The Zhejiang-Shenzhen playoff series concluded with the Shenzhen Leopards sweeping Zhejiang 2-0 to advance to the semifinals. However, Game 2 was marked by a controversial call that ignited debates among fans.
Shenzhen star He Xining, a key contributor in the series with a combined 55 points across both games (32 in Game 1, 23 in Game 2), was called for a traveling violation on a routine three-step layup. The whistle drew widespread ridicule, as many considered a simple layup travel to be unusual and even laughable.
But did He actually travel? Two referee experts weighed in and came to the same conclusion. Ding Jianing explained that He Xining took a long stride during his layup, but it was a legal move—not a travel. The official noted that if He had taken off with a single-foot jump, that would constitute a violation, but that wasn’t the case here. Instead, it was simply a wider-than-normal step that mimic a traveling motion.
Another expert, known as “Referee’s Shortcut,” supported this view. He described He Xining’s move as an “airborne scissor step”—a rare occurrence but not illegal, provided the step count does not exceed the limit. “The referee may have called it because it looked awkward or lacked experience with similar cases in his memory, but strictly by the rules, the number of steps wasn’t exceeded. It’s a legal play,” the expert stated.
Both experts agreed: He Xining did not travel. The call was a misinterpretation on the court.