Some of the most memorable moments of NBA All-Star Weekend have come in the famous Slam Dunk Contest. In recent years, fans have been treated to some great battles with the likes of Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr. battling it out with showstopper slam dunks. This year saw another four players fight to be crowned champion - but it didn’t live up to expectations.
Orlando Magic’s Cole Anthony, Golden State Warriors’ Juan Toscano-Anderson, New York Knicks’ Obi Toppin and Houston Rockets’ Jalen Green completed the line-up that attempted to wow the crowd and the judges with their different dunks.
The judging panel, who would ultimately decide the winner, was comprised of five NBA legends and their job was to score each dunk out of 10 giving each player a total score out of 50.
The scores after the first round saw two players instantly become frontrunners. Toppin and Toscano-Anderson both finished with 44 points after impressing the judges with their respective dunks.
Cole Anthony and Jalen Green struggled to find any sort of rhythm and as a result the crowd started to get on their backs. Both players took a long time to perform their dunks and, despite wearing Timberlands and roping his dad into joining him, Anthony only managed 40 first round points. Rookie Green’s dunk was only good enough for 38 points which meant both players had an impossible task to get into the final.
The second round saw more of the same. Toscano-Anderson scored 43 points and Toppin managed to gain 46 points which meant both players had done enough to make it into the last round.
It had been an extremely underwhelming contest to this point, and it didn’t get much better.
The Warriors man went up first hoping to put the pressure on Toppin. Unfortunately, his dunk wasn’t up to scratch, and he could only manage a score of 39. Toppin followed and scored 46, firmly putting him in control of the final.
It should have set up a grandstand finish, but the conclusion fell flat. Toscano-Anderson ended up getting the lowest score of the night with a lacklustre dunk, meaning all Toppin had to do was walk up and dunk.
The 23-year-old tried to redeem the contest with the final dunk of the event, and in doing so he did end up getting the best score of the night with 47.
As Toppin went up to collect his trophy, it was awkwardly silent and the crowd couldn’t even muster a sympathy round of applause. Let’s hope for a better show next year.
