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Andrew LopezESPN
Anfernee Simons of Portland all smiled when he became the first Trail Blazers player to win the NBA dunk contest, which took place during the break of Sunday night’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Simons defeated novices Obi Toppin of the New York Knicks and Cassius Stanley of the Indiana Pacers to bring home the trophy, which Simons called “a dream come true.”
Simons won the contest on Toppin in the final round with a new rule called “choosing the judge”. Simons and Toppin each had a goal in the round and, instead of a score, the five judges chose a name, Simons receiving three votes over Toppin’s two.
“Having a chance to come in and be a part of it and win it, it’s surreal,” Simons said.
Towards the end, Simons started the corner and lifted the ball up. As he grabbed her, he jumped as hard as he could and threw a kiss on the rim, while being as equal to her as possible. While he actually missed the kiss, he showed his vertical jump.
Simons said his goal for the last dunk was to kiss the rim, but he also wanted to make sure he didn’t hit his head.
“In practice, I never kissed the rim, but I thought, ‘I have to get hired,'” Simons said. “I tried to put on a mouthpiece at the last minute, but it didn’t fit in my mouth. I scratched and I’ll just focus on the smooth face so people know I’m next to the rim and I’m trying to kiss.”
Simons said he went over wild ideas and actively joked about kissing diving when he discussed his plans for the contest before deciding to give it a try.
“It was okay, ‘Let’s actually do it this time.’ That was something no one had ever done before, “Simons said.” It’s just very unique and very creative to do. I think a few people can do it. I think that will show the judges a lot. “
On his first dunk, Simons had a mini circle placed on the goal with a basketball on top. He ran from the side and took the ball from the mini-circle – probably two feet above the rim – and sank it. His second slam was a tribute to Tracy McGrady; Simons put on a T-Mac T-shirt and jumped a 360 dunk.
Presented as “Simons Slam Dunk Anfernee Champion” during his post-contest availability, Simons just smiled and said, “Nice introduction.”