It's ubiquitously known that the main attraction for NBA All-Star Weekend isn't just Sunday's game. It's to see who can jump out the gym to win the Saturday night Slam Dunk Competition. And we had great lineup this year in Detroit's Andre Drummond, Denver's Will Barton, Orlando's Aaron Gordon, and defending champ Zach LaVine. It turned out to be one of the best dunk contests ever.
In the first round, viewers and voters can usually tell who is going to make it to the final round with how creative their dunks are and how each player rises. For this year's contest, it was going to be Gordon and LaVine as the best in each round. So instead of explaining too much, I'll just show you the clips of the dunks during each round from these freaks of nature who basically jumped out of the Milky Way to out-dunk each other. So here we go.
First Round:
The Magic's Aaron Gordon came to show you a hero with this initial banger:
Then Zach LaVine did this behind his back to get more wow's from the crowd, scoring a perfect 50 points:
Second Round:
Aaron Gordon did this...
Absolutely STUPID! So Zach Lavine did this for his comeback...
Wait, did he just mimmick MJ's winning dunk in the '88 Slam Dunk Contest?? Leaping from the foul line with the audacity to cock the ball back like Shawn "Reign Man" Kemp used to do, after catching it in mid-air? Here it is in slo-mo...
It's like we're asking ourselves, "Will Zach LaVine ever come down??" Noooo....
Third Round:
"Air Gordon" took the ball, did a 360 with the old-school "Karl Malone/one-hand-on-the-head" impression, and windmill after he caught it off the Magic's mascot as it was spinning in circles on a hoverboard. Yeah, all that combined.
And to make your jaw drop further, here is the instant replay in slow motion for you for another dunk he pulled off...
He caught it under his legs with time to catch the ball, switched hands, then completed the dunk! So Zach LaVine did this as his rebuttal: A windmill from the free-throw line. Yes. That!
Then in the final round, Zach pulled this off to get a perfect 50-point score.
So Aaron Gordon pulled off this dunk, but got a 47. That basically sealed the win for LaVine.
Was AG robbed? Maybe. But LaVine stopped the presses once and for all with this dunk.
Need I say more? Congrats to Zach LaVine for winning his second consecutive NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
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