Zach LaVine & Aaron Gordon electrified Toronto on NBA All-Star Weekend

     The highlight of the 2016 NBA All-Star Saturday Night and possibly the weekend, was the slam dunk contest. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon had one of the most epic slam dunk battles the world has ever seen. Every time Aaron Gordon did something that couldn't be topped, Zach LaVine found a way to match it and get a 50 to stay alive in sudden death.

     While we have seen a lot of great dunks over the years, what makes this dunk contest different is that we got to see two guys who truly matched each other for their grace, creativity, and difficulty. Aaron Gordon's soaring between the legs dunk over the Magic's mascot was jaw dropping and Zach LaVine's between the legs dunk from the foul line was equally spectacular. In truth, even though Zach LaVine ended up winning, there really was no winner to this dunking duel. Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon both were winners because they captivated the minds of NBA fans across the globe.

     The reason we watch the NBA is to be entertained by the world's best players and both Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon demonstrated an understanding of this. They knew that people wanted to see a show and they did everything in their power to put on the best show possible. What was even more impressive to see was the mutual respect between the two players when the contest finally ended. Zach LaVine was happy to win, but he was quick to recognize that Aaron Gordon did some stuff that he himself could not do.

     This dunk contest really had everything we could hope for. It had dunks we hadn't seen, dunks that left us in awe, and dunks that left us wanting more. I don't know about you, but if somebody told me that Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon were having a dunk off at 2:00 AM at Rucker Park with glow in the dark basketballs, I would stay up to watch it.

     Hopefully, future dunk contests will also be able to entertain us, but make no mistake, the dunk contest isn't back. It's been back for a while and Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon just took it to another level. It was beautiful to watch and definitely worth watching again.