In O.J. Mayo's calculations, Snoopy wasn't as fast as he was. So he specifically called Robin Lopez up to set a high screen, hoping to trade space for an open lane to dunk.
However, Snoopy didn't follow Lopez up top. He stayed a step inside the free-throw line. With Snoopy's current movement speed, even if Lopez caught the ball, he wouldn't have time to get a shot off—his release was slower than his brother's.
When O.J. Mayo saw Snoopy refusing to step up, he was a little surprised.
But the screen was already set, so he accelerated sharply, using Lopez's body to shake off Westbrook.
Then he sprinted forward like lightning.
Just inside the free-throw line, Snoopy cut him off.
Mayo immediately spun off him. Much easier and cleaner than he expected.
Seeing nothing but open floor ahead, his mood soared. He thought: Snoopy is nothing special after all. The Orange County Chronicle hypes up his shot-blocking instincts every day, but I just dusted him in one step. How good can he really be?
Completely pleased with himself, he didn't relax his movements. He gathered the ball, took two long steps into the paint, exploded upward, and cocked the ball back with one hand for a hammer dunk.
He was already imagining tomorrow's headline:
"Top Pick Favorite O.J. Mayo Posterizes Three Straight: Westbrook, Derrick Rose, and Snoopy Can Only Look Up."
But what he didn't know was that several GMs on the sidelines had already covered their eyes.
Dwyane Wade even turned around and refused to look. He could already imagine how ugly the next moment would be.
PAK!
A deafening sound blasted above Mayo's head, almost piercing his eardrum.
A massive shadow swallowed him whole.
The ball was smashed violently against the backboard by a giant hand.
WHAM!
Mayo felt an enormous collision in his back, like a tank rear-ending a sedan. He stumbled forward two steps and had to grab the stanchion to stay upright.
When he turned around, Snoopy had already grabbed the ball and fired a long outlet pass. Westbrook caught it in stride and unleashed a vicious windmill dunk.
38–38. Tie game.
The crowd erupted.
Several GM-turned-players even jumped from their seats and screamed.
A chasedown block!
A full-on chasedown block!!
Under the chorus of shock, O.J. Mayo's face looked like he'd been slapped twenty times.
Derrick Rose watched him expressionlessly. He was all too familiar with this scene. The moment Mayo called Lopez up for the high pick, he already knew how it would end.
Just twenty days ago, the exact same thing had crushed his championship dreams.
He had also used a screen to attack the paint, thinking he had the play won and going up for a dunk, only for Snoopy to appear behind him and block him out of the NCAA tournament.
Afterward, Rose studied tape and discovered that Snoopy's three-step defensive burst was unbelievably quick.
And just now, Snoopy's spin recovery was even faster than Mayo's dribble attack.
It shocked him, and reminded him: Never try to beat Snoopy with spin moves.
Snoopy turned to Mayo and said sincerely, "Honestly, thank you. I've got a bit of OCD. People always talk about the 'big three' top-pick favorites, but I'd only blocked Michael Beasley and Derrick Rose. Today, I finally completed the collection. Even though… you're not really considered a top pick favorite anymore."
As he spoke, Snoopy even looked a little apologetic, like it was his fault Mayo had fallen out of the No. 1 pick race because he hadn't blocked him earlier.
That apology made Mayo's blood boil.
Is he humiliating me on purpose!?
He glared at Snoopy.
"Just wait. We're only getting started."
Snoopy smiled and pointed at the scoreboard clock.
"There's only 2:45 left."
Mayo stormed off, desperate to save face. He attacked again, using another screen to hop into the paint but immediately found himself trapped between Ibaka and Snoopy. Before he even understood what was happening…
PAK!
The ball was stripped.
Rose secured it and slowed the pace.
Crossing half court, Ibaka came up to screen. Rose used the opening to draw the defense and kicked to Snoopy at the free-throw line.
Wide open.
Snoopy rose, shot,
Swish!
40–38.
Then Mayo forced a contested three and a miss.
After the switch of possession, Snoopy facilitated from the high post and assisted Ibaka on a dunk.
Mayo forced another drive, miss.
Snoopy screened for Westbrook, who unleashed a one-handed dunk.
…
Ever since the block, Mayo looked like a different person, constantly forcing isolations, taking atrocious shots, like a fly repeatedly crashing into a window.
And Snoopy was that window, shutting down every lane Mayo tried to attack, forcing him into hopeless jumpers, breaking his rhythm, and isolating him from his teammates.
BEEP!
Thankfully the game ended, or the white team would've fought each other.
48–40.
Red Team wins.
Mayo walked off with an ugly expression. He had hoped to step on Snoopy to rise up the draft board, instead, the result clearly showed he had become Snoopy's stepping stone.
The group of players who supported Mayo, "the Avengers", also looked sour. They all believed Mayo's stubborn one-on-one obsession had ruined the game. If he hadn't insisted on challenging Snoopy, who knows how it might've ended?
But asking "what if" is pointless.
What mattered was that every GM was disappointed with Mayo's final stretch. They felt he shouldn't have been so fixated on iso plays and that many of his decisions were downright brainless.
Meanwhile, Mark Cuban finally nodded to Donnie Nelson:
"On draft night, I'll give you full authority to make trades. Snoopy is a real asset. He can defend, he can facilitate from the high post, and his rim protection is better than expected. I'm okay bringing him to Dallas. He'll make our rotation tougher defensively. We can even build a fast lineup around him."
Cuban couldn't help glancing at the Warriors' GM. Last year's playoff humiliation came from not having a lineup fast enough to match the Warriors. Dampier was too slow, and Golden State's run-and-gun unit overwhelmed them. If they'd had someone like Snoopy as a defensive anchor, would Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson have attacked the paint so fearlessly?
At the same time, Warriors GM Chris Mullin had made up his mind too. He originally wanted to take Anthony Randolph at No. 14. Even after Snoopy blocked Randolph earlier, Randolph was still his first choice.
But after seeing Snoopy block Mayo and then make multiple plays as a high-post facilitator, he understood: Snoopy was actually the better fit for Golden State.
The Warriors needed a high-post passing big—why they'd brought in the overweight Chris Webber earlier. And they needed a defensive anchor inside. Last summer, they had nearly landed Kevin Garnett through a three-team trade until owner Chris Cohan vetoed it.
Mullin still didn't know what the owner was thinking. All he knew was last year's Cinderella Warriors had missed the playoffs this year, while Garnett's Celtics were on their way to the Finals.
Snoopy quickly became one of the most discussed prospects in the gym. His performance erased lingering doubts and shot his draft stock upward.
Meanwhile on the bench, Snoopy told Rose and Westbrook firmly:
"You two have to choose. A team can't have two alpha point guards. Michael Beasley's camp is stronger than O.J. Mayo's. If you two keep playing separately, we have zero chance of winning."
Rose and Westbrook exchanged a look. Neither wanted to be the one to compromise.