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The 2018 NBA Dunk Contest took place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night with NBA All-Star Weekend in full swing, and some of the game’s top dunkers — especially finalists Donovan Mitchell, the eventual winner, and Larry Nance Jr., son of inaugural Dunk Contest winner Larry Nance — brought their best jams to the court.
There was some great creativity and plenty of tributes to past dunkers in the game to set up an exciting finish.
Did you miss out on last night’s festivities? You are in luck, because we have you covered with some of the best highlights from the night.
Here are the top five dunks from Saturday night’s Slam Dunk Competition:
5. Donovan Mitchell Gets Help From His Children & Kevin Hart
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for!”@spidadmitchell posts a 50 with a little help from @KevinHart4real! 👀 pic.twitter.com/hlI8AtJ8sn
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
It wouldn’t be a dunk contest without some people coming onto the court to have an NBA star jump over them. We just wish Mitchell would have had his children and Kevin Hart standing straight up. Now THAT would have been insanely impressive.
4. Dennis Smith Jr. Gets Fancy
The degree of difficulty on this @Dennis1SmithJr dunk… 👀#VerizonDunk pic.twitter.com/BEQzlTSzOr
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
The degree of difficulty on this dunk was absurd. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to keep Dennis Smith Jr. in the competition.
3. Larry Nance Jr.’s Tribute To Father
A quick wardrobe change for @Larrydn22 to tip off #VerizonDunk! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hsXFLkAwvj
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
Like father, like son.
Larry Nance Sr and Larry Nance Jr
Side by side pic.twitter.com/5O487kHV84— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) February 18, 2018
2. Donovan Mitchell’s Vince Carter Tribute
“IT’S OVER!” pic.twitter.com/nsvU4kpU7j
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
Vince Carter is one of the best dunkers to step onto the court, so when you see a throwback Raptors jersey and recreation of one of his most famous dunks, it’s always going to get a great reaction.
Half-(Spida)man, Half-Amazing 🕷 #itsover pic.twitter.com/y6gXK7nqHq
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
1. Larry Nance Jr.’s “Double Tap”
“THE DOUBLE TAP!” pic.twitter.com/GCrZM2PRxa
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 18, 2018
It took a slo-mo replay to really appreciate the difficulty and creativity of Nance’s double-tap dunk. The amount of air time required to catch the ball and place it back on the glass before the throw down is something very few people can achieve.
What was your favorite dunk of the night? Sound off in the comments section below with your thoughts.
