The NBA Slam Dunk contest took place over this weekend and if you missed (which if you got up to go to the bathroom for 2 minutes you probably did) boy did you miss a great one! Under the new format this year, a team of 3 Eastern Conference dunkers took on a team of 3 Western Conference dunkers. No one could have imagined an ending like this though.
The East was made up of Paul George, Terrence Ross & John Wall. The West consisted of Damian Lillard, Harrison Barnes & Ben McLemore. It was a head-to-head competition, so whichever team won 3 of the battle match-ups first would be declared the winner.
Now mind you two of the three judges were from the East so it was a bit skewed but that shouldn't take anything away from the players performances. After a lackluster 2 rounds to start the score was 2-0 East going into the last round.
Ben McLemore was up for the West and brought a Renaissance Fair actor and Shaquille O'Neal to knight him as the new King of Sacramento. All the preceding fanfare though did not equal an amazing dunk as McLemore dunked over a seated Shaq. Impressive, but not awe-inspiring.
This is where John Wall comes into play. With the chance to win it for the East he was originally planning to do a simple dunk in which he grabbed the ball off the Wizards' mascot's (G-Man) head and dunked behind his own head.
This all went out the window though when an enraged Ben McLemore challenged John Wall's manhood. "I'm the King of Sacramento, no one can top that dunk!" McLemore exclaimed, but Wall knew how to top it. Luckily for Wall he had brought swim trunks, so he dawned them, along with his signature leather jacket and took the party outside.
It was there that John Wall proceeded to get on his water-skis and head to the Gulf, where a live, confined Tiger Shark was waiting. Wall answered McLemore's challenge and then some as he went on to jump the shark. The crowd erupted and 5 minutes later Wall had won the fan vote and the East had won the 2014 Dunk Contest in the first year of its format change.
This was a little out of character for Wall, as during his early seasons in the NBA he was a universally relatable player set against a backdrop 1950's nostalgia. Could this mark an audacious turn for Wall? Some players claim he just decided to jump a shark because the NBA vowed it due to their lack of decently usable new ideas for All-Star Weekend. We went to ask the leading authority on the matter of shark jumping, but sadly Henry Winkler could not be reached for comment.
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter...though if you made it through this article you probably are already: @BroadStBeat
Now mind you two of the three judges were from the East so it was a bit skewed but that shouldn't take anything away from the players performances. After a lackluster 2 rounds to start the score was 2-0 East going into the last round.
Ben McLemore was up for the West and brought a Renaissance Fair actor and Shaquille O'Neal to knight him as the new King of Sacramento. All the preceding fanfare though did not equal an amazing dunk as McLemore dunked over a seated Shaq. Impressive, but not awe-inspiring.
This is where John Wall comes into play. With the chance to win it for the East he was originally planning to do a simple dunk in which he grabbed the ball off the Wizards' mascot's (G-Man) head and dunked behind his own head.
This all went out the window though when an enraged Ben McLemore challenged John Wall's manhood. "I'm the King of Sacramento, no one can top that dunk!" McLemore exclaimed, but Wall knew how to top it. Luckily for Wall he had brought swim trunks, so he dawned them, along with his signature leather jacket and took the party outside.
It was there that John Wall proceeded to get on his water-skis and head to the Gulf, where a live, confined Tiger Shark was waiting. Wall answered McLemore's challenge and then some as he went on to jump the shark. The crowd erupted and 5 minutes later Wall had won the fan vote and the East had won the 2014 Dunk Contest in the first year of its format change.
This was a little out of character for Wall, as during his early seasons in the NBA he was a universally relatable player set against a backdrop 1950's nostalgia. Could this mark an audacious turn for Wall? Some players claim he just decided to jump a shark because the NBA vowed it due to their lack of decently usable new ideas for All-Star Weekend. We went to ask the leading authority on the matter of shark jumping, but sadly Henry Winkler could not be reached for comment.
-Ben Lebo
Follow us on Twitter...though if you made it through this article you probably are already: @BroadStBeat
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