Anfernee Simons made history at halftime of the NBA All-Star game on Sunday by becoming the first Portland Trail Blazer to win the AT&T Slam Dunk.
Simons captured the trophy by defeating Knicks rookie Obi Toppin in the finals of a competition that also included Cassius Stanley, the first player on a two-way contract to compete in the AT&T Slam Dunk.
Simons rose high above the basket for his contest-winning dunk and appeared to be attempting to kiss the rim before stopping just short on the successful one-handed jam.
The tallest competitor in the field at 6-foot-9, Toppin took the ball in between his legs from just beyond the free-throw line for a one-handed jam in the finals.
The majority of the fireworks came in the early going of the AT&T Slam Dunk because each of the competitors completed successful jams in front of the panel of judges that included former dunk contest winners in Spud Webb, Dee Brown, Josh Smith, Jason Richardson and Dominique Wilkins.
Having not yet netted a dunk in an NBA game, Stanley started off the opening round of the competition by throwing himself an alley-oop, before catching the ball, taking it through his legs, and completing the jam with his left hand. The judges gave Stanley a total score of 44.
Next up, Toppin rocked the rim with a two-handed reverse tomahawk dunk. Toppin tossed himself a lob, caught the ball on the bounce and took it through his legs before the jam which resulted in a total score of 48 from the panel.
Simons concluded the opening round with a score of 46 on his first dunk attempt. With the ball stationed atop the square on the backboard on a miniature Nerf basket, Simons jumped off both legs and yanked the ball off the mini hoop for a two-handed jam into the main basket. The attempt resulted in a total score of 46 from the five-man panel of judges.
Considered by many to be the favorite due to his 44-inch vertical leap at the NBA Combine, Stanley was eliminated in the second round after missing his first attempt and finishing with a basic one-handed dunk that led to a score of 37.
The second round of the competition produced the most stellar jams of the night from both Simons and Toppin.
Toppin scored a 46 on his second-round dunk by stationing New York Knicks teammate Julius Randle under the basket along with his father, Obi Toppin Sr. Toppin missed his first attempt, but wowed everyone in attendance by clearing his father and teammate on the second try of a windmill jam with the ball cuffed in between his right hand and wrist. Toppin scored a 46 on that dunk.
Simons topped that by paying homage to Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. Simons put on a McGrady Toronto jersey and mimicked the former Raptor’s jam from the 2000 All-Star Game. Simons tossed up a lob and completed a 360-degree two-handed jam. The judges gave Simons four 10s and a nine on that dunk for a total score of 49.
