SBNation.com - NBA All-Star Saturday Night: Skills challenge, 3-pointers and dunks on displayhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2018-02-18T12:09:44-05:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/107512592018-02-18T12:09:44-05:002018-02-18T12:09:44-05:00Dennis Smith Jr’s reverse between-the-legs was the next evolution of the 360
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<p>He pushed this iconic dunk one step further. Here’s a history of our favorite genre of slams.</p> <p id="sLbMBC"><span>Dennis Smith Jr.</span>, <span>Victor Oladipo</span>, <span>Larry Nance Jr.</span> and <span>Donovan Mitchell</span> took the floor and competed in the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest for All-Star Saturday night, and two of the best dunks of the night were 360s. A dunk that has grown and evolved with the game of basketball continues to have its legacy carried through the years. </p>
<p id="mrUwsw">By now the 360 dunk has become a staple in playgrounds, rec centers, high school gyms, and college stadiums around the world, but it wasn’t always that way. Instead the torso-contorting slam was a phenomenon that caught fire in the mid-to-late 1970s before falling prey to human creativity.</p>
<h2 id="GGQKb1">The year is 1976</h2>
<p id="aG3tvE">It’s the very first ABA Slam Dunk Contest, and it’s being held during halftime of the 1976 ABA All-Star Game. The competition featured NBA legends: Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, and David Thompson.</p>
<p id="HxYBTv">Gervin’s full body mid-air rotation was the first the world had ever seen during a dunk contest. Unfortunately, he missed the finish:</p>
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<p id="38z7bg">Thompson succeeded where Gervin couldn’t. He took one dribble along baseline, vaulted into the air off two feet then twirled his body midair before finishing with two hands. The crowd went wild. The dunk contest announcer called it “a twist-around, patented slam dunk.”</p>
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<h3 id="KKpdDh">1984 NBA Slam Dunk Contest</h3>
<p id="47fX4P">From there, “twist-around” slam dunks took off, but with a new name: The 360. The Dunk Contest had been postponed from 1976 until 1984. When it returned, several of its contestants 360’d their way to high scores.</p>
<h5 id="JzMekB">Dominique Wilkins </h5>
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<h5 id="W08V5Y">Orlando Woolridge</h5>
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<h5 id="ptXDuc">Even big men, like Ralph Sampson</h5>
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<p id="0qKVdU">Terence Stansbury may have very well been the first player to pull off the 360 dunk off one foot in 1985, also known as The Statue of Liberty dunk.</p>
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<p id="3SQWBr">In 1986, ‘Nique brought the 360 back, but this time with just one hand while keeping the same brute force he threw his windmills down with. The result was a perfect 50.</p>
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<p id="o4PDzZ">So did Spud Webb, the 5’7” (on paper) ball player known most for his serious rise. No one his height should be able to do the things Webb did. He made everyone feel like they, too, could jump into the sky.</p>
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<h3 id="JNtJrp">Then came <span>Vince Carter</span>
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<p id="PbUNnK">They don’t call <span>Carter</span> Half Man, Half Amazing for no reason. There’s a list of explanations for the nickname, one being his absolutely sensational performance during the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.</p>
<p id="gRkHl4">Carter revitalized an All-Star event many felt was dying until he picked it back up, yelled “Clear!” and resuscitated it back to life. The dunk that put the world on notice was his very first of the night: a reverse 360 windmill.</p>
<div id="mF8LXi"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 75.0019%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VCEcmL5GaIU?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="eAgjU2">Carter spawned a new era of creativity. There was more than just a windmill, just a tomahawk, just a 360-degree twirl in midair. No, now you could combine two of those sequences midair to form never-before-seen dunks on the biggest regular season stage of the year.</p>
<h3 id="VYnvtP">
<span>Jason Richardson</span> took that creativity and supercharged it</h3>
<p id="bmGV8q">In 2002, rookie Jason Richardson went up against <span>Gerald Wallace</span>, <span>Steve Francis</span>, and then-reigning champion Desmond Mason. Richardson didn’t only win that dunk contest, but he repeated in 2003. He became known as the king of 360 dunks shortly after, becoming one of few players bold enough to pull off the twisting tomahawks mid-game.</p>
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<p id="D46wLz">If anything, Richardson may still be known for the two 360 dunks he didn’t get to fall: the 360 between the legs, and the 360 elbow dunk.</p>
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<p id="XGNZ1E">As a consolation dunk, he did this instead:</p>
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<p id="iFIVe6">Richardson was dethroned the following year by <span>Fred Jones</span>, whose lob-to-self 360 won him the title in 2004, but J-Rich’s mark had been made on dunk history. Carter and Richardson were the pioneers for the new era of basketball players who pull off 360 dunks in-game and in slam dunk contests.</p>
