NBA Rookie Photo Shoot turns into dunk contest

The NBA Rookie Photo Shoot is normally a place where players go to have fun, take selfies and pose for playing cards. This year, the sponsor, Panini America, instigated what turned out to be an impromptu dunk contest, and the results were glorious.

The first dunk of the morning was by Jarnell Stokes, challenging Jordan Adams to beat his rather simplistic dunk.

Jordan Adams followed that by admitting that he doesn’t dunk, but then casually draining what looks like a 40 foot three pointer. 

That’s when the fun really started. Glenn Robinson III started the show with this 360 windmill, and challenged Zach LaVine in the process to beat it.

That’s probably a 48 or so in the regular NBA dunk contest, so it’s not like this was an easy dunk to top. Then again, I’m pretty sure Zach LaVine is an alien that was put on this planet solely to win multiple NBA dunk contests. Here’s how he followed up.

LaVine then challenged Wiggins, who busted out this:

I think the problem that Wiggins is going to run into in the actual dunk contest is that he makes things look way too easy. The degree of difficulty on a 360 behind-the-back is off-the-charts, and he barely had to expend energy to do it.

One person who we know will not be competing in the dunk contest is Mitch McGary, who uhhh…well…yeah.

He later made up for it by being part of a Michigan-themed dunk with former teammates Robinson and Nik Stauskas.

The real thing to take away from this is that an all rookie dunk contest might be the best possible thing this season after last year’s monstrosity. Just put LaVine, Wiggins, Robinson, Nick Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, Adriean Payne, Cleanthony Early and Markel Brown into one massive competition and watch them revive the event.

It would be awfully hard NOT to enjoy that event, as long as the NBA throws the last dunk contest’s rule book into a fiery abyss to never return again.