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Utah Jazz: Relive Slam Dunk champ Donovan Mitchell’s epic jams

By Ryan Aston

LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz pose for a portrait with the trophy as the winner of the 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night of the as part of NBA All-Star 2018 on February 17, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Donovan Mitchell #45 of the Utah Jazz pose for a portrait with the trophy as the winner of the 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night of the as part of NBA All-Star 2018 on February 17, 2017 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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4) Off the second backboard

Talk about starting things off with a bang.

Mitchell was the first man up and, right off the bat, he did something we hadn’t seen before. When he brought out the second basket standard, my first thought was that he was going to crank it up to 11 (feet) a la Dwight Howard in the 2009 Slam Dunk Contest.

Instead, he launched the ball off of the second backboard — which was several feet behind the end line — caught the rock in mid-air and slammed it home, windmill-style. On its own, the dunk was solid, but catching the ball from such an unnatural angle is what put this one over the top for me.

Clearly, the first-year phenom had come to play.

Next: Dr. Dunkenstein

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