Jordan Brand brought the dunk contest to its own backyard this week, hosting a stacked four-man field at the Jordan House in Inglewood, California. By the end of the night, it was Mattia Meneghini hoisting the trophy, capping off a finals comeback that had the room locked in from the opening dunk.
The Field
This one didn’t lack for star power. Mattia Meneghini, known as TDKTIA, came in as the FIBA World Dunk Tour champion and one of the best one-foot dunkers on the planet. Standing across from him was Chris Staples, a bona fide dunk legend: former Harlem Globetrotter, two-time Guinness World Record holder, and the lead actor in the dunk movie Slamma Jamma. Amir Smith rounded out the star power, a 6’6″ Netflix star from Running Point (and son of former #1 overall NBA pick Joe Smith) who’s built a real dunk résumé of his own. Rounding out the bracket was Erik Howlin, a new name to most of us, thrown in against three proven veterans.
Round One
Round one didn’t go the way the seeding suggested. Meneghini, the presumptive favorite, struggled out of the gate and looked nothing like a world champion through his first attempts. But when the round closed, it was Staples and Smith on the outside looking in, and Meneghini scraping into the finals opposite Erik Howlin.
The Finals
Meneghini and Howlin each got two dunks to decide it, and Meneghini saved his best for last. After trading attempts with Howlin, Meneghini closed the show with a behind-the-back slam that was clean, powerful, and exactly the kind of finish a finals round is supposed to have. It was enough to seal the win and the title.
You can watch Mattia’s dunk highlights from the contest right here on Instagram.
NBA forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. sat judge for the night, adding some real NBA credibility to the scorer’s table.
What’s Next
Mattia Meneghini adds a Jordan Brand dunk contest title to his résumé, and Erik Howlin walks away from his first big stage having already hung with a two-time Guinness World Record holder and a Netflix star. That’s a signature result for a new dunker to build on.
Check out full profiles for Mattia Meneghini, Chris Staples, and Amir Smith on our Pro Dunkers page, and follow Dunkademics for the next breakdown.