NBABy Matt Clapp on

Utah Jazz rookie guard Donovan Mitchell put his elite bounce on display — again — to win the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night at Staples Center.

The contest-winning jam came with Mitchell dressed in Vince Carter Raptors gear, but Mitchell’s dunk certainly wasn’t quite as good as the Vinsanity classic.

But Mitchell still got a 48, and after he got a 50 — which is probalby also a bit generous — on the dunk before that:

Earlier in the contest, Mitchell used an extra backboard to throw down this jam:

And, in retro purple Jazz gear, Mitchell threw down this dunk jumping over Kevin Hart (which, isn’t very difficult if we’re being honest, but this was a nice dunk):

Mitchell edged out Larry Nance Jr., who paid tribute to his father in a very cool moment on his first dunk of the night. Larry Nance Sr. was the winner of the first-ever NBA dunk contest in 1984. Nance Jr.  — now a member of the Cavs after being traded by the Lakers at the deadline — honored his dad by being decked out in old Suns gear, and throwing down this dunk:

And Nance’s final dunk of the night was a 50 on this sweet double-tap slam:

Indiana Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo missed plenty of dunks on the night, but he did pull out the Black Panther mask for one of them with Chadwick Boseman in the house (related: check out our review of Black Panther).

I honestly expected the actual dunks to be better on the night, but it was overall a fun event and that’s what NBA All-Star Weekend is all about.

Earlier in the night, Spencer Dinwiddie won the Skills Challenge, and Devin Booker went off for 28 in the final round to win the three-point contest.

[TNT]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

He can be followed on Twitter at @Matt2Clapp (also @TheBlogfines for Cubs/MLB tweets and @DaBearNecess for Bears/NFL tweets), and can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.

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