Obi Toppin earns slam dunk title

Obi Toppin was the top dunker Saturday at NBA All-Star Weekend. The New York Knicks forward went through the legs, tapped the ball off the backboard and finished with a one-handed slam to score a 47 on his final dunk and win the NBA slam dunk …

Obi Toppin was the top dunker Saturday at NBA All-Star Weekend. The New York Knicks forward went through the legs, tapped the ball off the backboard and finished with a one-handed slam to score a 47 on his final dunk and win the NBA slam dunk contest. “We were talking before the dunk contest and were, like, ‘We want to come out here and do things that people have never seen before,'” Toppin said of conversation with Chuck Millan of Team Flight Brothers, a dunk coach he worked with to prepare for the night. “So those dunks, never been done in a dunk contest. I felt good being out there.”
Source: Dave McMenamin @ ESPN

What’s the buzz on Twitter?

Emiliano Carchia @Sportando
NBA All-Star Saturday, Obi Toppin wins 2022 AT&T Slam Dunk sportando.basketball/en/nba-all-sta…3:13 AM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
NBA All-Star Saturday Night results, takeaways: Obi Toppin wins Dunk Contest; Towns take 3-point Contest crown
cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-a…12:01 AM
Ben Golliver @BenGolliver
Story: Knicks’ Obi Toppin got his redemption, but only after his three competitors self-destructed during a forgettable & gaffe-filled Slam Dunk Contest @PostSports https://t.co/U7MQaHThnV pic.twitter.com/yM3pqtjFQw12:00 AM

Fred Katz @FredKatz
Obi Toppin, dunk champion.
Story from @Joe Vardon in Cleveland: https://t.co/U05Y3k7yES pic.twitter.com/LUSj8cz6x511:57 PM

Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
In a Slam Dunk Contest that will be remembered more for the misses than the makes, Knicks high-flyer Obi Toppin cruises to an anticlimactic win
cleveland.com/cavs/2022/02/n…11:56 PM
Kurt Helin @basketballtalk
Knicks’ Obi Toppin wins Dunk Contest dragged down by misses nba.nbcsports.com/2022/02/19/kni…11:40 PM
Dan Favale @danfavale
have the knicks finished hanging the obi toppin dunk contest banner in the rafters yet orrrr – 11:10 PM
Sirius XM NBA @SiriusXMNBA
Obi Toppin FTW!
Obi wins the 2022 Dunk Contest!
🔊 https://t.co/AYipQpw9t4
pic.twitter.com/c2yaMKE4W011:03 PM

Steve Popper @StevePopper
A rough year, but Obi Toppin wins the Slam Dunk competition. – 10:58 PM
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
Obi Toppin is a worthy Slam Dunk champion, but JTA is surely frustrated. Rough to not be able to complete the final dunk. Still, he more than held his own in a competition a lot of people thought he had no chance in. – 10:58 PM
Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Slam dunk contest champion.
Obi Toppin. #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/dJzF2MirOI10:58 PM

Fred Katz @FredKatz
Obi Toppin win the dunk contest. – 10:57 PM
Marc Berman @NYPost_Berman
Obi Toppin easily wins Dunk contest in what was a weak field. – 10:56 PM
Mark Medina @MarkG_Medina
Obi Toppin’s last dunk wasn’t a dunk….. – 10:56 PM
Scott Agness @ScottAgness
Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton got dinner with Obi Toppin of the Knicks Thursday night in Cleveland. “He told me he’s got some tricks up his sleeve so I’m excited.” – 10:54 PM
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Jalen Green and Cole Anthony eliminated. Juan Toscano-Anderson and Obi Toppin advance. Too many misses on the first attempt. – 10:45 PM
Connor Letourneau @Con_Chron
It’s JTA vs. Obi Toppin in the final round. Very impressive showing so far from JTA, who was widely considered the biggest underdog coming into this. – 10:44 PM
Evan Dunlap @BQRMagic
Obi Toppin has had the most creative dunks of the night, but he’s not hammering them powerfully enough. – 10:44 PM
Fred Katz @FredKatz
Obi Toppin has a real chance to win this thing. – 10:43 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
Obi Toppin AGAIN.
Save some for the final round gotdam – 10:43 PM
Chris Fedor @ChrisFedor
Jalen Green, who took about 15 minutes to complete a dunk, got six points less than Obi Toppin? I’m confused. – 10:35 PM
The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
“WHOA!”
Obi Toppin, behind the back ‼️
pic.twitter.com/HMpid20lhn10:34 PM
CBS NBA @CBSSportsNBA
Giannis was very impressed by Obi Toppin.
DeMar DeRozan, not so much. pic.twitter.com/ZWkXvxDbAO10:28 PM

