Serge Ibaka Robbed in Dunk Contest Despite 'Toy-Bite Dunk,' Judging Conspiracy Questions Ensue

Serge Ibaka should have had his dunks sponsored by Kia and accompanied by a choir, because there was nothing else that the Congolese phenom could have done to win the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night.

Simply put, Ibaka threw down one of the greatest dunk-contest performances of all time. Not only did he complete Julius Erving’s and Michael Jordan‘s patented free-throw line jam — with room to spare — but he pulled off a stunt like none other ever performed in the contest — and even got the kids involved.

Ibaka’s young helper stormed onto the court and pleaded for Ibaka to get his plush toy, a Thunder mascot, out of the hoop, and the 6-foot-10 21-year-old obliged — except in a way that nobody saw coming.

Ibaka went up for the slam, throwing down hard, while bringing the toy with him — in his mouth.

Both of his dunks, though, were given scores of just 45 despite being significantly more difficult and eye-popping than those offered by eventual winner Blake Griffin, who received better scores and advanced to the final round.

Why? The conspiracy theorist — or objective viewer — would say that Kia wouldn’t have been too happy if Griffin didn’t make the finals — since Blake’s finale was a case of blatant product placement, and that the whole competition was pretty much a sham. In fact, in the final round, Griffin’s over-the-Kia dunk wasn’t nearly the equal of Javele McGee‘s impossible reverse windmill, but because of the hype and the fan-voting setup, the victory was never in question.

See Ibaka’s stunt below.

Photo of the day

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Quote of the day

“Just to update you, Mikhail has not met with and has no plans to meet with Carmelo Anthony. He is looking forward to enjoying All-Star Weekend. We will have nothing else to add on this.”
–Mikhail Prokhorov’s spokeswoman Ellen Pinchuk, despite Prokhorov meeting with Anthony Saturday