<p id="ePZgHE"><span>Paul George</span> may have never thought to do a reverse 360 between-the-legs dunk in 2014 had it not been for Richardson’s failed attempt or Carter’s reverse 360.</p>
<div id="A4frr4"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pvfzM486P3M?rel=0&amp;start=13" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="4mt2dC">Since Gervin and Thompson, and Carter and Richardson, NBA players have taken the torch originally lit by their predecessors and doused it in lighter fluid. With new technology has come new ingenuity. <span>Aaron Gordon</span> may have had the best 360 dunk ever after he had the <a href="https://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/">Orlando Magic</a> mascot hold a basketball elevated then rotate counterclockwise before timing the rotation, running to the mascot, palming the ball with one hand, then rotating his body 360 degrees before windmilling it.</p>
<p id="tACKm9">It was a shame he lost that slam dunk contest to <span>Zach LaVine</span>, but it made for the best one-on-one dunk showdown arguably in NBA history.</p>
<div id="Tm6Top"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.2493%;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sGMAHpwYLV4?rel=0&" style="border: 0; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no"></iframe></div></div>
<p id="V5BTkq">This year, Dennis Smith Jr. continued the tradition, pulling off a never-before-seen (at least not in the dunk contest) reverse 360 between-the-legs dunk. He, and the rest of the competition, went on to lose to Donovan Mitchell, who paid homage to Vince Carter with a reverse 360 windmill.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dennis Smith Jr. is on something DIFFERENT (via <a href="https://twitter.com/dallasmavs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dallasmavs</a>) <a href="https://t.co/0dHexUu0zb">pic.twitter.com/0dHexUu0zb</a></p>— SLAM Magazine (@SLAMonline) <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline/status/965060325660905472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2018</a>
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<p id="udda7N">The 360 will continue to live on, on the court and in dunk contests to come. From George Gervin, to David Thompson, Vince Carter, Jason Richardson and now the young guns Smith Jr. and Mitchell, the legacy rages on. And as long as there is a dunk contest to be had, the tradition will never die.</p>
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<h3 id="XjlhRn">The worst NBA Dunk Contest ever</h3>
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<p id="2kCTJg"></p>
https://www.sbnation.com/2018/2/17/17016928/nba-dunk-contest-360-history-george-gervin-dominique-wilkins-spud-webb-vince-carter-jason-richardsonKristian Winfield2017-02-18T20:19:26-05:002017-02-18T20:19:26-05:00Guy Fieri was lurking in the crowd at All-Star Saturday night
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<p>And having the time of his life.</p> <p id="xoNgYP">By now the festivities of All-Star Saturday night have begun. Prior to the skills challenge DNCE, Joe Jonas’ new band, played. It was a little bit lackluster on TV, but the crowd seemed to really enjoy it, particularly one special guest.</p>
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<p id="UTWhWe">Oh hell yeah, our man Guy Fieri loves DNCE and he is HERE for All Star Weekend. </p>
<p id="NDc4j2">More like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dunks amirite? (I can’t take credit for that, my co-worker Eric came up with it.)</p>
<p id="sH97Nf">This GIF is like your dad after 2 and a half beers at the local 4th of July amphitheater concert.</p>
<p id="jOeHsn">Rock on Guy. Enjoy your weekend.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2017/2/18/14660254/guy-fieri-was-lurking-in-the-crowd-at-all-star-saturday-night-flavortownMolly Podlesny2016-02-14T07:57:00-05:002016-02-14T07:57:00-05:00Gordon is the greatest dunk contest loser ever
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<figcaption>Elsa/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A tribute to the most amazing runner-up we ever could have imagined.</p> <p>Technically, Aaron Gordon lost the 2016 Slam Dunk contest. Apparently, they're not allowed to take a chainsaw, hack the trophy in half and say two people won the contest. So after Gordon and Zach LaVine threw down eight straight perfect dunks in the final round, earning four identical pairs of 50s, LaVine's incredible improvised fifth dunk beat Gordon's incredible improvised fifth dunk.</p>
<p>Technically Gordon lost, but he threw down some of the most unbelievable dunks the contest has ever seen.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-video">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Let's slow it down. <a href="https://t.co/4lZ6iFp1wC">pic.twitter.com/4lZ6iFp1wC</a></p>
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) <a href="https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/698714178077356034">February 14, 2016</a>
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So, let's ignore the unimportant thing -- that Gordon was taking the ball from a hideous green dragon mascot -- and remember the important thing. That hideous green dragon mascot was holding a ball about seven feet in the air, Gordon caught it, passed it UNDER his legs, and dunked it. He sat down in an imaginary chair eight feet in the air.</p>
