We go over who won the 2022 NBA Dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in Cleveland on Saturday night.
The dunk contest is generally the most anticipated event in All-Star Weekend and will be the same again in 2022. This year's dunk contest features Jalen Greene, Obie Toppin, Cole Anthony and Juan Toscano-Anderson, with Greene favored to win. DraftKings Sportsbook Per Contest. The event will be followed by a 3-point contest and a skill challenge, so fans and bookies will take some time to see the action. We will have live updates of Dunk Contest here.
2022 Dunk Contest Updates
Toppin dipped what he failed to do in the first round but actually changed it this time. I'm not sure if it was even a dunk, but it would have been enough to win the competition over Toscano-Andersen. Toppin was the second favorite to win at +190 and pays for the bookmakers who support him.
Obi Toppin goes through the legs and taps the backboard with the ball to WIN #ATTSlamDunk! 🏆#NBAAllStar #StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/nsf39DHLEk
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
Toscano-Anderson wears Jason Richardson's jersey, but is unable to hit his first few attempts, although none officially counts as attempts. His third attempt was officially counted as an attempt but it seems that the crowd has been checked out. At one point, after officially running through two attempts, Toscano-Andersen needed some sort of sting. He fails to do so, and receives a 30. Toppin could win with basically a standard dunk and conclude one of the worst dunk contests in recent memory.
Toppin missed his first attempt, which seemed like a strange mix between a layup and a dunk. He ended up hitting the backboard. Toppin did the same on his second attempt and missed, but it is still unclear what he is trying to do. He converts his third dunk, which was completely different from the first two attempts, and gets 45. This still puts him comfortably ahead of Toscano-Andersen.
Toscano-Andersen goes first in the final round, and Vince Carter throws down a solid dunk with minimal "wow" factor while attempting to make an elbow move. The judges gave him a score of 39 runs, which sets the stage for Toppin to take a huge lead here.
Toscano-Anderson hits a nice dunk on his second go-around and receives 43, which puts him ahead of Green. It came to Toppin, and he made no mistake with an impressive reverse between legs off the backboard. This was enough to get them 46 and make it a showdown between them and Toscano-Andersen in the final.
Off the glass.
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
Through the legs.
Reverse.
Obi's in the #ATTSlamDunk finals!#StateFarmSaturday on TNT pic.twitter.com/UIH9rR7GSP
Green does a much better job with his second dunk and puts up a 45. Anthony goes ahead and foils a few attempts, causing some uneasiness from the crowd. He misses all three attempts and is out of the competition.
That was IMPRESSIVE, Jalen Green 🔥#ATTSlamDunk on TNT pic.twitter.com/BtyENlhVEw
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
The contest favorite, Jalen Green, decided to show the NXT crowd some love before attempting to take the plunge. Green went along the baseline for his attempt and missed chance after chance, leaving the judges a little disappointed. He lost the audience even after repeated failed attempts and eventually went down for one. The judges gave Green a 38 and it may not have been what NFT enthusiasts wanted as an endorsement of their technology.
Obie Toppin comes in next and misses his first two attempts but converts on his last dunk to get 44. Spike Lee had some backlash for his Knicks forward, but the missed effort definitely hurt Toppin's roof in terms of scores.
The degree of difficulty here is HIGH for Obi Toppin! #ATTSlamDunk on TNT pic.twitter.com/5tWaxs9lUT
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
Juan Toscano-Anderson brought some good flair to his dunk, a leap over Golden State Warriors teammate Andrew Wiggins, while also sporting the colors of the Mexican flag on his jersey. He gets 44 from the judges.
Juan Toscano-Anderson windmills over @warriors teammate Andrew Wiggins!#StateFarmSaturday #NBAAllStar #ATTSlamDunk on TNT pic.twitter.com/AWlAozvSrW
— NBA (@NBA) February 20, 2022
Cole Anthony started things off by helping his father, Greg Anthony, bring out. Anthony also swapped out his basketball shoes for some Timberland shoes for Dunk, but he lost his first attempt, which took a few stretches from the building. He tried to increase the crowd but then missed his second attempt. He eventually had to sink to go down but after a few delays there didn't seem to be much appeal. Anthony got 40 from the judges.
After the Cavaliers won the Skill Challenge and Karl-Anthony Towns took home a 3-point shootout, we're in dunk contest. Jalen Green is the favorite at +140, while Obi Toppin is second at +190. Cole Anthony is +350, while Juan Toscano-Anderson becomes a big longshot at +600.