Obi Toppin ran into his teammate Julius Randle and his father Obadiah Toppin.
But it wasn’t enough, as the 6-foot-9 striker lost a decision to fight Anfernee Simons in the Slam Dunk contest during the NBA All-Star Game break in Atlanta on Sunday.
Rookie Knicks finished second as Simons, the Trail Blazers goalie, won the five judges’ cards, 3-2, in a final dunk that he never executed correctly.
Toppin’s final dunk was a bucket sprint in the middle of the field, bouncing in the air right inside the foul line when he put the ball between his legs and hit it down. However, “Air Obi” did not seem to have enough strength and power over that final blow.
Simons countered with a “kiss dunk” as he gripped his own lobe, slammed it as he moved to kiss the rim, but approached with one foot. However, Simons still won the majority vote. (The final dunk was not marked on a numeric system).
Simons said he wanted to kiss the rim, but Toppin refused to claim the trophy was stolen.
“I didn’t feel robbed at all,” Toppin said. “Anfernee is a great dunker and he received all three dunks on the first try. The second and third, I had to do it a second time. If I received my first one, it would have been a different result. I don’t think I was robbed at all. He deserved that trophy. ”
In his second dunk, Toppin, Dayton’s former star, took out his teammate Randle and his own father, known in his heyday as “Dunkers Delight.” first try.
Toppin converted his second attempt, but also failed to get Obi’s usual lift. Of the five judges, he scored one with 10 and four with 9.
“It felt great,” Toppin said of his father’s use. “I grew up watching the dunk contest with him. Having Jules there, for the first time All-Star, was a great experience. They didn’t get the result we wanted, but I definitely got the experience I wanted. ”
Simons’ first dunk was his most creative, placing a ball on a Nerf basket fixed on a 12-meter-high rim. Simons rose high enough to take the ball out of Nerf’s rim and slammed it into the regulation circle.
The creativity of Simons’ three dunks could have been a deciding factor, even if the only kiss he landed was an air kiss when he hit the floor. The judges were Spud Webb, Josh Smith, Josh Richardson, Dominique Wilkins and Dee Brown.
“Yes, 100 percent,” Simons said. “I tried to get close enough not to hit my head too hard on the rim. In fact, I never kissed the rim in practice, but I wanted to get hired. I wanted to put on a mouth guard, but it didn’t fit. It’s something no one did. ”
It’s not done yet. But Toppin looked at the bright side – even meeting LeBron James.
“I’ve always said LeBron is a guy. If I saw him, I’d say ‘Wow,'” Toppin said. “As soon as I saw him, he came to me and said, ‘What about Obi? “I was saying, ‘Dang, you know my name.’ The experience was good.
“The opportunity for me to be here and to get this opportunity and to be on this stage with all the great players, is a dream come true. We didn’t win, but all three of us had wonderful nests and it was a great experience. We hope to return next year. ”