For the second consecutive year, the NBA Slam Dunk contest was won by an NBA rookie.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo won the battle Friday night, outlasting Dennis Smith Jr. of the New York Knicks by being the most consistent dunker of the night.
Diallo brought the house down with his second dunk of the first round, calling out and jumping over Hall of Fame TNT analyst and NBA Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
After clearing Shaq, Diallo stuck his elbow in the rim, a nod to dunk contest icon Vince Carter. While holding onto the rim, Diallo snatched open his Thunder jersey to show off the Superman shirt underneath. At his point, many started calling Diallo the winner and that there was nothing left to see.
In the end, Diallo won, and became just the 12th rookie to win the dunk contest and the second in a row, following Donovan Mitchell’s triumph in 2018.
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DIALLO REALLY DID THE VINCE ELBOW DUNK OVER SHAQ pic.twitter.com/NmH9vUWyFI
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 17, 2019
Participants:
Hamidou Diallo (Oklahoma City Thunder)
First round: 48 and 50 (98 total)
Second round: 43 and 45 (88 total)
Dennis Smith Jr., (New York Knicks)
First round: 45 and 50 (95 total)
Second round: 35 and 50 (85 total)
Miles Bridges, (Charlotte Hornets)
First round: 33 and 50 (83 total)
John Collins, (Atlanta Hawks)
First round: 40 and 42 (82 total)
WINNER: Hamidou Diallo
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