SBNation.com - Blake Griffin Wins 2011 Slam Dunk Contest After Dunking Over A KIAhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png2011-02-20T12:01:33-05:00http://www.sbnation.com/rss/stream/17668782011-02-20T12:01:33-05:002011-02-20T12:01:33-05:00VIDEOS: A Breakdown Of Every Dunk In The 2011 Slam Dunk Contest, From DeMar DeRozan's Showstopper To Blake Griffin's Car Dunk
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<p>Last night's Slam Dunk Contest may not have been the best in Slam Dunk Contest history — after Blake Griffin brought out the KIA <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003509/blake-griffin-car-dunk-2011-slam-dunk-contest">everyone knew he was going to jump over</a>, the reception went from "Wow!" to "Meh" in record time — but for density of awesomeness, it's going to be hard to beat. And it's worth the dunk-by-dunk breakdown, no?</p>
<h2>First Round</h2>
<p><b>DeMar DeRozan's East Bay Funk Remix:</b> DeRozan, coached by dunking legend Darryl Dawkins, got to put a little spin on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEhVqvi7V2w">Isaiah Rider's between-the-legs East Bay Funk Dunk from the baseline</a> with the East Bay Funk Remix.</p>
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<p>DeRozan's version included a pass off the arm of the backboard from a Raptors teammate, took him several attempts to do, and earned him a <b>44</b> from the judges. It was underrated.</p>
<p><b>Serge Ibaka's free throw line dunk:</b> Give Ibaka credit for stagecraft: between the NBA Africa backing for this dunk and the shenanigans that preceded his second slam, the Thunder big man was clearly trying to make viewers laugh. But this dunk deserved more than the <b>45</b> it got.</p>
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<p>I believe Ibaka did this dunk in two attempts. He also jumps from <i>behind</i> the free throw line, which is more than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD54eF2XKJA">some guy named Michael Jordan could say</a>.</p>
<p><b>JaVale McGee dunks on two hoops:</b> For sheer insanity, the Wizards' JaValevator won the night.</p>
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<p>Yeah, dunking two balls on two separate hoops is ridiculous, maybe unfathomable, but it's even better than it looks at first glance. As ESPN's John Hollinger <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/johnhollinger/status/39164419841720320">pointed out</a>, McGee had to dunk the ball on the left hoop with his left hand while falling away — and without looking at the hoop. A well-deserved <b>50</b> gave McGee an early lead.</p>
<p><b>Blake Griffin's 360 cockback:</b> It's not quite a tomahawk, and not nearly as tremendous as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2U46GmQd98">the 360 windmill he tried to do at first</a>, but Blake Griffin's huge 360 slam deserved the <b>49</b> it got. (This is, however, where DeRozan and Ibaka may have realized they were being robbed.</p>
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<p><b>DeMar DeRozan's "Showstopper":</b> DeRozan's absurd up-and-under half-windmill, half-rock-the-cradle is one of the eight or nine most impressive gimmick-free dunks I have seen in my life. It earned a <b>50</b> and there's a reason most SB Nation readers <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/20/2003799/demar-derozan-showstopper-dunk-contest">think it was the best dunk of the entire Dunk Contest.</a></p>
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<p>First, DeRozan has to gather the ball in the air off the huge bounce, then he has to get it over the rim — and himself under it — with one hand. And he did it all in one try! There wasn't a finer dunk last night, and at this moment, it seemed like this could be the best Dunk Contest ever. And yet DeRozan didn't make the finals, and the momentum evaporated. Such is life.</p>
<p><b>Serge Ibaka's teddy bear retrieval dunk:</b> It's kind of inaccurate to call the toy Ibaka grabs with his teeth a teddy bear; it's actually a plush version of the Thunder's mascot. But if Ibaka had pulled this off on the first try — he sort of biffed the finish, despite pulling down the toy with his teeth — it might have earned better than the <b>45</b> it got.</p>
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<p>My favorite part of the production? Cheryl Miller saying "Security, get him out of here!" after the kid got his toy back, and the security people <i>picking up</i> the kid to maintain the illusion of him interloping. Uh, sure.</p>
<p><b>Blake Griffin's two-handed alley-oop windmill:</b> It got a <b>46</b>, may have deserved less, and still got Griffin into the finals.</p>
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<p>I blame Baron Davis, whose poor passing helped torpedo many of Griffin's first six attempts.</p>
