New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin on Saturday defeated Golden State Warriors guard Juan Toscano-Anderson to take home the trophy in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend.
Toppin, competing for the second straight year, and Toscano-Anderson made it to the final round after out-dunking Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony and Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green. The event had some highlights but was mostly anticlimatic after numerous failed attempts.
Anthony got the action started by bringing out his father and former 11-year NBA veteran, Greg. Cole changed from his basketball shoes into a fresh pair of Timberlands and proceeded to dunk the ball from Greg. He was given a 40 by the panel of judges.
Obi Toppin went between-the-legs off the backboard to secure the win and become the #ATTSlamDunk Champion! 🏆#StateFarmSaturday #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/u3MFbt7Aqf
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
The turning point of the evening was when Green was on center stage.
He was assisted by rookie teammate Joshua Christopher. Unfortunately, the energy was sucked out of the building after Green needed several attempts to throw down his dunk. He eventually changed his dunk a bit and was finally able to get it down.
From there, the reaction from the announcers on TNT, which featured Reggie Miller, Kenny Smith and Dwyane Wade, was mixed. The crowd on hand in Cleveland, including those celebrities and former players, appeared to have given up on the competition.
The evening still produced several highlight-worthy jams that provided plenty of entertainment to continue All-Star Weekend. Here are all of the dunk attempts from the four contestants.