

My parents are kinda separated.

Oh.

It happens.

I'm pretty sure they'll get bored and get back together eventually.

And in the meantime, I still got basketball.

So, are you gonna try out for the team then?

Uh, nah.

I mean, everyone already knows who's gonna make the team.

And I'd just ride the bench.

I just wanna be a baller.

But you'd still be you.

I-- Yep.

[imitating Chang] "Every obstacle is an opportunity."

- I knew you were gonna say that. - [Kristy laughs]

Do you wanna hear something my dad taught me?

Hell yeah.

- Boom. - It is a great multivitamin.

[shivers]

This bar tastes better than every single other bar.

What up, Hoopers? It's HoopsieDaisy.

You guys know I've always wanted to dunk, and I've tried the diets.

I've tried the jumping workouts. The weird contraptions.

Nothing's worked, but I finally found the solution.

Boom! These are the Vert Boost 99s.

-If you wanna dunk, you need to buy these. - [burps]

Hit the link down below in the description

and use my code "HoopsieHello" for a little discount.

I got y'all.

[sighs]

[player 1] Huh? What way do you want me to go?

-What way do you want me to go? - [coughing]

- [player 2] Yeah. I'm him. I'm him. - [player 1] Mine, yep. Oh, yeah.

You see that?

Oh.

Did I do that?

[chuckles]

[player 1] According to my calculations, the elevator's going up and coming down!

Is everybody okay? Is everybody all right?

[player 2] Good game, man.

[player 1] Oh, baseline. Oh, yeah.

[cheers] Did I do that?

[Bo] Dude, who edited this? This is amateur.

[Chang] Yo, who cares about the filmmaking?

- He's hooping in cosplay. - [scoffs]

And he lives two towns over.

Well, he's got less than a thousand subscribers.

- Couldn't you ask someone more legit? - I did, all right? They all ignored me.

Apparently, he played overseas. He's a two-time Estonian League MVP.

Okay, I guess. So, what's the plan?

I'm meeting him at the Galleria today.

When? Better be after our shift.

- Uh... - [Bo] Dude! [scoffs]

Come on.

You're gonna get into all the good colleges.

Uh-huh, yeah, as well as be a good person who likes to help other people.

- Hmm. - [Bo moans]

How are you gonna get there? The Galleria's far.

[Chang] My mom's giving me a ride.

I still need to get my phone, so I told her all the best deals are there.

[chuckles] All right.

Good luck, buddy.

- [Bo, mockingly] "Good luck, buddy." - [chuckles]

Well, can't you go during your lunch break?

- [Chen] No. - You haven't started your rounds.

I know that.

You can go. Great. We'll figure it out. Just...

- [Chen] Tomorrow I'll come in early. - Go, Chen. Thank you.

- [Chen] Sorry. - Am I wrong? No?

Is everything okay?

Why did we have to come this far?

I told you, there are better deals at the store here.

Your phone's still expensive.

[sighs]

[sighs]

[in Mandarin]

[in English] It was an accident.

It's okay. It's nothing.

I can take the bus home.

You can just drop me off. If that helps.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] I thought about what you said.

I'm going to start sticking with things.

I promise.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Okay.

Ah. My mans right here got good taste.

I wish, man. I can't afford this.

Oh. My brother, that's a easy wish.

Yeah, get yourself a solid job with some good commission,

and you'll be sending honeys 8K selfies with a Leica lens in no time.

No time at all.

Coincidentally, we're hiring if you want an app.

Deandre?

Oh, shoot. Do we know each other? I owe you money or something?

I DMed you. We were supposed to meet at 2:00?

Oh, right. Yeah, you're the kid who wants to learn how to dunk.

You said you were a basketball coach.

I am. You said you were 6'0''.

- [laughs] - This is dumb.

Yo, yo. Come on, man. I'm sorry, okay?

We got off on the wrong foot. Let's try this again.

[clears throat] I'm Deandre Cooke.

Chang, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, okay. Nice to meet you.

So, how much height do we need?

Just raise it back up when you're done.

Oops. Ah. Too far.

Now this guy here's a county legend.

Buckets Cooke.

You listen to him.

[Deandre] Thanks, Mr. J.

Yikes. Okay.

Well, first of all, your jump mechanics need work.

Right? You're not really generating much power from here or here.

Also, you're only bringing the ball halfway up,

so why are you cheating yourself?

Full extension, okay? Let's try it.

[Chang grunts]

- Oh, oh, oh! Holy crap! - [Chang] Oh! That was, like, six inches!

So, do you think I could dunk?

- You probably still growing, right? - Mm-hmm.

So, if you stay consistent with your workouts,

in about a half a year to a year, I don't see why not.

Uh, I need to do it in ten weeks.

- Say what now? - Yeah.

It's a long story, but if Chang can't dunk by our last football game,

he's gonna have to move to another school.

I'll do anything you ask me to do. Please. Just help me out.

- Ten weeks? - Mm-hmm.

Okay. So, let's see.

In ten weeks, we're definitely gonna have to do some one-on-ones.

Uh, some weight training. No doubt. Uh, plyo.

- Uh, technique for sure. - Yeah.

- How much you paying? - What?

[stammers] How much--

- What? - Uh...

My man, if you're trying to dunk a ball in ten weeks, we gotta do it right. Okay?

That means mornings, evenings, Saturdays and Sundays.

- I can't do all that for free. - I don't have any money.

What are you talking about? I just sold you a top-shelf phone.

Yeah, that costed all my savings.

I'll return it, all right? But that's all I got, all right?

- How about that? - Look, I'm sorry, bro. Okay?

I really am, but I-I just can't.

It's not gonna cut it. Okay?

Good luck with your new school.

[Bo] What do you shoot on?

- I'm sorry? - For your videos. What do you shoot on?

- My phone. - Your phone? Yeah.

And then you just edit everything on what? Let me guess, iMovie?

Mm-hmm. Okay, so, if I were you, I'd be investing in a gimbal at least, right?

'Cause you've got a basketball channel.

You're shooting everything locked down from 30 feet back like it's 1920.

Okay? Get us in on the action.

All right? Don't get me started on that fake slow-motion.

You have to get that in-camera with a high frame rate.

Come on, man. Where's the mise-en-scène?