<div class="read-more">
<b>More</b>: <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2016/2/13/10987756/nba-dunk-contest-2016-saved-zach-lavine-aaron-gordon" target="new">Never give up on the dunk contest</a> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2016/2/13/10987442/2016-nba-slam-dunk-contest-results-zach-lavine-video" target="new">LaVine edges Gordon</a> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/13/10987778/2016-nba-dunk-contest-reactions-zach-lavine-aaron-gordon" target="new">Video: reactions</a>
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<p>Gordon put his feet higher than I've ever seen an NBA player put his feet, and while doing that, he switched the ball between his hands, threw his body into an unnatural position and <i>still</i> had enough power to throw a dunk down with authority. The athleticism and coordination to pull this dunk off is off the charts. This dunk is on the short list of the greatest dunks in the contest's history.</p>
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<p>Again, let's ignore Stuff the Magic Dragon. (That's his real name.) Gordon took the ball from a spinning hand, did a 360, held the back of his head with one hand like Karl Malone, and jammed it. The timing to snag the ball from a moving target while doing a 360 of his own was ridiculous. We wouldn't have even noticed the hand on the back of the head if Gordon wasn't vehement about pointing it out.</p>
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<p>AGAIN, LET'S IGNORE STUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON ON A HOVERBOARD. Gordon cleared a 7-foot obstacle, put the ball through his legs, and dunked. This is a contest-winning dunk in a lot of years. It was his first dunk in a first round that will be widely forgotten.</p>
<p>Even the dunks that Gordon improvised -- amongst a cavalcade of consecutive 50-point forced extra dunks -- were incredible. This was the dunk Gordon *LOST* on. <iframe src="https://vine.co/v/inPIgjd7a33/embed/simple" frameborder="0" height="600" width="600"></iframe>
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<p>He started with a tomahawk, then brought the ball down to his legs and threw it down behind his head. He had time to do three violent motions with his arms while holding the ball. And dunked. He made this dunk up on the spot. And it didn't work.</p>
<p>Gordon's performance was the best by any dunk contest loser of all time. Many will point to the Dominique Wilkins/Michael Jordan contest from 1988 because both players were Hall of Famers and the things they were doing were completely unprecedented by the standards of the day. But if we're honest, the stuff Gordon did Saturday night would've won that contest (and almost any other in NBA history.)</p>
<p>He didn't win Saturday night's contest. Gordon won't get a trophy and he won't get the $105,000 prize that winners get. Some will say Gordon was robbed. Personally, I was more impressed by Gordon's final dunk than LaVine's last dunk, but I don't want to rain on LaVine's dunk parade. LaVine's showing was unreal as well.</p>
<p>Instead of griping, I'm just going to be happy that we saw two of the greatest dunk contest performances ever on the same damn night. All we can do is hope that Gordon and LaVine come back next year to go head-to-head with preposterous, beautiful dunks one more time.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/2016/2/13/10987772/aaron-gordon-highlights-nba-slam-dunk-contest-2016Rodger Sherman2016-02-14T07:16:00-05:002016-02-14T07:16:00-05:00Every dunk had an even better reaction
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<p>Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon combined to produce one of the best NBA Dunk Contests ever. The two went back-and-forth trading spectacular dunk for spectacular dunk. Some of the dunks were so good, they might be in the conversation of the best ever dunks in the Dunk Contest.</p>
<p>The dunks were so good, the collective reaction in the Air Canada Centre was just a complete meltdown. Little kids could not believe what they were seeing. NBA Hall of Famers were left with mouths wide open in disbelief. Current NBA stars? Well they turned into a massive collection of fans who just happened to be able to celebrate by running all over the court.</p>
<p>From Dikembe Mutombo trying to judge with his jaw almost on the floor to Stephen Curry literally throwing the ball off the court because he couldn't take anymore, the dunks Lavine and Gordon put on display were among the best ever. And watching everyone react to the absurdity was almost as entertaining.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/13/10987778/2016-nba-dunk-contest-reactions-zach-lavine-aaron-gordonMark Sandritter2016-02-14T01:18:13-05:002016-02-14T01:18:13-05:00The 2016 NBA Dunk Contest in 7 astonishing photos
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<figcaption>Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The 2016 NBA Dunk contest is in the books and thanks to Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon, the show was one of the best in recent memory.</p>
