The NBA All-Star Game taking place in Charlotte means a lot of local flair during the All-Star Saturday festivities. Dell Curry brought out a slew of former All-Stars out to raise money for Charlotte schools, and those competing in the annual Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night did their best to follow suit. John Collins, for example, brought out a slew of people dressed as old school pilots and dunked over a model of the airplane the Wright brothers first took flight in at Kitty Hawk.
But Dennis Smith Jr.’s second dunk of the night had a bit of special local flair. He brought rapper J. Cole, a local who will perform at halftime of the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, out to help him with a special dunk attempt. Smith Jr. put J. Cole in a folding chair and had him throw a lob to him.
To add a special bit of nostalgia, he actually wore J. Cole’s high school basketball jersey for the dunk. And after a first attempt that didn’t go, the second dunk was certainly something special.
.@Dennis1SmithJr OVER @JColeNC! 😱#ATTSlamDunk pic.twitter.com/uIOwAqYtFy
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 17, 2019
Smith Jr. dunked over J. Cole, and it was a pretty outstanding attempt. Afterward Cole, wearing a tie dye hoodie, then followed it up by trying a dunk of his own.
It was a great homage to the local rapper, and highlighted a stunning second round of the contest that’s always the highlight of All-Star weekend.