Look here, little man. I work hard on my videos, okay?

Yes, I bet you do.

I bet you do, and I also bet you're only achieving about 50% of your vision.

So, what are you proposing?

You get Chang dunking like--

- Who's, uh... - Vince Carter.

- You get Chang dunking like Vince Carter... - Mmm.

...I'll get your channel looking like Scorsese.

Michael Bay.

Michael Bay?

Yes, Michael Bay.

Mm-hmm.

And he's gotta be in the videos.

What, me? Why?

Because if I can get you, and I mean all of you, to dunk...

[laughs] ...everybody's gonna be hittin' me up.

So, we got a deal?

[sighs]

You want Michael Bay?

I'll get you Michael Benjamin Bay.

[Deandre] Y'all ain't never shake nobody's hand before?

[Bo] Now walk off, walk off, walk off.

How'd that look? Good?

So when I say I'm filming in slow-motion, you don't also have to move in slow-mo.

Oh.

Wait. You sure it don't look better?

No.

Okay.

Wow! Good morning, sunshine.

Look who decided to join us. Get him. Get him on camera.

Day one, and my dude's already late.

Look, I was up all night brainstorming. We're gonna do a whole series on you.

Can Chang Dunk?

- Uh, no, no. - That's gonna be A-plus content.

All you gotta do is look... Look. You gonna look in the camera,

tell the people who you are and why we're all out here.

Cool.

Action.

Uh, I'm Chang. I'm 16, 5'8", and I'm...

Uh, I'm trying to dunk a basketball, hopefully?

Cut! What? [scoffs] Come on, man!

- [Chang] What? - Where's your swag?

- What? - Your swag.

How you gonna dunk without any swag?

Dunking is, like, 80% swag.

Matt and his friends are gonna clown me if they see this.

So? They already clown you.

Yeah, and making YouTube videos is supposed to help?

Okay, you're not making YouTube videos.

He and I are.

You're trying to dunk.

And if you wanna do that, you gotta do what I'm telling you to do.

And right now, what I'm telling you to do,

is worry about being better than you were yesterday.

And the only way we'll know if you're better than you were yesterday...

Okay. Hey, just give us a minute, Bo.

Let me holler at you, Chang.

Do you know what swag really is?

Swag is believing you can and will do something you can't yet do.

Okay?

So, when I ask you,

"Are you or are you not gonna yam it on Matt's stupid head?"

You say?

I am.

Yeah, you are.

Can you or can you not dunk?

I can dunk. I can dunk.

- Can you or can you not dunk? - Yeah, I can dunk.

- Okay. Can you or can you not dunk? - I can dunk.

- Can you or can you not dunk? - I can dunk.

Okay, then. Look in the camera and tell the people what the move is. Let's go!

Yo. I'm Chang, and I'm gonna dunk it on all my haters. Yeah!

[laughing] Oh, shoot. Okay. Sorry.

- [Bo laughs] - Oh, you were serious. I didn't know.

- I'm sorry, bro! Come on. - No, no, no!

- We're gonna work on that. - [Bo] Damn.

- Hey, Chang! Come back! - [Bo] Come back!

[Deandre] That wasn't awful.

- It just wasn't fantastic. - [Bo] Come back!

["The Middle" playing]

Your home away from home.

No weight. No plates. Just you and the bar.

Whatever's comfortable for you. Find your grip. Knees over toes.

Remember tempo. Nice.

[grunts, farts]

[Deandre] Did you just fart?

-That was Bo. - [Bo] It's up. It's up.

- [Deandre] Let's see what the people say. - [Bo] Um...

[grunts] See?

- Hey. - No. Wait. Come here.

[alarm beeping]

♪ Hey, don't write yourself off yet ♪

When you take off,

I want you to think about destroying the ground and jumping for the sky.

Destroy the ground and jump to the sky.

♪ Just try your best ♪

♪ Try everything you can ♪

Up and smooth. Let's go.

♪ And don't you worry What they tell themselves ♪

♪ When you're away ♪

♪ It just takes some time ♪

♪ Little girl You're in the middle of the ride ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be just fine ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be all right, all right ♪

One of the key things about dunking a basketball is the grip.

At the bottom of that rice bucket is a key.

Yes, the rice is your friend.

Let's go! Find that rhythm.

♪ Live right now ♪

♪ Yeah, just be yourself ♪

Make sure you drag and drop it.

No touching.

- [alarm beeping] -♪ It doesn't matter if it's good enough ♪

♪ For someone else ♪

♪ It just takes some time ♪

♪ Little girl... ♪

Put that on.

- Keep it going, Chang. - [Chang panting]

Bo, you getting this?

Man, cream cheese, man.

Can't ever really be beat. Gotta be honest.

♪ It just takes some time ♪

♪ Little girl You're in the middle of the ride ♪

[all shouting]

Smooth. One motion. Let me see. Here we go.

[shouts] Hey!

- [cheers] - [laughing] You're bouncy!

- What's up, Chang? - Sup, Todd?

[grunts]

[grunts]

- [alarm beeping] - Oh!

[Deandre] This is what happens when you're late.

Hey, Bo, you got that?

[straining]

♪ Hey, don't write yourself off yet ♪

♪ It's only in your head You feel left out ♪

[Deandre] Come on, Chang. Push!

[Chang panting]

You're a machine.

[straining]

-♪ Just do your best ♪ -♪ Do everything you can ♪

[panting, grunts]

[shouts]

[coughing]

♪ It just takes some time ♪

[imitates vomiting, laughs]

♪ Little girl You're in the middle of the ride ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be just fine ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be all right, all right ♪

♪ It just takes some time ♪

♪ Little girl You're in the middle of the ride ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be just fine ♪

♪ Everything, everything Will be all right, all right ♪

♪ It just takes some time ♪

[straining]

- [shouting] - [cheers] Yeah!

♪ Everything, everything Will be all right ♪

[song ends]

[school bell rings]

[students chattering]

[both] ♪ I wish I was special ♪

[imitates guitar]

♪ But I'm a creep ♪

♪ I'm a weirdo ♪

♪ What the hell am I doing here? ♪

♪ I don't be-- ♪

[mutters]

Wait, why did you stop?