<p><b>JaVale McGee dunks three balls:</b> Not satisfied with a two-ball dunk, McGee enlisted the help of his mother — <a href="http://twitpic.com/41pe74">who gave Dr. J, one of the judges, a little sugar</a> — to get a third, and put them all in one hoop.</p>
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<p>He got a <b>49</b> for it, and led all competitors in the first round. But he also proved that two hoops and two balls is empirically better than three balls and one hoop.</p>
<h2>Finals</h2>
<p><b>Blake Griffin does the Vince Carter elbow dunk:</b> What Vinsanity once did as a guard, Blake Griffin can do as a power forward.</p>
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<p>As good as <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqfMmP9NPvg">Vince's dunk?</a> You be the judge.</p>
<p><b>JaVale McGee soars for the up-and-under reverse windmill:</b> This dunk is superb, and not just because McGee has to duck under the backboard to prevent a concussion.</p>
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<p>Need more proof of how impressive that up and under one-handed reverse windmill was? Check out <a href="http://gotemcoach.com/post/3396374975" target="new">this image of it</a>, in which it barely looks possible.</p>
<p><b>Blake Griffin jumps over a KIA:</b> <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003735/blake-griffin-car-dunk-kia-video">What more can be said, really?</a></p>
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<p><b>JaVale McGee ... just sort of gives up?</b> This dunk, a catch-and-throwdown off the glass, has great amplitude and requires McGee to really get up, but is this any way to make a crowd forget the other guy just dunked over a car?</p>
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<p>Griffin won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest with 68% of the vote, and deserved it based on his slightly better final round. But Griffin shouldn't even have been in the final round, I would have loved to see DeRozan's final round ideas, and I think McGee squandered a chance at an enormous upset by burning his best dunk first.</p>
<p>Want to see every dunk from the Dunk Contest in one slick three-minute package set to Common's "A Dream"? YouTube user <a target="new" href="http://www.youtube.com/user/jumperlltonez">jumperlltonez</a> has you covered:</p>
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https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/20/2004144/2011-slam-dunk-contest-videos-youtube-blake-griffin-demar-derozan-javale-mcgeeAndy Hutchins2011-02-19T23:31:07-05:002011-02-19T23:31:07-05:00Blake Griffin Wins 2011 Slam Dunk Contest After Dunking Over A KIA
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Blake Griffin</a> won the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Saturday after <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003735/blake-griffin-car-dunk-kia-video">dunking over the hood of a KIA Optima SX</a> in the final round. Fans gave Griffin a 68-32 margin over <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Washington Wizards</a> center <span>JaVale McGee</span> in the final round; Griffin's other finals dunk involved going off the backboard and hanging from the rim at the elbow. McGee pulled off two soaring but less spectacularly set-up dunks, a baseline 360-degree dunk and a head-at-rim off-the-glass jam.</p>
<p>Griffin's KIA dunk involved a choir singing at midcourt while <span>Baron Davis</span> sat in the driver's seat of the car. Griffin leaped over the hood of the car as Davis lobbed the ball through the KIA's sunroof. The dunk was nothing spectacular, but Griffin finished it with rare power.</p>
<p>McGee had the highest score after a magical first round. McGee's first dunk involved a second rim placed adjacent to the stationary stanchion. McGee proceeded to dunk a ball through each hoop on one leap, going off the glass on one of the balls. It was a spectacular show of creativity and skill, and earned the night's only perfect 50 from judges. McGee's second dunk involved dunking three balls on one rim, one of which was lobbed by teammate <span>John Wall</span>.</p>
<p><span>DeMar DeRozan</span> was arguably more impressive than Griffin in the first round. He had an absurdly difficult Isaiah Rider off the stanchion from a pass from teammate <span>Amir Johnson</span> that earned just 44 points from a stingy panel of judges. (Other than McGee's two first-round dunks, that DeRozan effort might have been the most physically difficult dunk of the night.) Griffin dunked off the side of the backboard, but without coming from behind the stanchion along the baseline and without going through the legs. Griffin earned a 46 on his version to thrust him past DeRozan and into the finals.</p>
