Want to feel a little bit older? The 2011 Slam Dunk Contest, which was won by the Detroit Pistons' newly-acquired star power forward Blake Griffin while he was with the L.A. Clippers during his rookie season, was already almost seven years ago to the day. It's been seven years since Griffin jumped over that Kia.
During an interview for The Undefeated with ESPN's Marc J. Spears, Griffin opened up about winning the Slam Dunk Contest that year in front of a home crowd at Staples Center.
For the contest's final round against center JaVale McGee, who was then on the Washington Wizards, he was able to take the trophy home when Clippers point guard Baron Davis stuck his head out the sunroof of a Kia Ultima and lobbed the ball up to Griffin while he dunked over the car.
Although Griffin admits that the dunk did not go as originally planned, he was able to make the best out of it.
Article Continues Below“I was worried that I wasn’t going to get the dunk down,” Griffin said. “The idea was to windmill it. It was a little high. So, then I was just like, ‘Dunk it.’ So right after I dunked it, I came down and I was pissed because I didn’t think it was going to be good enough. But it worked out. But like everything, there was controversy.”
How would Griffin describe that weekend? Surreal, to say the least, and it's hard to blame him for feeling that way.
“That All-Star Weekend was kind of a blur for me. We had been on an eight-game road trip leading into All-Star. My best friend passed away Wednesday night before All-Star Weekend started. I was in the dunk contest, Rookie Game, and All-Star Game,” Griffin said. “It was in L.A. I kind of overbooked myself. Things I didn’t know at the time. I wish I could look back at that dunk contest with more fonder memories.”
Griffin, who was selected to the All-Star Game for the first five seasons of his career, is averaging 20.4 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game in eight contests for the Pistons since being acquired in a surprising trade with the Clippers late last month.