Okay, I live around here. All right?

I don't want my neighbors to hate me.

That and I'm camera shy.

[laughs] There's a lot of evidence suggesting otherwise.

Oh, great. You found Dre's channel.

Some people in the band showed it to me.

But it's pretty awesome.

- Really? - Yeah.

And you're making a lot of progress.

[laughs]

Not quite there yet, but I'm getting close.

[Kristy] What's that over there?

[sighs] It's a project my dad started but never finished.

My mom wants to do something with it, but she's been too busy.

So, it's just been sitting there.

Can we please go before she comes back?

What, are you afraid I'm gonna embarrass you or something?

[laughs] No, no. It's more that I'm afraid she's gonna embarrass me.

How so?

Uh, it's hard to explain. She's just...

A mom?

[laughs] I guess.

We have a weird relationship.

Yeah, we don't really get along.

Well, my mom and I used to be at each other's throats.

We couldn't stand each other.

But after my dad died, we got super close. My sister and I too.

Don't get me wrong.

They still annoy the hell out of me, but deep down, I know we're like this.

Sometimes, family doesn't always love us the way we want.

Doesn't mean they're not trying their best.

Wow. That's-- That's deep.

You're deep.

- Shut up. - [laughs] What? You are.

- You are. - I'm serious.

It's got a lot of potential.

You should help her fix it up.

Uh-- [chuckles]

I will.

Once I dunk.

Yeah.

[hip hop music playing]

[hip hop continues]

I don't know how he got it in.

Get up. Nice.

Good.

Oh. Good.

Y'all wanna run? We need two.

[Deandre] Come on. I got you.

Rely on me if you need to, but you're a machine. Let's go.

What's up, y'all? Who we got? How many we got?

Hey, pull up! Pull up, pull up!

I got you. Come on. Let's work.

- [player 1] Yo, let's go! Pick it up! - [Deandre] Right there. Right there.

[Matt] We got a Chang overboard.

Lock up. Let 'em know we just don't play offense.

Okay? I'm here.

- Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. - [player 3] Go, go, go, go!

Heck yeah. Nice.

Nothing to say. Way to trail, Chang. Way to trail.

Right there. Find a space.

Create your space.

Good shot, boy. Good [bleep] shot, kid.

- Good shot, boy. - [Bo] That's money!

What I tell you? Good shot!

Let's go, now. Lock up.

[narrator speaking Japanese]

[hip hop music playing]

[all cheering]

Yeah! My man got up, didn't he? He got up, didn't he?

[Deandre] Look. Right here, this is my go-to.

Okay, look. Check it out. In and out. Cross. Take off on one foot. Watch.

[both] Oh!

[grunts] In your face!

Man! That must feel so good to do in game.

Oh, it's unbelievable.

Spiritual, honestly.

Everyone in the room got hit with this feeling.

- [Deandre on TV] Let's go! - You see that?

- They're jumping up and down, screaming... -Heigh-ho! Hey! What's my name?

...sharing the same damn energy, and it's all because of you.

Like, I did that. You know?

Hey, can I ask you something?

Oh, yeah, man. Shoot.

Did you ever try to make it to the League?

You know I did. Absolutely.

After college, I had a tryout or two.

I worked my ass off. Nobody worked harder than me.

But it didn't work out.

Why not?

Lots of reasons.

Some because of me. Some out of my control.

But that's life, you know? [chuckles]

I still made it to Europe. I played really well.

You know what I'm saying? Like, I had a blast over there.

You know, sometimes the call doesn't go your way.

You just gotta play through it.

Okay, okay.

My turn to ask a question.

Why do you wanna dunk so bad? Huh?

Is it really about this bet with Matt,

or does it have something to do with that pretty little girl you got your eye on?

I mean, yeah. All of the above.

I guess if I could dunk, it would be proof that I could be more than who I am.

You know, someone special.

Chang, I ain't ever met a kid who gets up at 5:30 a.m. at his own volition

just to bust his butt for two months straight.

You already damn special.

And don't you let anyone ever convince you otherwise.

Can I ask you something else?

Absolutely.

- Just be honest with me, all right? - Always.

Do you really think I'm gonna dunk?

Chang, I know you're gonna dunk.

[Chang humming]

Oh.

Ooh!

Chang, let's go, baby. Let's go.

- [humming] - [door opens, closes]

Hey, Mom.

[sighs]

Are you hungry?

[in Mandarin]

[in English] When did you learn how to do this?

I've been practicing.

So? Do you like it?

Mmm.

Needs a little more salt.

I saw you walking with a girl.

Is that your girlfriend?

[chuckles] No, we're just in the band together.

She's just a friend.

She's pretty.

Yeah, uh-- I guess. She's pretty.

Does she like you?

I don't know. Probably not.

You're just too shy.

You need to be more confident.

Yeah, well, we're just friends, so it's...

Hmm.

Okay.

How is school?

Good. Good.

You seem very busy these days.

Yeah, I feel like I could take on new things, so I have.

Like what?

Like hobbies.

What kind of hobbies?

I don't know. Like-- [scoffs] Good ones. Does it matter?

I'm just asking simple questions.

Yeah, but it just sounds like you're implying something.

You know, like, whatever I'm doing is a waste of my time.

I didn't say that.

Yeah, but that's what you meant, right?

Why are you getting angry? I'm just asking simple questions.

Because everything you say feels like a judgment.

[scoffs] Maybe there's something you don't want to tell me.

See? Exactly.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] How can I judge you? I know you.

Oh, you know me?

[in Mandarin]

[in English] What does that have to do with anything?

Because it make you easily get upset.

You always worry about what other people think about you,

not worry about yourself.

You need to be more tough, okay?

Otherwise, people easy to bully you.

What are you even talking about?

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Whatever.

[grunting]

[Chang grunts]

- It's all right. - [shouts]

- [Deandre] You're okay. - [Bo] Close, man.

[Deandre] Chang, don't hurt yourself, okay? We've been in here a while.

[Kristy] You got this, Chang.

Come on, Chang!

[Deandre] You good?

[grunts, groans]

- Okay. Okay, we're done. We're done. - [groaning]

Come on. Come on.

Hey. You're there. All right? You're there.

The adrenaline from tomorrow is gonna give you the extra bounce you need.

