Flashback: Carmelo Anthony Upsets Amar’e Stoudemire In The 2002 McDonald’s Dunk Contest

Let’s go back to 2002 (if you need some help doing this, listen to Nelly’s “Hot In Herre“). Specifically, let’s go back to the 2002 McDonald’s All-American Game, which featured a couple of future NBA players and a few guys who you might classify as “busts.”

Arguably the two most notable guys who participated, aside from future NBA champion Chris Bosh, were Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. A little less than a decade later, the two would play together for the New York Knicks. Back then, however, they competed against each other in the slam dunk contest. ‘Melo ended up winning, and as you can see in the video above, he was a really good dunker for an 18-year-old. Here’s Stoudemire’s performance from the event:

While he didn’t win, you could certainly see that he had a special blend of athleticism and power, even as a teenager. Of course, this was all on display a few years later, when Stoudemire took second place in the 2005 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

[Videos via Swove 2204]

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