The final event on Saturday night following the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and JBL Three-Point Challenge was the dunk contest.
Only Victor Oladipo of the four competing have had a taste of the event before, and the Pacers guard came second to Zach LaVine back in 2015.
Larry Nance Jr, Donovan Mitchell and Dennis Smith Jr were all making their dunk contest debuts and it was clear each of them wanted to make an impression from the off.
“Dr. J” Erving, Lisa Leslie, Chris Rock, Mark Wahlberg and DJ Khaled were the selected group of judges to score the NBA stars for the event.
But the remaining three got everybody in the Staples Center on their feet.
Smith Jr received the first 50 of the night with arguably the most impressive dunk of the night after switching the ball between hands mid-air underneath his legs, but his overall score in the first round was let down by his first attempt, meaning he too didn’t make the cut.
Nance Jr began with an homage to his dad, Larry Nance Sr, by changing into his old Phoenix uniform and going on to perform the rock-the-cradle dunk his father pulled off in the first NBA dunk contest back in 1984.
He then came up with a creative windmill by starting his run-up from behind the backboard before slamming it down hard to secure his place in the final.
Mitchell though stole the show. He scored 98 in the first round with his second dunk the most impressive.
He brought out Kevin Hart, his son and his sister and jumped over them running from the baseline to deliver a killer blow and earn his first 50.
Nance Jr and Mitchell in the championship round it was then and it proved a close contest with the judges separating them by just two points.
The Utah Jazz guard was given another 50 for his catch off the backboard windmill while Nance Jr to put him in the lead.
But it was the final round that got the crowd really going. The Cleveland Cavaliers star was first up and the slow-motion replay really helped appreciate his effort as he double-tapped it off the backboard before dunking it home.
With the last dunk of the night, Mitchell paid homage to dunk contest favourite Vince Carter with a spectacular reverse windmill.
And it was the rookie who walked away with the dunk contest trophy, even though he wasn’t even supposed to be in the 2018 Slam Dunk contest.
