Here are the five fun and quick facts on the high-flyer shooting guard Anfernee Simons.
The 2021 NBA All-Star festivities just got concluded and one of the highlights outside the usual East vs West or the team LeBron against team Durant is the slam dunk contest.
Simons shines the brightest on that rim-rocking competition as he bagged the slam dunk king trophy where he eliminated New York Knicks forward Obadiah Toppin in the final round.
1. Uses Two Original Dunks During The 2021 Slam Dunk Contest
Simons participation in the dunk contest was special as he introduced new ways to entertain the fans. His first and last were never before seen, even the commentators said it. First, there’s the basketball sticked at the backboard then he drawn the killer performance with “Kiss the Rim” or others called it as the “Sealed with a Kiss” (though his lips didn’t reach the ring but still a great dunk).
2. He Was Named After The Four-Time NBA All-Star
Anfernee’s parents, Charles and Tameka are both big fans of the Orlando Magic. One of the team’s biggest stars in the ’90s was Penny Hardaway whose real name is Anfernee. Mr. and Mrs. Simmons used that name as their inspiration for their son.
Simons and Hardaway got the opportunity to team-up where the older Anfernee coached the younger version of his name during a Team USA Basketball training camp.
3. He Was Drafted By the Blazers
Simons was selected by the Portland Trail Blazer in the first round of the 2018 NBA Draft using their 24th pick rights. He entered the NBA straight from High School where his last team where he played was with the Edgewater Eagles.
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4. First Trail Blazers To Win A Slam Dunk Trophy
At the start of this post, we mentioned that the high-flyer won the Slam Dunk competition. Apart from those two unique and never-before-seen slams, Simons also became the first-ever Trail Blazer player to be named as the slam dunk king.
5. Third Player Who Came From HS to NBA Since 2015
He also became the third player since 2015 to be drafted straight from high school. The other players were Thon Maker and Satnam Singh Bhamara.
Rivals and 247Sports gave Simons a recruiting ranking of perfect 10 while ESPN gave a score of 9.