Give yourself a break.

So, uh, we got you a little something.

[tissue paper rustling]

[chuckles] Yo.

[Deandre] Yes, sir.

[Bo chuckles]

- There it is. There it is. - Yes, sir.

Hey, do me a favor tomorrow.

When you throw it down, don't forget to scream, all right?

I want these people to know who they're messing with.

- You got it. - [Deandre] Okay.

Thank you.

Let's go get something to eat.

You've been training all day. All day long.

Give yourself a break.

Hey, everyone. Yo, so tomorrow is the big day.

Um, I'm still not hitting it yet, but I'm feeling really good, you know?

I'm just really grateful that everyone who's been supporting me on-- on, uh--

[exhales sharply]

Come on, come on, come on, come on.

[sighs]

Hey, sup, guys? Um, Chang here. Yo, tomorrow's, like, the--

[Chen moans]

[moans]

[moans]

[phone buzzes]

[Matt] Almost, dude. Hey, next time dunk it.

[Chang] You kind of cheated though.

[Matt] Relax, it's gym class. Stop trying so hard.

[Chen] You always worry about what other people think about you,

not worry about yourself.

You need to be more tough.

[Kristy] It's got a lot of potential.

You should help her fix it up.

[Chang] I will. Once I dunk.

[Deandre] Chang, I know you're gonna dunk.

- [gym doors open] - [chuckles] Okay. My guy looks ready.

Yeah.

[Owen imitating Urkel] Did I do that?

Did you do what? Play me in one-on-one? 'Cause I know you don't wanna do that.

Hey, where are Kristy and Bo?

Oh, they'll be here.

Hey, it's all in here, remember? You worked hard for this. You're ready.

Yo, let's go already.

[students chattering, laughing]

- [student 1] I know. Nervous. - [student 2] I mean...

[Syd, Matt chattering]

[students chattering]

Chang. Dude, I really got to thank you, man.

I mean, my eBay right now is-- is lit for your Charizard.

Easiest 5K I've ever made.

Yeah? Well, I already got a spot on my wall for your Kobe jersey.

[students] Ooh!

Wow.

I mean, that's big talk for somebody whose friends didn't even bother to show up.

[students groan]

[students gasp, murmuring]

- [student 3] Oh, no! - [student 4] Hey!

[lights buzzing]

[student 4] What the hell?

[marching band playing "Seven Nation Army"]

Dude, seriously? What?

[students cheering]

[song continues]

[conductor] Band, ten-hut.

[band] Chang.

- [student 5] Get 'em, Chang! - [students murmuring]

- [student 5] All you, man. - [student 6] You got it.

[murmuring continues]

[chuckles]

- [student 7] Show 'em what's up. - [student 8] You got this!

Chang! Chang! Chang!

[band chanting] Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

Don't forget to scream.

Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

[chanting continues]

[screams]

[all cheering]

["Cut Your Hair" playing]

[students chanting] Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

[screams]

[chanting continues]

Deandre!

You know I got you, boy. You know I got you.

[crowd cheering]

♪ Darlin' don't you go and cut your hair ♪

[student 9] You got it, bro!

- [student 10] Come, on Chang! - Looks like you were wrong, Matt.

Turns out I can dunk.

[Bo] You go, Chang!

You know, that's nice.

Now shave his head!

[students chanting] Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head!

Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head!

[cheering]

[cheering fades]

- [clippers buzzing] - [cheering continues]

[shouting]

[song continues]

[song fades]

- You dunked. [laughs] - [chuckles] I dunked.

[panting] My heart can't stop pounding.

I know. I can feel it.

I'm really into you.

About time.

[chuckles]

Chang 2.0.

Yes! [cheers] Yes!

["Playground" playing]

[student 1] Chang! What's up, bro?

♪ Know you wanna play 'round ♪

[students chattering]

♪ Well, baby, I'm on the playground ♪

- [chuckles] - Chang! Chang. Chang.

Dude. Have you seen the metrics on your new video?

- Yes. Do you think it's gonna go viral? - [chuckles] Dude, viral?

My brother, my man, look at this.

- [student 2] Hey, Chang. - [Bo] You're gonna be a meme.

[chuckles]

- I'm friends with a meme! - [student 2 laughs]

Uh, dude, I-I gotta go. I'll see you at practice?

Yeah. Wait, hold on. You didn't tell me what happened with you and Kristy.

- [chuckles] - [school bell rings]

What?

Sick.

[Chang] What are you doing here?

I shoot around every morning. What are you doing here?

I, uh, am...

- reliving my victory. - [scoffs]

Yeah, don't let this bet get to your head, Chang.

It doesn't really mean anything. Ball.

Okay. Look, dude, what do you want?

I just want you to know that the old Chang is gone.

The new Chang is here, and he's not for being disrespected.

[school bell rings]

[Matt] Whatever, man.

[students chattering]

Hey, Chang. Principal's looking for you.

You do something bad? [chuckles]

Hi, Principal Elliot?

[Principal Elliot] Come in.

[person on phone] All right. Yeah. He can greet a couple of fans.

I need to know--

There you are. You'll never guess who called for you.

-ESPN? - Yes.

-Like, the ESPN? - Yes.

Yo, the producer said I'd be on the Get Up.

-What? - Yeah.

And Principal Elliot already gave me permission to skip school.

-That's crazy. That's-- That's awesome. - [chuckles]

So, your mom's gonna take you?

Uh, nah, Dre. Dre's gonna take me.

-Okay, that's great. - Yeah.

What's-- What's that face?

Um, do you wanna come?

I don't wanna get in the way of your big moment.

How could you get in the way?

I mean, a big part of why I'm here is because of you.

-Is that so? - [laughs]

I mean, yeah. Yeah.

[laughs] Okay. Well, I'll ask my mom.

Tell her Chang requests your presence.

What are you now, a king?

- Uh, president. Kings summon. - [door opens]

- [door closes] - Oh, shoot. Yo, my mom's home.

- I'll talk to you later? -Okay. Bye.

Hey, Mom. [chuckles]

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Uh-- It was-- It was a good day.

- Really? - [chuckling] Yeah.

[Chen] What happened?

I got asked to represent the school at this thing in New York.

