Blake Griffin wins 2011 NBA Sprite Slam Dunk Contest (Part–1)
Blake Griffin, the NBA’s break out kid, has taken over the league with his raw power and athleticism this season.
The slam dunking sensation, who has made a habit of embarrassing defenders with his brilliant jams all season long, added yet another masterpiece to his breath-taking collection of dunks on Saturday night.
After JaVale McGee had given the runaway rookie of the year a run for his money all night, the prolific rim-rattler figured out that there was only one way to take the dunking honours for 2011. So, Blake Griffin dunked over a car.
Griffin launched himself over the hood of a shiny new silver Kia, caught a pass from Los Angeles Clippers’ team-mate Baron Davis and slammed it home to beat the Washington Wizards' JaVale McGee to the title.
The sensational jamming prodigy displayed some individual brilliance and artistry, which has been unseen so far in the 27-year history of the contest; one which stole the hearts of a sellout crowd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and millions who watched it on TV.
The audacious move, which took everyone by surprise and eclipsed a consistently spectacular effort by McGee eventually proved to be the tie breaker, as Griffin bagged 68 percent of the world wide fan voting via text message.
McGee praised Griffin after the game. He said, "He came prepared with the car and nothing's going to beat the car unless I bring out a plane or something."
The car was the last and greatest prop used in this year's contest, but it wasn't the first.
McGee and Griffin battled it out until the end but the other contestants, including last year’s runner up DeMar DeRozan and Oklahoma City’s Serge Ibaka each had spectacular dunks, which made this contest one of the most entertaining in the last few years.
DeMar DeRozan started off proceedings. In his first attempt, DeRozan assisted by Amir Johnson, caught a ball that was bounced off the side of the backboard. He then put it through his legs before throwing it down for a jam. The spectacular move however, failed to impress the judges panel comprising of Clyde Drexler, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry and Julius Erving and he only got a score of 45.
His second attempt, which was dubbed the ‘Show Stopper’ by his coach for the event Darryl Dawkins, forced the judges to stand up and take notice. DeRozan lobbed the ball towards the rim from out beyond the three-point line, caught it off the bounce in the air, cupped it and whipped it through the hoop. The move was good enough to earn him a score of 50; one of the only two on the night.
However, on a night that was heavy with props, his highly athletic and eye catching dunks just fell short of earning him a final round spot. His fate was sealed because of the low score in the first attempt.
Serge Ibaka, the seven foot tall centre mentored by the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant, appeared next with his bag of tricks.
In his first dunk of the night, Ibaka dunked the ball from beyond the free throw line – a move that looked spectacular to say the least. The judges weren't as impressed though, as they awarded him an average score of 45. It was time for Ibaka to use a prop now – actually two.
As Ibaka was sitting on a chair in the middle of the court, a small kid with a fancy haircut came running onto the court. He went over to the event announcer Cheryl Miller and with mischievous glee uttered, "Oh no, my toy's stuck in the hoop!”
There was one indeed, and it happened to be a stuffed toy version of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s mascot ‘Rumble the Bison’, hanging from the front of the rim. It was now Ibaka's responsibility to retrieve it, while still performing his second dunk of the first round.
He tried once but failed. He succeeded on his second attempt though, but was unable to impress the blue ribbon jury who handed him a second 45. With Griffin and JaVale McGee to follow, his night was over by all accounts.
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