Plenty of people were surprised when Pacers guard Glenn Robinson III won the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest. Not because he doesn’t have ridiculous ups, of course, but because he was considered the dark horse in the field. Everyone thought defending runner up Aaron Gordon, internet darling Derrick Jones Jr., and longtime highlight producer DeAndre Jordan had better odds than The Big Dog’s kid.
But thanks to some underwhelming performances mixed with some crazy dunks of his own, Robinson came out on top. Now, Robinson has the unenviable task of turning the hype he has coming off of the Dunk Contest into results on the court. If he keeps doing stuff like this, he’ll be fine.
Indiana and Atlanta squared off on Sunday afternoon. Tim Hardaway Jr. tried to lay the ball up in transition. He had no idea that Robinson was right behind him, so he went up soft. This happened.
The dunk champion does more than just dunk. pic.twitter.com/Ze6HCOK0kJ
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2017
Have mercy. Robinson didn’t jump to block this shot as much as he levitated. By the time he made contact with the ball, Hardaway had landed, and Robinson’s feet were at the Hawks guard’s waist.
Oh, and he’s not just a leaper. Robinson has 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting in 23 minutes, including this three to win the game for Indiana.
The @Pacers go on to defeat the @ATLHawks 97-96 behind the game-winning 3 from Glenn Robinson III! pic.twitter.com/BbHXVeHmS7
— NBA (@NBA) March 5, 2017
Crazy ups and a smooth stroke from downtown? Sounds kind of like the last dude to win the Dunk Contest, no?
