Portland Trail Blazers 21-year-old guard Anfernee Simons was named the 2021 AT&T Slam Dunk Contest Champion, Sunday night, after defeating New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin in the final round of the competition. Simons' victory marks the first time a Trail Blazer has won the Slam Dunk Contest.
Indiana Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley, the only other contestant, was eliminated in the first round. His second dunk, which took multiple attempts to pull off, was scored a mere 37 points by the judges.
"Good shiiiii young @AnferneeSimons. Told you brotha!!" Simons' Trail Blazers teammate CJ McCollum wrote on Twitter after the win.
Shannon Sharpe defended the event online, tweeting, "The dunk contest wasn’t bad. No big names, but Simons was impressive. Didn’t realize he was that springy Toppin’s 1st rd dunk would’ve broken the internet had Zack Lavine not done it in the layup line last wk with sweat jacket on."
Earlier in the day, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion Blake Griffin is expected to sign with the Brooklyn Nets.
"Interested teams have expected Griffin to pursue a championship in Brooklyn alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden," Charania confirmed on Twitter, Sunday afternoon.
Check out some of the best dunks from Sunday night below.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1368758423030927364
https://twitter.com/_/status/1368759380758458368
https://twitter.com/_/status/1368754115812147202
https://twitter.com/_/status/1368760607701413893
https://twitter.com/_/status/1368757274848546816
[Via]
