(Image from espn.go.com)The 2012 All-Star Weekend Festivities were highlighted by Team New York taking the Shooting Stars Challenge, Tony Parker winning the Skills Challenge, and Kevin Love stunning everybody by winning the 3-Point Shootout as a Power Forward. But the final act was the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, the most anticipated event of every All-Star Saturday Night, and all 4 dunkers brought something to the table. Chase Budginger of the Houston Rockets, Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, and Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz were the four participants. While not being a star-studded dunk contest, there were still plenty of great dunks.
But the highlight of the night was Jeremy Evans jumping over teammate Gordon Hayward who tossed him two balls in the air to simultaneously grab and then dunk in the hoop. It was a fantastic dunk, and it wowed the crowd. Other dunks were great as well like Paul George's glow in the dark 360 dunk, Derrick Williams 360 off the side of the backboard reverse jam, and Chase Budginger's reverse blind fold jam. But Jeremy Evans' 2 ball dunk was enough to win him the dunk contest, especially since the rest of his dunks weren't all that impressive. He had one great dunk up his sleeves, he executed it, and he won. It was a great night for Evans, and the Utah Jazz.
But this dunk contest title did more than just boost Evans' confidence, it boosted the whole Utah Jazz franchise. The Jazz have been in a rut, and watching young Jeremy Evans have a great outing and win certainly lifted the spirits of the Jazz. Especially after a heartbreaking loss at the buzzer to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Jazz are in transition, and making the playoffs will be a challenge, but if all goes well, the Jazz can still qualify and make a run in the playoffs. Lets hope Jeremy Evans' dunk contest title will help provide the Jazz a much needed spark.
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