Zach LaVine wins All-Star Slam Dunk contest
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Reporting from New York — Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Zach LaVine, who played at UCLA and surprised NBA teams in individual workouts with his incredible vertical leap, had two perfect dunks and a third near-perfect one to win the Slam Dunk competition on NBA All-Star on Saturday.
LaVine, 19, became one of the youngest players to win the dunk contest. Kobe Bryant won it at age 18 in 1997.
On his first dunk, LaVine bounced the ball high in front of him, caught it in the air, put it between his legs and reverse dunked it for a flawless 50 from the five judges.
He earned another perfect score on his second dunk after again bouncing the ball high, but this time catching it, passing it around his back and dunking it effortlessly. He earned a 49 on the fourth of his four dunks.
LaVine beat Orlando’s Victor Oladipo, who had one perfect dunk in the first round, a spinning reverse, but couldn’t match LaVine in the championship round.
Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brooklyn’s Mason Plumlee also participated in the competition.
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