A tip of the cap to the Wolves public relations Twitter account for turning us on to former Minnesota guard J.R. Rider winning the All-Star slam dunk contest 20 years ago today.
That All-Star game was played at Target Center, so Rider was a fan favorite throughout the night.
Of course, this wouldn’t be worth bringing to your attention is we didn’t have video, so sit back and enjoy the good J.R. Rider, and try and forget the bad version.
The dunk that sealed it, one he called “East Bay Funk”, prompted then Phoenix Sun Charles Barkley to call it “the greatest dunk I’ve ever seen”, adding “what happened to his other point” when Rider was awarded only a 49 out of a possible 50.
Rider is the only Wolf to ever win the slam dunk contest, and the 1994 All-Star game marks the last time it was held in Minnesota.