- Good for you. - Yeah.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] No, uh, one of the teachers said they would chaperone me, so...

Oh, okay.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Yeah. Okay. Thanks, Mom.

Love you.

[hip hop music playing]

♪ I was down bad Now I'm up ♪

New York, baby.

See? You did it.

- [Bo] Hey, man. - [Deandre] Look both ways, Bo.

- My boy made it to New York City. - [Bo] Yeah!

- That's a chubby pigeon. - [Bo] Whoo-hoo!

♪ We honk, they call Right now... ♪

- [Bo] Come on. - Bomb. This is actually bomb.

♪ I was down bad for about six weeks Waiting on a check, now the money on me ♪

[Deandre] So, how you doing?

[in New York accent] Yeah, New York.

♪ You, boy, what you wanna do? You're 42, trying to act like... ♪

[laughs]

[shushes]

[mouthing words]

- Yeah, but-- - He's 37.

He's still averaging 35 and 12 a night. That's what he's doing.

All right, all right, all right. We're gonna cut the argument off there

because we actually have a really inspiring story.

Especially for us vertically-challenged people.

Take a look.

[students chanting] Chang! Chang! Chang!

Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

-Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! - [cheering]

- [Kimberley] Ooh. - [Jay] That's what I'm talking about.

What did we think, Perk?

- I mean, you know, it was... - [Kimberley] All right.

It's the whole story though. He's 5'8". He's inspirational.

- His story is beautiful. I get it. - [Jay] Okay.

I'm talking about the dunk.

Okay, well, let's talk to the person himself.

Please, everybody, welcome Chang.

[audience cheering, applause]

- [Kendrick] What's up, brother? - Hey, guys.

- How you doing? Bring this man a seat. - [chuckles]

Look at you, superstar.

- What's going on? - Hi, nice to meet you.

- Hello. Nice to meet you. - Hi. Nice to meet you.

- There's a superstar in the building. - Hey, thank you. Thank you.

Hi, Chang. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Yeah. Who is Chang?

- Hey, turn my man up. He's about to speak. - [Chang] Um-- Uh--

No touchy.

[stammers] I'm, you know, just a kid who got told he couldn't do something.

And I thought otherwise.

Guess who was right.

- Oh. Okay. Okay. - Okay. Okay.

Yeah. So, like, what's your training regimen?

Because I've seen the beginning of your videos.

You made quite the big jump, man.

- I see what you did there. That was good. - [Jay] Thank you.

-I thought of that before I had breakfast. - [Kimberley laughs]

You know they say in magic that a trick is only good

if there's some mystery to it, so...

Ooh, look at you. Dropping balls and wisdom. I like it.

[Chang] Okay, what I will say is, it was a lot of hard work.

You know. A lot of dedication.

But I told myself early on that I was gonna do it no matter what.

[Kimberley] Well, I think we see how far somebody can go

if they just put a little commitment into it.

- [Jay] Facts. - See?

- Mm-hmm. - But, Chang, before you get out of here,

we do have a surprise for you.

Downstairs, on the water of our South Street Seaport studio.

- You ready for this? Let's go do it. - Uh, yeah. Okay. Yeah.

[Kimberley] Yeah, just follow Jay.

- Come on. Let's go. - Okay. Bye, guys. Thank you.

-It's that time. -Nice to meet you.

[Chang] You too.

So the big moment is here.

We are finally ready for it. Chang, you ready?

- Uh, it's kinda windy out here. - It's not that windy. You got it.

Come on, Jay. Help the kid out.

- You want me to throw you an alley? - Uh, no, it's okay. I think I can do it.

- Take off your jacket. You got this. - Yeah. Okay.

[Deandre] Whoo! Destroy the ground.

-Reach for the sky. Easy work, Chang. - [Jay] You got it.

- [Kristy] Come on. - [Bo] Form of a kangaroo.

- [Kristy] You got this. Come on! - [panting, grunts]

- [Chang shouts, grunts] - [Deandre] Ooh!

- [Kendrick groans] - [Jay] You'll get it next time, Chang.

- Ooh, man. - [Kendrick] Kim,

I know that's not the basketball floating in the river.

Perk, that's the ball floating in the river.

Yeah, but it's okay. 'Cause guess what, Kim?

- What? - It's not the worst thing

- floating in that river. - [laughs] Okay.

That's a good point to end on.

'Cause we are out of time.

Up next is Pardon the Interruption.

[ship horn blowing]

Don't even trip, man. It was funny.

Yeah, dude, this is your second chance of becoming a meme in a week,

which, like, that's culturally significant.

Like, at this point, you might get your own Wikipedia page.

Okay, but it's gonna look like I can't dunk.

Yeah, but you can. You can.

[elevator bell dings]

Oh, yeah.

- [chuckling] Yo. - [laughing] Oh.

Let's go.

From here to here.

- [Bo laughs] - Yeah. Man of his word.

- [hostess] Hi. - Hi, it should be under Chang.

He's culturally significant.

[hostess laughs] Ah, here you are.

[Deandre] Cool.

Oh, wait. Uh, I'm sorry, but your friends are not on the list.

Oh, but they're with me.

Uh, yes. I have you as a guest of ESPN, but not your friends.

Hey. Don't worry about it, all right?

Why don't you go in, find Jay, let him know we're out here,

- and then we'll come and join you? - Exactly.

Yeah, okay. Um, are you guys cool with that?

- Yeah, man. - Yeah, man. Come on.

- Go get 'em. We'll be here waiting. - Go on.

- I'll be right back. - Go, go.

- Go. We'll wait here. - [Chang] All right. All right.

- [Deandre] Go, man. - [Bo] Go forth, young man.

- [Kristy] We'll be here. - [Deandre] We'll be here waiting.

["I Am the Best" playing]

[partygoers chattering]

- Hey, have you seen Jay Williams? - Mm-mmm.

Thank you.

- Have you seen Jay Williams? - No.

- [Andre] Hey, man. Watch it. - [Richard] Yo.

- Wait. [chuckles] - Wait, you're--

[both] That's the kid from the meme.

- Ooh, snap! What's up? - I can't believe it.

- What's going on? - I'm Chang.

Yo, man, I'm Rich. Yeah, nice to meet you.

