That dunk contest defrosted Toronto and maybe all of Canada

Good morning. We have lots of links from NBA All-Star Saturday and beyond.

Feb 14, 2016, 1:26 PM UTC

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

WHOA BOY: We knew Zach LaVine would have something for us. His performance in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest last year was excellent, after all, and few can fly like him. And sure enough, he was spectacular on Saturday. I mean, he did an alley-oop from the free throw line in the first round.

But then Aaron Gordon and the Orlando Magic mascot showed out. I mean, man, some of those Aaron Gordon dunks were some of the best we’ve seen in years. Even his sub-50 dunks were incredible on the slow-motion review. Going under both legs while leaping over the mascot is almost unthinkable. Rodger Sherman is right: Gordon might be the best runner-up ever.

The contest was so good the dudes kept getting 50s and we had to go to a dunk-off. The league ran out of room on its official scoresheet! LaVine eventually won by going between the legs from a step inside the free throw line.

Man, what a dunk contest. Here’s my piece on why we can never give up on the Dunk Contest -- because of the potential for a serendipitous greatness other events can’t imagine.

LOVE: LaVine dedicated his win and his trophy to the late, great Flip Saunders.

STINKFACE: The reactions to the dunks were almost as good as the dunks.

CLICK: The dunk contest in seven astonishing photos.

DON’T FORGET THE KIDS: The young children of NBA players had themselves a little dunk contest, too. Carmelo Anthony’s son got the assist from Odell Beckham, Jr.!

AS EXPECTED: The D-League Dunk Contest lived up to the hype as it always does. A windmill from a 5’10 competitor, anyone?

PEW PEW: If you expected Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to play prominent roles in the Three-Point Shootout, nice work! Thompson hit his final eight shots in the title round to pass Curry and win the trophy. Interesting note: the final round featured those two and upjumped eighth-grader Devin Booker. All three have fathers who played in the NBA.

PEW PEW 2: Steph hitting back-to-back halfcourt shots at All-Star practice.

DO IT FOR THE BIG MEN! Karl-Anthony Towns beat Isaiah Thomas in the championship round of the Skills Challenge. The other big men, including Boogie Cousins, loved it. The format was interesting: it was an actual head-to-head race between two competitors at a time instead of time trials. That made it really awkward when both C.J. McCollum and Jordan Clarkson went for a layup in the first heat, and Clarkson hesitated to let McCollum go ahead (and eventually win).

But the players got the hang of it, and it really added a new level of competitiveness to the proceedings. In the finals, Towns and Thomas each missed a few threes before the rookie sunk one. It was thrilling.

ALL HART: Say what you will about Kevin Hart, but he challenged Draymond Green, who is an NBA All-Star, to a nationally televised shooting contest ... and almost won. That takes an inordinate amount of bravery and self-comfort.

OH MAN: At the Hall of Fame nomination event, NBA TV host Rick Kamla tells Allen Iverson that they may be seeing him again later this summer. A.I. responds with an incredulous and somewhat apprehensive “Where?” Oh man.

MEANWHILE ... Shaq turned the event into a roast.

SAGE WITH THE SAVE: Sorry Arcade Fire frontman and 2016 Celebrity Game MVP Win Butler, but ESPN’s Sage Steele is not going to be the Mike Myers to your Kanye West. He tried to talk about healthcare in his victory interview, and she cut him off.

T-MAC FOREVER: Tracy McGrady played in the Celeb Game and one of his first acts was to try to replicate his infamous off-the-backboard self-oop. He ... uh, he completed the basket.

BIG MAN BACKFLIPS.

SPEAKING OF BIG MEN ... Charles Barkley lost a bet because Shaq can still dunk.

NO F’N WAY: There’s a rumor the Cavaliers, Celtics and Knicks have discussed a three-way trade involving Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Love. Wait, what?

LOL: NBA referees read mean tweets.

G.O.A.T.U.S.: Steph and his wife Ayesha lip-syncing to the “Banana” song from Minions ... with Michelle Obama.

MORE STEPH: Alex Wong wrote a great piece on how Steph dominated the Toronto eighth-grade scene back when his dad Dell Curry was playing for the Raptors.

THE LION IN WINTER: Brilliant Lars Anderson piece on Vince Carter and why Canada still has an NBA team.