Blake Griffin Has NBA Slam Dunk Contest Advice For DeAndre Jordan
No, it does not involve jumping over another car, or some sort of any theatrical stunts for that matter. Blake Griffin gave his All-Star big man and Los Angeles Clippers teammate some heady advice that may come handy in any dunk contest.
DeAndre Jordan has been in the league for a while and has even earned the nod for one of those highly-coveted All-Star spots for this year’s NBA festivities in New Orleans, but the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest was his first time to join the league’s widely-anticipated event.
Blake Griffin’s frontcourt partner is known as a volume dunker, and whose chances of getting a dunk in any game are as good as Chris Paul dropping a dime. And, for the most part, those dunks and assists go hand-in-hand in a single play.
But, doing it in-game is different from throwing it down with at least five judges gauging your every dunk. The pressure is magnified and the stakes are higher. And, Jordan was fortunate enough to have someone to talk to about the whole experience. And, it happens to be someone who has actually won it all back in the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest. Yeah, that one did involve jumping over a car.
Jordan got the chance to do an interview with Blake Griffin recently on what it was like when he joined the dunk contest at Staples Center in 2011, NBC Los Angeles reported. Griffin gave Jordan and all the other slam dunk participants a great tip based on what he learned from his experience competing for the “slam dunk king” title.
“The only piece of advice I give to anybody [joining the NBA Slam Dunk Contest] is to have back up dunks,” Griffin told the Clippers center. “I didn’t, and that messed up.”
Blake Griffin added that it would be wise to prepare more dunks than what is required during the contest because you never know what the other participants might do, and it could turn out to be something similar to what you have prepared. He also shared that some of his dunks during the 2011 event were just off-the-cuff, and he just made up his mind on what he is going to do less than an hour before the actual slam dunk contest.
“I actually didn’t know what I was going to do until about 30 minutes before the contest,” Griffin said. “I knew I wanted to do the car one if I got to the finals, but I pretty much just made some stuff up beforehand. I don’t recommend doing that.”
#ClippersWeekly: @DeAndre needs dunk contest advice… ? Hmmm, wonder if anyone on the @LAClippers could help? @BlakeGriffin32 #NBA pic.twitter.com/KMrgazdb5d
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) February 9, 2017
As it turns out, DeAndre Jordan would fail to replicate the feat of Blake Griffin. The 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest belongs to the unheralded Indiana Pacers forward Glenn Robinson III, who is the son of former NBA standout Glenn Robinson, Jr, CBS Sports reported.
Robinson III took home the trophy and bested Jordan, Phoenix Suns rookie Derrick Jones Jr., and heavily-favored Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, who almost won last year’s edition after an exciting showdown against eventual champion Zach Lavine.
The excitement surrounding the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest died down a bit with one missed dunk after another from each of the contestants. In the end, Glenn Robinson prevailed after a duel against Derrick Jones in the final round.
The champion was able to score a perfect score of 50 from each of the two rounds. When Jones failed to complete his first dunk in the finals, getting a score of 37 in the process, the dunk contest was virtually over from then on.
Robinson capitalized on his rival’s miscue and capped off his big night with an impressive reverse dunk while jumping over All-Star teammate Paul George, Pacers’ team mascot, and dancer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2wuiTAJvGc
[Image By Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images]
