Anybody that watched last year’s NBA dunk contest remembers it well. They made it conference vs conference, and added a three person freestyle competition beforehand. Harrison Barnes was a member of the Western Conference dunk contest team, and lets just say he….well he kinda whiffed.
It was a shame to see a player that we know can be athletic mess up in a competition that’s all about athletecism, and sadly this made him the butt of a lot of jokes. Luckily, Barnes was given a chance to redeem himself tonight and he did not disappoint.
That aint no alley-layup! Barnes rose up, and this time he finished the alley-oop off the beautiful lob from Steph Curry. What an incredible moment of redemption for a player that many fans had written off because of his horrible dunk contest showing last year.
Maybe it’s just coincidence, but earlier tonight the dunk contest entries were announced. Barnes was obviously not on that list, and maybe that lit a fire under him. Perhaps he wanted another shot at the dunk contest so he could prove that last year was just a fluke. While there’s no proof of that… the timing is just a little too convenient to say otherwise.