NBA All-Star: Diallo wins dunk contest, Tatum best in skills challenge
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Oklahoma City Thunder guard Hamidou Diallo knew he'd have to make an impression to win the slam dunk contest. So he decided to find a way to make the biggest one possible: by dunking over the biggest person in the building.
Wearing a Superman shirt underneath his teal Thunder jersey, Diallo threw down a slam after jumping over 7-foot-1 Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal and then hung on the rim by his elbow to steal the show and come away as the winner of this year's competition.
"Yeah, I was sure," Diallo said of whether he knew he could dunk over O'Neal. "I wouldn't have brought him out there if I wasn't sure."
Diallo's dunk was one of the few highlights of a competition that featured some compelling slams - including New York Knicks guard Dennis Smith Jr. dunking over rapper J. Cole while wearing Cole's high school jersey, and Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins jumping over an airplane prop -- but also lengthy delays because a few contestants required multiple tries in order to complete their dunks.
Two players - Smith and Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges -- failed to convert one of their attempts.
Smith's failed attempt came on his first dunk in the final round, but he earned a 50 on his second dunk of the final, jumping over Dwyane Wade while getting an alley-oop from Stephen Curry.
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