Jacob Toppin isn’t a better dunker than his brother Obi, after all.
For those keeping score, the older Toppin brother and former Knicks first-round pick has won one NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
And the younger brother lost in the first round of his Slam Dunk Contest debut on All-Star Saturday night.
Jacob Toppin wouldn’t divulge the details of his dunk contest plan when he spoke to reporters after his Feb. 8 Knicks debut.
“I’m a great dunker, so I guess the word got around and I ended up getting invited, so I’m excited for the opportunity. I know my brother did it, so just having the opportunity to do it after my brother did it, it’s definitely gonna be a fun experience,” he said. “People keep asking me if I’m asking [Obi] for tips, but I’m the better dunker, so I wouldn’t ask him for tips. But we talked about it and we talked about what I’m going to do, so I’m just excited to be able to do that.”
The Knicks’ two-way forward was one of New York’s two NBA All-Star Weekend representatives, and he started the event off with a bang.
For dunk one, Jacob brought out Obi and jumped over him while reversing home a two-handed baseline dunk.
Judges awarded that dunk a 47.8 score, 0.4 points higher than Miami Heat rookieJaime Jaquez Jr., who went first and windmilled over Shaquille O’Neale for a dunk that drew just a 47.4 score.
The younger Toppin, however, missed the first attempt of his second dunk — a reverse 360 between the legs two-handed finish.
And after his first dunk generated a 47.8 score, judges penalized his second dunk for the missed first attempt. His score was not high enough to advance to Round 2.
Just moments after Jalen Brunson came one made three shy of advancing into the second round of the NBA Three-Point Contest, Toppin lost in Round 1, as well.
Toppin finished in third place, ahead of Jaquez Jr., and behind both Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown and Orlando Magic two-way guard Mac McClung, known best for the hops that don’t fit his profile.
Brown advanced to the second round despite rather simple dunks compared to the competition: His first paid homage to a judge — NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins — by cocking the ball back above his head before windmilling it in with authority. Like Toppin, Brown missed his second dunk: jumping over notable streamer Kai Cenat to catch an alley-oop from teammate Jayson Tatum.
McClung’s first dunk drew an uproar from the arena: He jumped over someone holding the ball behind their head, then tossed it to himself in mid-air for a reverse flush.
The 6-2 McClung then cleared O’Neale and two-hand reversed it in to score the night’s only perfect 50 on the game’s final dunk, defeating Brown in the championship round.
On the same night Damian Lillard repeated as Three-Point Champion, McClung secured back-to-back Slam Dunk titles.