- [Andre] Congratulations. Much respect. - This dude learned to dunk in ten weeks.

Wait, whoa, are you here by yourself?

- Oh, I actually-- - Yo, yo. Look who we found.

- The kid from the meme. - You gotta come with us.

Yo, come on, come on now. Come over here. Come on, man. Come on.

[partygoer 1] Is that the kid from the meme?

Like, where would Michael Jordan be without Phil Jackson?

- Know what I mean? - [Bo, Kristy laugh]

[Deandre] It's kinda like-- Which is-- So that's-- that's why I'm--

[Chang] Hey. Hey, nice to meet you.

- Are you good? - Yeah.

Pulling his car, jumping rope, grabbing rice.

[all] Ooh.

[cheering]

[yawns]

[all] Chang! Chang!

- [all cheer] - [Chang screams]

[screams]

[song ends]

[laughs] Yo, it was great meeting you guys.

Hey, I'll follow you, all right? Let's kick it.

- [partygoer 2] See you, man. - All right.

[partygoer 3] Can't believe we met a meme.

[partygoer 4] He was cool though, right?

[Chang] Yo, Dre!

You won't believe what happened, man.

It was so cool.

Yo, I got to meet some legendary players.

We talked sneakers, favorite foods.

And they hooked it up too. These are for you.

Oh. [scoffs] Thanks, man.

[grunts]

- These are cool. - [chuckles]

[Deandre sighs]

Uh-- Yo, where are Bo and Kristy?

Oh, we were waiting for a while, and they were getting tired,

- so I took 'em home. - [phone buzzes]

Oh, yeah. Uh, I tried to get you guys in, but I couldn't find Jay.

And by the time I did, you guys were already gone so...

Yeah. Look, man. I get it.

Did you have fun though?

- [phone buzzes] - Chang!

- Yeah? - Did you have fun?

[chuckles] Yeah, man.

I think tonight's the best night of my life.

- [chuckles] - Good.

["Yaode" playing]

- [phone buzzing] - [engine starts]

♪ This you know... ♪

♪ It's that love, love... ♪

[song continues]

♪ This you know... ♪

♪ It's that love, love... ♪

♪ I am the one with the plan I got the world in my hands ♪

♪ I got the power to be And do what I want ♪

♪ And I hope one day you understand ♪

[Todd laughs] Chang.

- You crazy, bro. - Man, how's it going?

Kristy!

President Chang.

- [song ends] - I've been looking everywhere for you.

It didn't seem that way last night.

What do you mean?

I got a pair of Air Jordans with your name on them.

[sighs] Right.

Okay. I'm sorry.

I tried to get you guys in, but I got distracted. All right?

All these sick celebs wanted to hang out with me.

I know.

And that is really cool, Chang, but you could have checked your phone.

Let us know what was going on.

You completely ditched us.

I-- Well--

All right. I'll see you later.

Oh, okay, Kristy. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Do you actually even like me?

What do you mean? Of course I do.

You have a really funny way of showing it.

It was Richard Jefferson!

And Andre Drummond! [chuckles]

Yeah, I know.

Okay, come on. Don't tell me you're mad at me too.

Dude, I tried to get you guys in.

It didn't really seem that way from your Instagram.

[scoffs] Okay, look, yesterday was supposed to be my night, all right?

You know what? Chang 2.0 sucks.

[scoffs]

But then I was like, "Yeah, I'd take the bet."

And they were like, "Ooh, who is this kid?"

And I was like, "Yo, I'm just Chang."

[Matt] Hey, Chang.

- [Owen] Yo, go off, Matt. - What?

I knew you couldn't dunk.

Is your memory really that short?

I literally threw it down in your face.

Mmm. Well, that's probably because you cheated.

[TikToker] This dunk video has been circulating online,

and I gotta admit, I was quite impressed, until I noticed something strange...

You're gonna come at my face 'cause some random dude on the Internet made a video?

What? Do you think the Earth is flat too?

- Hmm. You see that red mark? -...by the acceleration of gravity,

-we're left with 1.75 inches... - I caught you, Chang.

...we can divide that by .6 to get the actual height of the goal,

which is way below the regulation 10 feet.

So, in conclusion, it seems that no,

-Chang can't dunk. - Chang can't dunk.

- [laughs] - [Owen] No, he can't!

This explains why you were acting weird the next day and why I kept missing.

I'm never that off.

That proves nothing except that you're a sore loser.

Hmm, does it?

All right.

- Do it again then. - No.

- [students] Whoa. - I already did.

No, you didn't, you cheater.

Yo, what's your problem, Matt?

- Why can't you accept that I can dunk? - Because you can't.

- Why not? - Because you can't, dude.

- Like, what do you-- - Stop avoiding the question, Matt.

- Why don't you think I can dunk? - Because you can't.

But how can you be so sure?

What? 'Cause I'm not as tall as you? 'Cause I'm not as cool as you?

'Cause I'm Asian?

- [students gasp] - [Syd] Oh!

Dude, what are you even talking about?

Why can't you just let me win for once?

Because you're a cheater.

No.

It's because you hate that someone like me can actually be cooler than you.

You hate that I have more followers than you ever did.

You think you're all that? You're not even that good at basketball.

- You're barely ranked. - Whoa.

You think you're gonna play DI? That's a pipe dream, man.

Yo, the minute you graduate, it's over for you.

All right? You peaked. But me?

I'm moving on to bigger and better things.

And you still can't dunk.

[students] Ooh. [laughing]

I mean, you wanted everybody to like you so bad and in the end, what?

You just tricked 'em?

You wish you were me.

You're nothing more than a lying poser.

- [Chang screams] - [student] Whoa!

[students cheering, clamoring]

- [Mrs. O'Neil] ...ganged up on him... - [Mr. O'Neil] What kind of security system

- do you have that somebody can break in... - [Mrs. O'Neil] ...pummeled him with a razor.

[Mr. O'Neil] ...I think that we need to--

- [Chen] Hello. - Mrs. Chang, hi.

I'm so sorry I'm late.

[in Mandarin]

- [in English] What did I do? - [Principal Elliot] Okay.

So, your son got into a fight with Matt today.

Apparently, it was about the social media, which is unfortunately very common.

[Mrs. O'Neil] Common?

