The Knicks now have three different winners with five Slam Dunk Contest championships, Obi Toppin joining a list that includes three-time champ Nate Robinson and ’89 winner Kenny Walker with his victory in Saturday night’s 2022 competition.
But unlike Krypto-Nate, who won his three dunk contests via two close fan votes and a tiebreaker dunk, Toppin was more like “Sky” in ‘89: dunking on a victory lap. Much as Walker basically had his title sewn up after two of three final round dunks against Clyde Drexler, Toppin simply needed to do anything on his second dunk of this year’s finals, as even the automatic minimum score of 30 would give him the title after Juan Toscano-Anderson finished with a score of 69.
And yet, Toppin went all out, dropping his best dunk of the night, a through-the-legs, off the backboard jam he had tried less successfully earlier.
“I wanted to get it on the third dunk, but I ended up missing it and going off the backboard between the legs,” Toppin said after the contest. “I knew going back to the last dunk, I knew I was going to pull it out and get it on the first try because I knew what I was doing wrong. But I'm glad I made it that time.”
Much like his Dunk Contest debut in 2021, Toppin was the star in round 1 this year, scoring a round-high 46 on his second dunk – but it was his first jam, when he jumped over “my guy” Chuck from Team Flight Brothers, that wowed the crowd to start the show.
“He definitely gave me the ideas. We were talking before the Dunk Contest and were, like, we want to come out here and do things that people have never seen before,” Toppin said. “So those dunks, never been done in a Dunk Contest. I felt good being out there.”
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After coming up just short last year, losing a 3-2 judges’ vote to Anfernee Simmons, it meant a lot for Toppin to finally win the contest – and even more meaningful, he did it in the same city where Kobe Bryant won his lone Slam Dunk Contest 25 years earlier.
“My dad used to be a dunker, so for me to win this, I knew I had to come back for my revenge from last year, and I had fun doing it,” Toppin said. “We had a lot of great dunkers here today, and it means a lot that I came out with the W. There have been a lot of legends that have won the Dunk Contest, and for my name to be a part of that is something special. I don't take it for granted.”
The same city Kobe won it, and the same state where Toppin himself wowed crowds in his collegiate days at the University of Dayton.
“Dayton is like two or three hours away, so I there was a lot of Dayton fans in there. New York and Dayton fans. I appreciate you all coming out,” Toppin said. “Ohio fans, they're amazing. They show a lot of love. Definitely heard them today. They definitely came by, and it means a lot for me to do it in Ohio for sure. This is like my second home.”
Of course, Obi had to show some love to his competition, too, including Toscano-Anderson, Orlando’s Cole Anthony, and Houston’s Jalen Green.
“They all stuck out. All of those guys are great dunkers. We were talking before the Dunk Contest, and we knew we just wanted to go out there, put on a show and have fun. I feel like that's what all of us did. We were encouraging everyone when we were out there, trying to get the crowd riled up,” Toppin said. “Everyone had great dunks, and we had fun today.”
Now, however, the focus shifts to the second half of the regular season, and Toppin’s Knicks head into that final march 25-34 and 3.5 games out of the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.
Toppin hopes to be a big part of getting the Knicks back to the postseason, but don’t expect any crazy dunks on the regular from the high-flyer.
“I'm going to stick to the regular tomahawks, but I might go between the legs one more time or do something else,” Toppin smiled. “I might pull something special out and go behind my back or something on a fast break.
But, otherwise I just go out there and have fun.”
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