LKL Slam Dunk Contest

Slam Dunk Contest
SportLietuvos krepšinio lyga
Local nameOro Karalius (Lithuanian)
History
First awardGary Arrington, 1994
Most winsDarius Sirtautas: 3 times
Most recentKenny Gaines

The LKL Slam Dunk Contest was an annual Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL) competition, that was originally held during the LKL All-Star Day, and later during the King Mindaugas Cup. The contest has been held almost every year, from the first All-Star Day.

History

Throughout the history of the contest, there have been witnessed many famous moments. Most noticeable being the 2001 contest, in Kaunas, where Robertas Javtokas (representing Lietuvos rytas) repeated the World Record for the highest slam dunk, when he dunked a basketball on a goal set at 3.65m (12 feet) above the floor.[1]

The very first slam dunk contest was won by Gary Arrington, of BC Statyba, at the 1994 LKL All-Star Day, in Panevėžys.[2] The current champion of the LKL Dunk Contest is Kenny Gaines.[3]

Slam Dunk Contest champions

Year Player Nationality Team
1994 (Panevėžys) Gary Arrington  United States Statyba
1995 (Alytus) Darius Sirtautas  Lithuania Atletas
1997 (Kaunas) Darius Sirtautas (2×)  Lithuania Žalgiris
1998 (Vilnius) Darius Sirtautas (3×)  Lithuania Žalgiris
1999 (Kaunas) Eurelijus Žukauskas  Lithuania Žalgiris
2000 (Kaunas) Robertas Javtokas  Lithuania Lietuvos rytas
2001 (Kaunas) Robertas Javtokas (2×)  Lithuania Lietuvos rytas
2002 (Kaunas) Dainius Šalenga  Lithuania Žalgiris
2003 (Kaunas) Aaron Lucas  United States Lietuvos rytas
2004 (Kaunas) Marco Spears  United States Alita
2005 (Vilnius) Antonio Grant  United States Neptūnas
2007 (Vilnius) Aivaras Kiaušas  Lithuania Sakalai
2008 (Šiauliai) Mantas Kalnietis  Lithuania Žalgiris
2009 (Šiauliai) Arvydas Šikšnius  Lithuania Sakalai
2010 (Panevėžys) Aron Baynes  Australia Lietuvos rytas
2011 (Šiauliai) Algirdas Palaima  Lithuania Vilnius Pedagogical University, LSKL
2012 (Klaipėda) Sonny Weems  United States Žalgiris
2013 (Šiauliai) Šarūnas Beniušis  Lithuania LSU-Baltai
2014 (Klaipėda) Travis Leslie  United States Šiauliai
2015 (Vilnius) Travis Leslie (2×)  United States Lietuvos rytas
2016 (Vilnius) Rafal Lipinski  Poland Guest
2017 (Kaunas) Gediminas Žitlinskas  Lithuania Guest
2018 (Klaipėda) Kenny Gaines  United States Juventus

See also

References

  1. ^ "Nuo rekordo iki kuriozo: įsimintiniausi LKL Žvaigždžių dienos dėjimai". alfa.lt (in Lithuanian). 4 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. ^ Ramoška, Saulius (18 February 2017). "Rankas smailina tritaškininkai ir dėjikai". Lietuvos žinios (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  3. ^ "KMT "Oro karaliumi" tapo A.Bestą nurungęs 175 cm ūgio G.Žitlinskas". Krepsinis.net (in Lithuanian). 18 February 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2017.