Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers competes in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest during the 70th NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia on March 7, 2021. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
NBA Twitter lost their minds after seeing Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons’ socially-distanced kiss dunk.
The NBA All-Star Game festivities officially took place on Sunday. Domantas Sabonis of the Indiana Pacers won the Skills Challenge and Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry edged out Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz to win the 3-Point Contest. But what about the Slam Dunk Contest?
During halftime, Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons defeated New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin and Cassius Stanley of the Pacers to win the Slam Dunk Contest. Out of all of his dunks, the one that caught the most attention was Simons’ kissing the rim dunk. During said dunk, Simons remembered that we were living in the middle of a pandemic and pulled away!
And, as is always the case, NBA Twitter shared their thoughts on the dunk attempt.
Simons is first player in Blazers’ team history to win Slam Dunk Contest
This very dunk by Simons was the one that helped him win the Slam Dunk contest. As a result, he is now the first Trail Blazers player in franchise history to win the annual All-Star Game event.
Simons pullback kiss attempt was not the only dunk that was talked about on Sunday evening. To start things off, Stanley hit a ridiculous between the legs slam that caught everyone’s attention. But the judges were not impressed, as they only gave him a 44 on his first attempt. That left all users on social media users baffled.
You have to give Simons credit for the rather creative dunk. As a result, he can now put “2021 Slam Dunk Contest winner” on his resume.