My son had his head shaved in front of the whole school.

And there's video.

It's all over the Internet. Millions of views. From every angle.

- I know you're upset, but-- - [Mrs. O'Neil] Upset?

Our family therapist said that he could have PTSD for the rest of his life.

- Mom, that's a bit-- - Just--

- Look at this. Look at this. - No one asked you.

[students chanting] Shave his head! Shave his head! Shave his head!

Shave his head! Shave his head!

-Shave his head! Shave his head! - [clippers buzzing]

[students cheering]

[shouts]

[in Mandarin]

Huh?

[in English] Please. I'm begging you. This is all my fault.

I didn't raise my son properly.

- Oh, my God. - We'll do whatever you want.

Mrs. Chang. Look.

We already discussed a solution, okay?

Matt and Chang are going to be suspended for a week each.

Chang has to return Matt's Kobe jersey.

- Can't believe you bet a family treasure. - [Mrs. O'Neil clears throat]

In addition, Matt has asked that Chang make an apology video on his vlog

admitting that he cheated.

Now, if all of that happens, we can end this right here, okay?

Cheating? Vlog?

Yes. About the dunking.

He broke into the school at night and adjusted one of the rims to do it.

Now, that is criminal trespass and vandalism,

but if we put this behind us,

I don't think we need to involve the police on this one.

What? Police?

[Chen speaking Mandarin]

[Chang speaking Mandarin]

[Chen speaking Mandarin]

[Chang in English] Why do you not care that he hit me? Huh? Why do you--

I thought Matt is your friend.

- Why you fight him? - We're not friends.

We haven't been friends since elementary school.

- [sighs] - Why?

What happened?

You wouldn't understand.

Why do you treat me like this?

You waste time with a stranger from YouTube.

You don't even want to talk to your own mother.

Is your mother so useless?

At least Deandre listens to me.

He doesn't put me down like you do.

He cares about me.

[laughs]

He cares about you?

He uses you.

Make you make a fool out of yourself.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Stop guilt-tripping me!

You're always upset about something.

I can't tell you anything,

'cause I don't know if you'll snap at me, or you'll tell me it's stupid.

I wanna tell you things! I wanna ask you stuff!

But I can't!

Why?

Because I'm scared of you.

[Chen] You're scared of me?

You're scared of me?

I work so hard to give you everything I can.

[Chen inhales sharply]

I spoil you.

You want another mother? You can't!

I am your mother.

I get it now.

I finally see it.

Why you can't support anything I do.

Why you're always putting me down.

It's because you're miserable.

You're so unhappy, you need everyone else to be unhappy too.

Well, I don't want to be like you!

I don't want to always be alone!

[breathing heavily, sniffles]

[whimpers]

[in Mandarin]

[Chang grunts]

[grunts]

[panting] Okay. Let's go.

Come on.

[screams]

[screams]

[screams]

[grunts]

[shouts]

[screams]

[grunts, panting]

Destroy the ground. Reach for the sky.

[screaming]

[groans]

Ming Ming!

- Ming Ming! - [Chang pants, groans]

[groans]

[Chen speaking Mandarin]

[in Mandarin]

[Chang crying]

[in English] I can't do it. I can't do it.

I'm not good enough.

[whispering] I'm not good enough.

[sighs]

This is gonna be my last vlog.

As a lot of you know, someone accused me of cheating on my dunk.

And I'm here to say that...

it's true.

I trained really, really hard.

I gave it my all, but I was still coming up short.

I should've just been proud of how far I've come

and tried to dunk it fair and square...

but I guess I was too afraid I was gonna fail.

I think maybe this whole time,

I didn't really care about whether or not I could dunk.

Maybe what I really wanted was just for other people to think that I could.

I'm sorry to Matt for cheating on the bet.

And I'm especially sorry to my coach, Deandre...

and my friends Bo and Kristy.

And to everyone that's been...

helping me along the way and that believed in me...

I'm sorry.

Chang out.

[people chattering]

I-I didn't know how you took it,

so I just brought a-- a whole plethora of options.

[groans]

Hot.

Hot. Very hot.

You're a basketball coach?

Yes.

Then why do you work in a Verizon store?

You know, your son had that same exact thought.

You're not really a coach.

But you tell my son you are, and you use him to do your YouTube.

Wait, that's not totally fair.

My son never caused trouble before. Then he meet you.

Now he's fighting at school. He don't even want to talk to me, and he--

Ma'am, I don't know why your son took to me either.

We really just talked about basketball. Really, just dunking.

Why dunking?

What can you do with this dunking thing?

I don't know. But that's what he wanted to do.

Chang really, really wanted to dunk.

We were waking up at 5:00 a.m.

[chuckles] Doing sprints. I mean, pushing my car five blocks.

You made my son push your car?

Yes. It's great for dunking.

[in Mandarin]

[in English] See? Well, okay.

What I'm trying to say is, when we got started,

I thought he'd quit after a week or two.

Maybe we'd get one or two videos, max.

But he didn't. He kept going.

I mean, he surprised the hell outta me.

Look. I'll show you.

Please. Just-- Just-- Just look.

[Deandre] Okay. You're okay. I got you spotted. I'm right here.

Come on, Chang. You're all right.

- [grunts] - [Deandre] You got one more in you?

You got one more in you?

I know Chang cheated.

And I-I know he got in trouble and all of that.

But if I'm being honest, I'm proud as hell of him.

[Deandre, on phone] Here we go.

And respectfully, ma'am, you should be too.

You raised a great young man.

He just lost his way a little bit.

You got it. You got it, Chang.

[Deandre cheers on phone]

You're bouncy! [laughs]

I haven't seen him like this... [sobs]

...in a long time.

I'm sorry.

[sniffles] Maybe this is my fault.

No. No. No, it's not your fault. This is nobody's fault.

I think he's just trying to grow up.

And that's not so easy sometimes.

See, he's little. That's baby meat. Baby!

-Oh! - [cheers]

[grunts]

Mom? What are you doing?

[Chen strains]

[grunts]

Mom.

[grunting]

[both grunting]

[both grunting]

[laughing]

[laughing]

[in Mandarin]

[in English] Mmm. [slurps] So good.

I love you.

I love you too.

