The Cleveland Cavaliers do not have a single All-Star playing in this Sunday’s game. They don’t have any player participating in the festivities on All-Star Saturday Night either. But it doesn’t hurt to flashback to last year’s showing by Larry Nance Jr. in the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest.
There will be no Cleveland Cavaliers representation on the final two days of the NBA All-Star break. Nope, these aren’t the same Cavaliers that were in the national buzz consistently from 2014-2018.
Instead, the Wine and Gold is now the ugly stepsister of the NBA.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t flash back to last year’s fun-filled weekend. Of course, it wouldn’t be a flashback without revisiting Larry Nance Jr.’s Slam Dunk Contest performance.
Nance Jr., who was acquired by the Cavaliers at last year’s NBA Trade Deadline, was involved in the contest with Victor Oladipo, Dennis Smith Jr., and Donovan Mitchell.
Despite not winning the contest (that honor went to Mitchell), there were some cool moments for Nance Jr.
How about him paying tribute to his father?
More from King James Gospel
- 3 possible starting lineups for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2023-24
- The Cavaliers may have snagged a hidden gem in Craig Porter Jr.
- 4 players the Cavaliers should pursue in 2024 free agency
- 6 players Cavaliers might replace Jarrett Allen with by the trade deadline
- This stat is one to keep an eye on for Cavaliers’ Max Strus in years ahead
Yes, for Nance Jr. showing respect in his first dunk of the night was something cool to see. His dad, Larry Nance, had performed in and won the 1984 edition of the contest and did such as a member of the Phoenix Suns.
So of course, Junior had to rock the Phoenix jersey and bring out one of his dad’s dunks.
Rocking the cradle wasn’t the worst way to open your dunk contest performance. In fact, it’s one of those old-school dunks that still tends to get me excited watching it.
Nance Jr. progressed to a few different windmills after that, with one of them starting from behind the hoop and the other being assisted by his father. They were very smooth and got Nance Jr. to the finals of the competition before he pulled off a very fascinating dunk.
He did a double-bounce off the backboard.
Yes, Nance Jr. threw the ball off the backboard and sprinted to it fast enough to throw it off the board one more time and slammed it home with two hands. It was a really impressive dunk once everyone at home saw the replay and realized what had been done.
As mentioned, it wasn’t enough to outlast Utah’s Mitchell. But in the grand scheme of things, Nance Jr. had defeated two other electrifying guards in the process. That shows just how crazy a dunker the Cavaliers’ forward is.
So as you watch tonight’s festivities, including the dunk contest, watch and see how some stylistic slams match up to Nance Jr. And for reference, you can check them all out below: