ORLANDO, Fla. — Cole Anthony hasn’t forgotten his first dunk.
He was in the seventh grade — either 12 or 13 years old — when he threw down a left-handed slam for his first dunk. From there, Anthony, who’s known to not lack confidence, proceeded to go for more challenging attempts.
“Immediately after that, I was trying to windmill,” he said. “From there, I was just trying to do more and more dunks.”
Anthony will have the opportunity to show off his dunking ambition and creativity in the NBA’s Dunk Contest on Feb. 19 in Cleveland as part of All-Star Weekend.
He described the opportunity as “a life-long dream of mine since before I could dunk.”
“His creativity, charisma, excitement, passion, joy and love for the game is going to be fantastic,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Cole does a wonderful job of being that energy-bringer in so many cases. That’s going to stand out.”
Anthony officially learned whom he will compete against — Houston Rockets rookie guard Jalen Green, Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson and New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin, last year’s runner-up — not too long before the Orlando Magic’s 113-95 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.
“I’m looking forward to competing against them,” Anthony said. “I’m never here to support the [opposition]. It doesn’t matter who my oppositions are, I’m here to get the dub.”
Anthony, who described himself as a finesse dunker, quipped that he felt he had a good chance of winning because Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine, a two-time Dunk Contest winner (2015, ‘16), and former Magic and current Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon, a two-time runner-up, aren’t competing this year.
Anthony, listed at 6-3, is the shortest competitor in this year’s Dunk Contest behind Green (6-4), Toscano-Anderson (6-6) and Toppin (6-9). He doesn’t see that as a disadvantage.
“It’s definitely an advantage because I have short arms,” he said, “so it’s more impressive when I can do a dunk than some of these 6-9, 6-10 dudes [are] doing.”
Anthony remained tight-lipped when asked if he’s already started to plan his dunks.
“I got a few tricks up my sleeve,” he said. “A few ideas here and there. I got some outside help coming in to help me. Stay tuned.”
But he’s already gotten suggestions from his teammates.
“He’s going to have to do something a lot of people aren’t thinking of,” big man Wendell Carter Jr. said. “That second or third dunk got to be something. He should jump over someone, between the legs, something like that.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com . Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price .