[in Mandarin]

[grunts]

[announcer, in English on PA] And now, please welcome to the field

last year's regional champions, the Cresthill Marching Dragons.

I miss you, man.

[marching band playing "The Ecstasy of Gold"]

[Chang] Every obstacle is an opportunity.

Get your legs engaged.

You need that core, Chang. That's what I'm talking about. Good work.

Good. Two more.

Push me. You got it. Go.

Good work. Good. Push. Try.

[crowd cheering]

[Deandre] Find your rhythm. Where's your drum?

Find your rhythm. Where's your drum? Good.

- [Chang shouts on TV] - [Deandre] Ooh!

[Kendrick] I know that's not the basketball floating in the river.

[panting]

All right. Come on. On the line. Hurry up. On the line. Suicides.

[panting]

[crowd cheering, whistling]

- [student 1] Yeah! - [student 2] Whoo!

Whoo! [whistles]

[students chattering]

Hey.

Oh, no.

- It's Serious Chang, isn't it? - [laughs]

What did I do? What did I do?

Yo, you killed it today.

I think you single-handedly won that for us.

You guys win every year.

- We win. We win every year. - [laughs]

I'm really glad you moved here.

And I'm really sorry.

For what?

- For a lot. - [laughs]

So you thought you could just dunk, and I would go out with you?

Yes.

I'm not some prize you can just win, Chang.

I know.

What about us spending time together?

Getting to know each other better?

I guess I was afraid that that wasn't gonna be enough.

Well, you were wrong.

I know you don't have to, and I'm not expecting anything,

but I'd like to make it up to you...

as your friend.

I appreciate that.

I'll think about it.

Okay.

- [Kristy] Chang. - Yeah?

I thought about it.

[whistle blows]

[coach] Under control. Under control.

Let's group up! Let's go!

For some of you, this is your last chance to make the team.

Okay, shooting drills.

Two teams. I want you, you,

and let's round it out with Matt and, uh...

You.

Losing team does suicides. First group with me.

Second group with Heather. Let's go. Come on. Look alive.

Look alive, look alive. Let's make this team.

I bet you I can make more shots than you.

[sighs] Man, you don't give up, do you?

Nope. You wanna know why?

Why?

♪ 'Cause I wanna be the very best Like no one ever was ♪

♪ To catch them is my real test To train them is my cause ♪

Okay, yeah. I'll take that bet.

[whistle blows]

[coach] All right, let's get it done. Go!

[Chen humming]

[in Mandarin]

[Chang, in English] Can't hurt to be early, right?

- [crowd cheering] - [coach] Screen! Watch the screen!

Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!

Oh.

Let's go!

- [coach] Pressure, pressure! Go, go, go! - [buzzer sounds]

[whistle blows]

Put in Chang!

- Put in Chang! Put in Chang! - Yeah, yeah! Put in Chang!

[Kristy, Bo, Deandre] We want Chang!

[chanting] We want Chang! We want Chang! We want Chang! We want Chang!

[coach] Here we go. Huddle up.

- I want Jimmy and Steve. You're in. - [chanting continues]

And, uh, Bernard.

- Who? - [coach] All right. Let's bring it in.

- Bernard, you want to play or what? - Yeah.

All right, let's go. Dragons, on three. One, two, three!

- Dragons! - Break! Let's go. Yeah.

[crowd cheering, applauding]

- Let's go! Chang! Chang! - Yeah, he's going in!

Hey, five keeps it high when he goes left, bro.

That's cookies all day.

[chanting continues] Chang! Chang! Chang!

- Let's go! - Come on. Let's go! Yeah!

[crowd chanting] Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang!

["Top of the World" playing]

[crowd clamoring]

Chang.

♪ Feet on the dirt My head was hanging low ♪

Hey, you all right, Chang. Get your head in the game. Let's go!

Okay? Move your feet on defense. You're okay!

♪ Look at the sky That's where I wanna go ♪

♪ Mama said one day I'd learn to fly ♪

[Deandre] You're good! Lock up! Lock up!

- You got it, Chang! - Whoo! You can ball!

- [Kristy] You got it, Chang! - [Bo] Yeah!

[Deandre] Let's go, Chang.

Let's go. Go deep, boy! Go!

♪ No matter what I know I'll be fine ♪

♪ Mama said one day I'll learn to fly ♪

You see him.

We can see him. Let's go!

[crowd cheering]

Now! Go!

♪ Everything comes back around ♪

Ooh!

- Go, go! - Go, go, go!

♪ Now I'm here I feel good 'cause I'm ♪

[crowd cheering]

♪ I'm on top of the world right now ♪

♪ And the view is amazing So that's where I stay ♪

♪ Nothing can bring me down ♪

♪ If I'm falling behind I'll pick up the pace ♪

♪ If only days could feel this good ♪

♪ Always, always, always ♪

♪ I don't want to stop ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm On top of the world right now ♪

♪ Now ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ Am I enough? ♪

♪ I know I'm not perfect ♪

♪ Could I get love? ♪

♪ I think that I deserve it ♪

♪ Then I met you And I was tongue-tied ♪

♪ Fell up And fell right back into the sky ♪

♪ When there's no place on the ground ♪

♪ What you want is far away ♪

♪ Everything comes back around ♪

♪ Now I'm here I feel good 'cause I'm ♪

♪ I'm on top of the world right now ♪

♪ And the view is amazing So that's where I stay ♪

♪ Nothing can bring me down ♪

♪ If I'm falling behind I'll pick up the pace ♪

♪ If only days could feel this good ♪

♪ Always, always, always ♪

♪ I don't want to stop ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm On top of the world right now ♪

♪ Now ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ I'm on top of the world right now ♪

♪ Nothing can bring me down ♪

♪ When there's no place on the ground ♪

♪ What you want is far away ♪

♪ Everything comes back around ♪

♪ Now I'm here I feel good 'cause I'm ♪

♪ I'm on top of the world right now ♪

♪ And the view is amazing So that's where I stay ♪

♪ Nothing can bring me down ♪

♪ If I'm falling behind I'll pick up the pace ♪

♪ If only days could feel this good ♪

♪ Always, always, always ♪

♪ I don't want to stop ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm On top of the world right now ♪

♪ Now ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

[song ends]