Just kidding, it was actually (and finally) the dunk contest! With everyone standing and anticipating the first slam that Blakers Nation would serve up for them, the buzz inside STAPLES Center was at a season high, and even though Blake did miss his first few attempts, his completed throw down was still something out of the ordinary and nasty.
However, what I have not revealed to you yet, is that earlier in the night, Daniel had relayed a tweet he had read earlier in the night: Blake Griffin was supposedly going to jump over a car for one of his dunks. Every year, everyone is always saying, “ah man, it would be so cool if someone jumped over a car!” In alignment with the WWE comparisons but to many people’s surprise, a car (which just happened to be a Kia – the “official automobile sponsor of the NBA. Yeah, like any NBA player drives a Kia, hah!) was wheeled out under the basket (along with the Crenshaw Choir, which sang I Believe I Can Fly) and for his final, and “contest-sealing” dunk, Griffin “lept” over the front end of the car, caught a pass through the moon roof from now-former teammate Baron Davis and put down a basic, two-handed slam.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BS8Qbd9P6s
Although the dunk was simple, the setup was not, and in today’s WWE styled dunk contests, that’s what you need to do in order to “win.” So, to nobody’s surpise, Griffin went home with some hardware that night, and even though he may not have been the best dunker that night, he was the best prop-dunker, and the fans ate it up.
While the Slam Dunk Contest is nothing close to what it used to be, I’d have to say, it was pretty fun and entertaining set of events to lose my All-Star Saturday Night virginity too.
Another thanks to American Express for making all of this happen and giving me the chance to say “I was there when Blake Griffin kind of jumped over a car and dunked a basketball!” For access like this to upcoming Lakers games, check out americanexpress.com/entertainment
