This year's NBA All-Star Slam Dunk competition featured Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr., Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavs' Larry Nance Jr. (whose father won the very first Dunk Contest in 1984), and Utah Jazz's Donovan Mitchell.
Mitchell started immediately with the theatrics, which was not surprising, but he achieved a strong 48/50 on round one, so it paid off.
Oladipo missed a cold three dunk attempts in a row. He trailed the first round with a paltry score of 31. Smith and Nance had a respective 39 and 44.
Nance paid tribute to his father with a sweet wardrobe change before the second round.
Smith was the first to receive a perfect score from the judges in the second round, but there were many 10's awarded, which was widely criticized by fans. Oladipo popped out with a Black Panther mask on, but it did not give him superpowers.
The Slam Dunk contest is not complete without Kevin Hart, who came out as a prop for Mitchell along with the Hart family.
This year's contest was judged by Chris Rock, Mark Wahlberg, Julius Erving, Lisa Leslie, and DJ Khaled. Throughout the competition, Khaled was consistently the lowest scoring judge of them all.
While Smith Jr. may have had the most fire dunk of the night (see below, along with a few more highlights), it was Mitchell who came out on top with an impressive night, although many (rightfully) said Nance Jr. was robbed.
