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Glenn Robinson III jumps over a person and a half in dunk contest

Feb 18, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Glenn Robinson III (40) competes in the slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 18, 2017; New Orleans, LA, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Glenn Robinson III (40) competes in the slam dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Glenn Robinson III threw down a monster first dunk to set the bar high in the 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. What will the rest do to match it?

Glenn Robinson III was the clear underdog going into this year’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest. All the pre-contest hype had to do with Aaron Gordon returning, the D-League dunking phenom Derrick Jones Jr, and big man DeAndre Jordan.

Robinson III usually got mentioned as an afterthought in discussions. He must have noticed this, because he came out in the Slam Dunk Contest trying to send a message on his very first dunk.

Robinson III made it look like he was going to jump over two people initially, but then had them combine to form one whole person for him to jump over while he held the ball. Robinson cleared the jump no problem, grabbed the ball and then threw down a monster one-handed slam to the front of the rim.

That is just really something else. Of course Robinson the III got a 50 for this dunk, because the execution for it was absolutely perfect and then he had the power needed to bring some flare.

The mistake a lot of dunkers make in this contest is they have great dunks with no power, or powerful dunks with nothing special to them. Robinson III found that perfect mix and now he’s reaping the benefits of it.

Next: NBA: 2000s All-Decade First Team

It’ll be interesting to see what he brings into the second round after setting the stage with a fantastic first dunk.