CLEVELAND — One year after losing in the NBA All-Star Dunk Contest, New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin claimed the 2022 crown. But it wasn’t pretty.
In a competition traditionally known for high-flying, gravity-defying moves, the 2022 slam dunk competition will be remembered for more missed attempts than actual dunks.
Toppin was by far the most exciting of the bunch, besting Golden State Warriors forward Juan Toscano-Anderson, who couldn’t land his final dunk of the championship round despite numerous attempts. That meant Toppin was guaranteed the win if he landed a dunk clean, which he did — a between-the-legs off the backboard slam.
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“All these guys are great dunkers. We came out here and put on a show,” Toppin said as he accepted the trophy.
But critics disagreed. Dwyane Wade and Reggie Miller called the event anti-climatic on the TNT broadcast.
“This dunk contest was a solid 6,” Wade said afterwards. Kenny Smith jokingly added, “We always have an off year. Even LeBron James has off games.”
Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green got countless attempts to land a windmill dunk off the backboard in the first round. The crowd started to boo. Shaquille O’Neal looked unimpressed on the Jumbotron. Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony was scored on a missed dunk attempt after unsuccessfully using up all his chances. Both were eliminated after the first round.
The Dunk Contest returned to Cleveland for the first time since the league’s 50th anniversary in 1997, when 18-year-old Kobe Bryant won the competition.
Now, celebrating the league’s 75th anniversary in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, legends Dominique Wilkins, Isiah Thomas, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson and Julius “Dr. J” Erving served as judges.
Toppin was the only returning participant in the field. Although he lost in the last year’s event to the Portland Trail Blazers’ Anfernee Simons, his experience translated to a showmanship the other competitors were lacking.
In the first round, Toppin did a behind-the-back dunk while he jumped over someone. He followed that up with an off-the-backboard, between-the-legs reverse. In the second round, Toppin went off the backboard and between his legs.
Although the Dunk Contest seemingly couldn’t have been worse than last year’s completion that was reduced to three competitors during halftime of the All-Star Game due to COVID-19, Saturday’s showing was not a huge step up.
Wade and Miller suggested a format change to make the event more exciting, but Toppin disagreed: “I think the order was good the way it was.”
Follow Cydney Henderson on Twitter @CydHenderson.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Obi Toppin wins NBA slam dunk contest. Should format change?