Duane Rankin @DuaneRankin
Between the legs has been done.
Jumping over people has been done.
Jumping over someone and between the legs?
Obi Toppin. #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/L8bjDBc9Ct10:26 PM

Khobi Price @khobi_price
That Obi Toppin dunk was tough – 10:25 PM
Jonathan Feigen @Jonathan_Feigen
Obi Toppin might have lost a couple points for being tall, making it look less impressive. Gets a 44. – 10:25 PM
Stefan Bondy @SBondyNYDN
Obi Toppin jumped over a standing human while going behind the back to finish a dunk. Nice. – 10:25 PM
Law Murray @LawMurrayTheNU
For those of you who want these guys to dunk like a new ride on Six Flags, that was a masterpiece from Obi Toppin. – 10:24 PM
Fred Katz @FredKatz
Obi Toppin is up… – 10:23 PM
The Vertical @YahooSportsNBA
💥 Obi Toppin
💥 Jalen Green
💥 Cole Anthony
💥 Juan Toscano-Anderson
Who’s taking the Dunk Contest tonight? ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/rCanosVMnH10:08 PM

Mark Haynes @markhaynesnba
How is Juan Toscano-Anderson going to do tonight against Jalen Green, Cole Anthony, and Obi Toppin?
#DunkContest #ALLSTARWEEKEND10:02 PM
Keith Smith @KeithSmithNBA
I might pick Obi Toppin to win the dunk contest, but his track record of playing time/reps suggests Tom Thibodeau will sub him out after his first dunk and we won’t see him again tonight. – 9:58 PM
Obi Toppin @obitoppin1
#StateFarmSaturday is here! Tune in now on TNT! #ad8:37 PM
Brady Hawk @BradyHawk305
My All Star Saturday picks for tonight:
Skills: the Rooks
3 point: Zach LaVine
Dunk: Obi Toppin – 7:44 PM
Steve Popper @StevePopper
Knicks’ Obi Toppin, waiting for chance to shine in season, ready to showcase his dunking skill at All-Star Weekend newsday.com/sports/basketb… via @Newsday7:42 PM

More on this storyline

 

Toppin became the third player in Knicks history to win the contest, following Nate Robinson (2006, ’09, ’10) and Kenny “Sky” Walker (1989). Toppin also won the competition in Cleveland 25 years after a rookie Kobe Bryant won the slam dunk contest in Cleveland, a fact that was not lost on him. “It feels amazing,” he said. “There have been a lot of legends that have won the dunk contest, and for my name to be a part of that is something special. I don’t take it for granted.” -via ESPN / February 20, 2022
Obi Toppin goes through the legs and taps the backboard with the ball to WIN #ATTSlamDunk! 🏆 #NBAAllStar #StateFarmSaturday -via Twitter / February 20, 2022
Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns demanded an answer as he bounded into the interview room following the 3-point contest at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on Saturday night. “Who bet against me?” Towns asked with an ear-to-ear grin. Whoever did, lost. Towns, thanks to a record-setting 29 points in the final round, emerged as the winner of the 2022 3-point contest, edging out Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and LA Clippers guard Luke Kennard, who each put up 26. Towns was 13-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, the longest odds in the field. Towns is the first big man to win the 3-point contest since Kevin Love in 2012. At 6-foot-11, he is the second-tallest winner of the contest; Dirk Nowitzki, who is 7-0, won it in 2006. -via ESPN / February 20, 2022