<p>The two posted perfect dunk after perfect dunk with LaVine ultimately prevailing in bonus dunks. While the videos of the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2016/2/13/10987442/2016-nba-slam-dunk-contest-results-zach-lavine-video/in/10751259" target="_blank">dunks are incredible</a> and the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/13/10987778/2016-nba-dunk-contest-reactions-zach-lavine-aaron-gordon" target="_blank">reactions are nearly as good</a>, the photos are a close third.</p>
<h5>1. This is an actual dunk that happened.</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Elsa/Getty Images</i></p>
<h5>2. Everyone was in awe. Seriously look at the faces of fellow NBA players.</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images</i></p>
<h5>3. This dunk is incredible and may not have been Top 5 for the night.</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images</i></p>
<h5>4. Zach LaVine is ridiculous.</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images</i></p>
<h5>5. HOW DID HE EVEN DUNK FROM THIS POSITION?!</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<h5>6. WHAT?!</h5>
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<h5>7. OKAY WE'LL ADMIT IT, WE'RE STILL NOT OVER THIS.</h5>
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<p><i>Photo credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports</i></p>
<p style="text-align: center; letter-spacing: 0.25em">* * *</p>
<p><b>Overseas Contest:</b> <i>You have to see this dunk failure to believe it</i></p>
<iframe src="https://www.sbnation.com/videos/iframe?id=66384" frameborder="0" seamless="true" marginwidth="0" mozallowfullscreen="true" webkitallowfullscreen="true" name="66384-chorus-video-iframe"></iframe>
<p><i>Be sure to <a href="http://goo.gl/Nbabae">subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel</a> for highlight videos, features, analysis and more</i></p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/14/10988422/2016-nba-dunk-contest-photos-video-zach-lavine-aaron-gordonMark Sandritter2016-02-14T00:55:50-05:002016-02-14T00:55:50-05:00LaVine dedicates dunk contest to Flip Saunders
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<p>Zach LaVine captured his second straight Dunk Contest title Saturday with a thrilling victory against Aaron Gordon. After winning, he shared a thoughtful post, dedicating the win to late Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders.</p>
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<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a target="_blank" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BBwUfBxkDOe/">A photo posted by Zach LaVine (@zachlavine8)</a> on <time datetime="2016-02-14T05:30:11+00:00" style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;">Feb 13, 2016 at 9:30pm PST</time></p>
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<p>I dedicate this dunk contest and the trophy to my late coach, Flip Saunders and the Saunders family. He's the one that always believed in me and drafted me! We all loved Flip and his memory will live on forever! #loveyacoach #2016dunkchamp</p>
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<p>Saunders passed away at 60 in October after a battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma. He was responsible for the decision to draft LaVine and coached him his rookie year. The talent on display during the dunk contest was phenomenal and LaVine ended it in the perfect way. Well done, all around.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/14/10988438/zach-lavine-flip-saunders-tribute-dunk-contestMark Sandritter2016-02-14T00:21:57-05:002016-02-14T00:21:57-05:00Aaron Gordon’s dunk is even better in a 360 view
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<p><iframe src="https://vine.co/v/inPtrJYlpOP/embed/simple" frameborder="0" height="600" width="600"></iframe>
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<p>It's almost near impossible to make Aaron Gordon's under-the-legs dunk over the Magic mascot even better. Luckily, we are graced with the power of technology to gawk at this dunk in a way we've never seen it before. The dunk starts in one angle and maneuvers to see every captured angle.</p>
<p>We've seen this before with plays and shot, but using this technology to watch this dunk is bliss.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/14/10988392/aaron-gordon-s-under-the-legs-dunk-is-even-better-in-360-replayHector Diaz2016-02-13T23:56:08-05:002016-02-13T23:56:08-05:00The dunk contest scoresheet is incredible
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<p>The 2016 NBA Dunk Contest was incredible. There were a handful of dunks that could have easily been the best dunk of the night, only to have an even better dunk get thrown down moments later.</p>
<p>To top it all off, Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon were throwing down so many perfect 50-point dunks that the contest had to go to a dunk off. That presented an interesting problem for the judges. They were running out of room to mark their scores!</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dunk Contest score sheet. They ran out of boxes. <a href="https://t.co/1an080DoVI">pic.twitter.com/1an080DoVI</a></p>
— Steve McPherson (@steventurous) <a href="https://twitter.com/steventurous/status/698718208946282496">February 14, 2016</a>
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<p>So. Many. 10s.</p>
<p>Let's do that again next year, NBA. This time with bigger scoresheets.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/2/13/10988342/2016-nba-dunk-contest-judging-scoresMark Sandritter