Hey, so here’s both of Mason Plumlee’s dunks Saturday night in the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. The first was assisted on by fellow Duke alumnus Kyrie Irving, who threw the ball off the side of the backboard to Plumlee, who pulled it under and around the rim for a reverse slam. It came with a requisite bit of awkwardness; Plumlee technically put in an attempt, but it was a lay-in rather than a dunk, leading to an anti-climactic finish when he actually threw it down.
The second dunk required a brotherly touch: Plumlee struggled to put one down before bringing out his older brother Miles, who he dunked over for his last dunk. One thought: how demoralizing must it be to be used as your brother’s dunk foil, only for it to mean nothing?
Bernard King, Chris Mullin, Nate Archibald, Walt Frazier, and Julius Erving, the five judges, all gave Plumlee an 8 for the first dunk, and Plumlee notched a 36 overall score for his second.
The contest consisted of all first- and second-year players: Plumlee competed against Giannis Antetokounmpo, Zach LaVine, and Victor Oladipo. Zach LaVine dominated to win the contest.
In the other events of the night:
- “Team Bosh,” featuring Heat forward Chris Bosh, WNBA legend Swin Cash, and NBA legend Dominique Wilkins, finished off a three-peat of the Degree Shooting Stars Competition by defeating “Team Westbrook.”
- In the Taco Bell Skills Challenge, featuring a new competitive bracket format among eight players, Patrick Beverley came from behind in the semifinals and the final round to claim the top prize, beating Brandon Knight in the final.
- Kyrie Irving, Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson each dropped at least 23 points in the first round to make it to the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout Finals, and Stephen Curry dominated the final, pouring in 27 points to best Irving’s 17 and Thompson’s 14. Curry hit 13 straight three-pointers at one point, including five straight Moneyballs, in the final round.