<p><span>Serge Ibaka</span> was also magnificent in the first round, jamming a legit free-throw line dunk. His toe touched the line, but it was as impressive as any free throw line dunk in NBA Dunk Contest history; an instant comparison with Julius Erving's famous effort showed Ibaka to be further from the rim on take-off. (Erving, a judge on Saturday, dinged Ibaka points for who knows what reason.) On his second dunk, Ibaka engaged in a bit of performance theater by bringing out a child and attaching a small toy to the rim. Ibaka dunked the ball while removing the plushie with his teeth.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003733/blake-griffin-slam-dunk-contest-kiaTom Ziller2011-02-19T23:17:40-05:002011-02-19T23:17:40-05:00VIDEO: Blake Griffin Dunks Over A KIA
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<p>Remember when we were talking about <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003509/blake-griffin-car-dunk-2011-slam-dunk-contest">Blake Griffin dunking over a car in the Slam Dunk Contest tonight</a>? Well, Blake Griffin dunked over a car in the Slam Dunk Contest tonight, and it was as insane as you might have assumed.</p>
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<p>Griffin's dunk itself isn't quite legendary, but dunking after leaping over the hood of a car while grabbing an alley-oop pass from Baron Davis <i>through the car's sunroof</i> <i>while a gospel choir sang "I Believe I Can Fly" behind him</i> is a moment that will go down as one of the best in Slam Dunk Contest history.</p>
<p>The car Griffin skied over to throw down what will be known forever as "The Blake Griffin Car Dunk" and "The Time The Internet Ran Out Of Exclamation Points" and "The Best Video Game Dunk Ever" is a KIA Optima. (KIA is the title sponsor of Sunday's NBA All-Star Game.)</p>
<p>Blake Griffin will be in that, too. It's hard to imagine that he'll jump over a car in an All-Star Game, but, hey, I'm not prepared to rule out anything humanity hasn't done as a future Griffin exploit.</p>
<p>(Video via <a href="http://twitter.com/blazersedge/statuses/39175596516974592">@blazersedge</a>.)</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003735/blake-griffin-car-dunk-kia-videoAndy Hutchins2011-02-19T23:11:51-05:002011-02-19T23:11:51-05:00Blake Griffin Dunks Over A KIA Optima SX In 2011 Slam Dunk Contest
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<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Blake Griffin</a> dunked over the hood of a KIA Optima SX off of a pass from <span>Baron Davis</span> through the moon roof with a choir singing R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" in the final round of the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest. The build-up was incredible, even if the dunk itself was rather mundane. Griffin's coach Kenny Smith said after the dunk that the pass from Davis wasn't where it was supposed to be; it's unclear if Davis was supposed to go off the backboard or whether Griffin needed the ball higher.</p>
<p>Rumors swirled about an over-a-car dunk from Griffin all day, but the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a>' rookie saved the dunk for the final round. KIA is the title sponsor of the NBA's All-Star Game; Griffin was voted onto the West All-Star by coaches. Griffin was facing <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> center <span>JaVale McGee</span> in the final round. <span>Serge Ibaka</span> and <span>DeMar DeRozan</span> helped the finalists put on a show in the first round.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003718/blake-griffin-dunk-kia-optima-sx-contestTom Ziller2011-02-19T23:02:25-05:002011-02-19T23:02:25-05:00Slam Dunk Contest 2011: Blake Griffin, JaVale McGee Advance To Finals
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<p>Hometown favorite <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Blake Griffin</a> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Wizards</a> center <span>JaVale McGee</span> advanced to the final round of the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest during NBA All-Star Saturday night. McGee dunked a total of five times in his two-dunk first round. His first dunk involved dunking two balls on two separate, adjacent 10-foot rims.</p>
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<p>That creative dunk earned a perfect 50 from the judges. McGee's second dunk involved dunking three balls at once, two held in his hands and one passed by teammate <span>John Wall</span>.</p>
<p>Griffin's first dunk, a 49, was a twisting 360-degree hammer that led the Staples Center crowd to explode. Griffin's second dunk took a number of attempts as <span>Baron Davis</span> attempted to pass the ball to a soaring Blake off of the side of the stanchion. But the judges gave the rookie a 46, which tilted him past excellent efforts from <span>DeMar DeRozan</span> and <span>Serge Ibaka</span>.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003708/slam-dunk-contest-2011-blake-griffin-javale-mcgeeTom Ziller2011-02-19T22:42:30-05:002011-02-19T22:42:30-05:002011 Slam Dunk Contest: JaVale McGee Earns A Perfect Score By Dunking Two Balls At Once
