Knicks' Obi Toppin leaps over his father, teammate Julius Randle for windmill slam: WATCH

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire NBA All-Star Weekend was condensed into a one-night event on Sunday in Atlanta. Nevertheless, the NBA Dunk Contest 2021 saw three contestants — Pacers' Cassius Stanley, Knicks' Obi Toppin and Trail Blazers' Anfernee Simons — battle it out for the title. In the end, the final came down to Simons vs Toppin, and the judges chose Simons by a 3-2 vote to make him the first Trail Blazer to win the Slam Dunk Contest. 

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While the Knicks rookie finished as the runner-up, Toppin’s impressive three dunks left fans on social media perplexed as to how the 23-year-old didn't win the Dunk Contest. He started off with a superb dunk after bouncing the ball between his legs to throw down his powerful effort into the bucket. His first effort scored him 48/50 from the judges.

Obi Toppin dunk over father and teammate Julius Randle

For his second dunk, Toppin, the rookie first-round pick out of Dayton, wooed the crowd and the players watching with an impressive dunk over his father and Knicks teammate Julius Randle. The duo stood in a line as Toppin leapt over both, but missed his first try. However, on his second attempt, Toppin converted to get a scored of one 10 and four 9s from the five judges. 

Toppin’s final dunk was a sprint to the bucket from midcourt, leaping in the air from just inside the foul line as he put the ball between his legs and slammed it down. However, despite his efforts, Toppin finished in second place, behind Anfernee Simons, who converted all his three dunks in his first attempt. While fans on social media felt that Toppin was denied the award, the Knicks star disagreed and instead, heaped praise on his counterpart.

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While speaking to reporters after the contest he said, "I didn’t feel like I got robbed at all. Anfernee is a great dunker and got all three of his dunks on the first try. The second and third, I had to do it a second time. If I got it on my first, it would’ve been a different result. I don’t think I got robbed at all. He deserved that trophy.’’

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Obi Toppin highlights how he planned to emulate his father on the court

While speaking to Marc Berman of the New York Post earlier this month, Toppin revealed that his father Obadiah Toppin — an international pro who was nicknamed “Dunkers Delight” — was his top basketball reference point in his youth as well as his primary dunking influence. The Knicks star said, "I grew up watching my dad. Every team he played on he was, his name was Dunkers Delight, so that speaks for itself."

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Image Credits - AP