By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After bringing the Dunk Contest back to prominence one year ago with a series of electrifying dunks, Minnesota’s Zach LaVine picked up where he left off, with help from Orlando’s Aaron Gordon.
With a through-the-legs dunk from just inside the charity stripes, Zach LaVine earned his fifth score of 50 on the night, making him the 2016 NBA dunk champ. The 20-year-old LaVine became the first back-to-back winner since Nate Robinson in 2009 and 2010.
However, after the contest, LaVine said, “We should share the trophy, because [Gordon] did some stuff I’ve never seen before”. He was right. To begin the final round, Gordon completed a dunk with an unbelievable degree of difficulty, snatching the ball from Orlando Magic mascot Stuff — who was spinning on a hoverboard — and throwing down a twisting dunk. It was a contest to remember and many whould argue that it was a tie, at least.
For the second straight year one of the Golden State Warriors‘ Splash Brothers walked off the All-Star Saturday night stage as the champion of the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest.
But it wasn’t defending champion and NBA three-point king Stephen Curry. This time it was teammate Klay Thompson taking home top honors in a competition that, by the final round, looked like something the Warriors might do at the end of every practice.
Also Karl-Anthony Towns winning the 2016 Taco Bell Skills Challenge was a clear underdog story. The Rookie of the Year favorite from the Minnesota Timberwolves represented for the big men, edging out Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas by knocking down his third 3-point attempt in what was a tightly contested final round.
Here you can enjoy the Top10 of the night!