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<p><span>JaVale McGee</span> earned a perfect 50 with his first effort in the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest during the NBA's All-Star Saturday festivities. It was actually <i>dunks</i>, as the Wizard center had a second 10-foot rim rolled out adjacent to the contest rim. After a few missed attempts, McGee managed to dunk two balls on the two rims, with one of them being passed off the backboard. It was both unique and impossible.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Blake Griffin</a> trailed McGee by one point after the first set of dunks. Griffin hit a twisting, wrong-way 360-degree two-hand tomahawk to earn a 49. Julius Erving docked Griffin a point for some reason.</p>
<p><span>Serge Ibaka</span> had a legit free throw line dunk, but earned just a 45 from the stingy judge's panel. <span>DeMar DeRozan</span> had an incredible Isiah Rider off of a stanchion pass by <span>Amir Johnson</span>, but earned just a 44 because it took a few attempts.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003688/2011-slam-dunk-contest-javale-mcgee-two-ballsTom Ziller2011-02-19T22:04:28-05:002011-02-19T22:04:28-05:00James Jones Beats Two Celtics To Win 2011 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest
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<p><span>James Jones</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.hothothoops.com/">Miami Heat</a> scored one for South Beach by knocking off two members of the rival <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.celticsblog.com/">Boston Celtics</a> in the final round to take home the 2011 Foot Locker Three-Point Contest title. Jones' 20 point in the final round surpassed Paul Pierce's 18 and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Ray Allen</a>'s 15 to settle the game.</p>
<p>Pierce survived the first round by hitting his final shot, a moneyball that sent him to the finals over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a>' <span>Dorell Wright</span>, who had 11 points. The make sent a courtside Kevin Garnett into wild celebration, marking the most intense moment in All-Star Saturday history.</p>
<p>Allen was the final shooter of the contest, needing 21 to win. He was eliminated midway through the fourth rack, and finished that spot with 13. Commentator Reggie Miller declared that Allen needed to hit all of his shots in the final rack to stay alive, even though 13 + 6 does not equal 20.</p>
<p>Daniel "Boobie" Gibson of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.fearthesword.com/">Cleveland Cavaliers</a> scored a ridiculously low seven in the first round. But reigning NBA scoring champ Kevin Durant one-upped him with a six.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003635/james-jones-celtics-2011-three-pointTom Ziller2011-02-19T21:28:00-05:002011-02-19T21:28:00-05:00Stephen Curry Wins 2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge Over Russell Westbrook
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<p><span>Stephen Curry</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Golden State Warriors</a> won the 2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a>'s Russell Westbook on Saturday night, executing a near-perfect run in the final round. Westbrook, who finished last in the 2010 competition, had the best run of the first round. But his final round run was fraught with disaster, and took 44 seconds. Curry won with a 28-second run.</p>
<p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="#">Chris Paul</a> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/new-orleans-hornets">New Orleans Hornets</a> came as close to tanking as anyone since <a href="http://nba.fanhouse.com/2008/02/17/dwyane-wade-commits-first-ever-turnover-in-skills-competition/">Dwyane Wade in 2008</a> by missing the opening lay-up in his first-round run. Rookie Challenge MVP <span>John Wall</span> of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.bulletsforever.com/">Washington Wizards</a> and reigning champion Derrick Rose of the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blogabull.com/">Chicago Bulls</a> were also knocked out in the first round after substandard attempts.</p>
<p>Fans selected the contestants (other than Paul) via online voting. It is unfortunate, one could argue, that the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/">Lakers</a>' <span>Derek Fisher</span> wasn't elected to the challenge.</p>
https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2011/2/19/2003592/stephen-curry-2011--taco-bell-skills-challenge-russell-westbrookTom Ziller