Slam Dunk contestants honor past with array of old dunks
The four players in the Sprite Slam Dunk Championship paid a fitting tribute to past legends on Saturday by using old dunks that men like Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Julius Erving had invented several decades ago.
Though DeMar DeRozan, Serge Ibaka and Jevale McGee each tried their best to imitate dunks we have all seen many times before, it was Blake Griffin’s dunk over the front bumper of a small sedan — a tribute to the long history of dunking over props — that stole the show as the most original of the recycled dunks.
“I wanted to turn back the clock all the way to 2009 with that one,” Griffin said of his tribute dunk to Nate Robinson, who dunked over the 6’10″ Dwight Howard to win the 2009 Slam Dunk Championship. “But hurdling a 6’10″ tall man is kinda hard so I changed it to the front of a small car. That way I could say I dunked over a car, even though it was just the front of a small one.”
This year marked the 11th straight year that players have honored past legends of the dunk contest by recycling old dunks.
Iguodala to Brand: Hey look, we’re just like Erving and Barkley
Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala were at the Wachovia center on Wednesday to take promotional photos with the Sixers new retro uniforms as a part of a massive rebranding campaign.
The change was well received by fans and members of the Sixers organization, especially Iguodala who was fired up about being able to wear the same uniform as Julius Erving on a full-time basis.
“Hey Elton, look what I can do,” said a giddy Iguodala as he dunked a basketball in the Sixers new retro jersey and matching boxer shorts. “Did you see that? I bet I looked just like Dr. J, didn’t I?”
Though the Sixers plan to unveil the new uniforms to the public in the coming days, the new roster is still on backorder and may not arrive for the next decade or so.
