Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin leaps over a car to spectacularly win the Slam Dunk Contest
The Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin proved to the whole National Basketball Association elite on Saturday night that he is not a rookie anymore, as he acrobatically jumped over a car and won the exciting Slam Dunk contest at the Staples Centre in Los
Angeles.
Griffin won the event defeating his three other opponents Javale McGee from the Washington Wizards, DeMar DeRozan from the Toronto Raptors, and Serge Ibaka from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Selected as substitute for the Western Conference’s All Star roster, Griffin commented on his interesting slam dunk choice and said, “It was actually my idea to use the car, when they first came to me with the dunk contest idea; they said there were no rules.
I was like, 'So I can jump over a car?' Kind of playing around. They were like, 'Yeah. And I thought 'Oh, maybe I have to do it now.”
The Slam Dunk Contest comprises of two rounds, as each player is allowed two dunks in each round. The Toronto Raptors’ DeRozan and Oklahama City Thunder’s Ibaka’s early exit in the first round, earned McGee and Griffin a place to compete in the final round.
The five judges known as the blue ribbon panel included Clyde Drexler, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins, Brent Barry and Julius Erving. The panel officiated the whole event and gave all the contestants points on their each dunk.
DeRozan earned 50 points on two different dunks, as he caught the ball in a bouncing position, pushed the ball with his hand and dunked it. But it was Griffin who won this event on a high note, as he caught a pass from his teammate Baron Davis, jumped over
a brand new car and dunked it perfectly.
Griffin answered a question on whether he is ready to come back and repeat history once again. “I knew you were going to ask that," He said, we’ll see. I have to come up with something else, maybe a boat next year.”
Griffin entered the NBA in the 2009 Draft, when Los Angeles Clippers picked him for their roster. He unfortunately underwent surgery on his kneecap in the season ending games. This season, he recovered and was chosen for the All Star Game in Los Angeles.
Blake spent this weekend as the busiest All-Star player in NBA's recent history, as he played in Friday's Rookie Challenge match against sophomores, winning 148-140 and scored 14 points. The next night, he was after his first Slam Dunk contest and defeated
McGee of the Washington Wizards. On Sunday's main event, he played as an All Star for the Western Conference line-up and took the game away from the Eastern Conference 148-143.
Having won the coveted Slam Dunk contest, Griffin has shown the fans his talent and competitive spirit. It will be exciting to see how he continues to shine for the Clippers in the rest of the NBA season.
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