The British Basketball League delivered the first of its kind show-stopping basketball dunk competition, brought to you by General Tire, at the top of The O2.
All to celebrate the countdown to the British Basketball League play-off finals, which take place later this month.
Leicester Riders star and high-flyer Blake “The Showman” Bowman headed 52 meters up onto the iconic roof of The O2, with roofwalk attraction Up at The O2 which provides panoramic views overlooking London’s skyline, where he recreated a series of epic slam dunks from this year’s regular basketball season, performing and recreating one iconic dunk for each of the qualifying teams who have made it through to this year’s BBL play-offs. This included Tajh Green’s unbelievable off the backboard dunk for Manchester Giants, Josh Sharma’s jam for the London Lions and Bristol Flyer’s alley-oop spectacular. You can view all eight dunks by clicking HERE.
A judging panel of experts were on hand to cast their verdict on which dunk would be crowned the BBL’s ‘Dunk of the Season’. The panel included WBBL board member Siobhan Prior, Behrad Bakhtiari and Denzel Kazembe from Simply British Ballers and leading basketball reporter Sam Neter from the dedicated British basketball website, Hoopsfix.
After eight outstanding dunk recreations, it was Bowman’s very own windmill jam that came out on top, crowning him champion of the British Basketball League “Now You Know” Dunk Challenge, brought to you by General Tire.
The activity, hosted by British Basketball master of ceremonies Tahir Hajat, celebrates another incredible year for the British Basketball League, continues to showcase the appetite there is for Basketball in the UK, whilst also raising awareness for the season defining play-off finals which take place at The O2 on Sunday May 14th.
An expected capacity crowd of close to 17,000 fans are set to generate an electric atmosphere inside The O2, with the British Basketball League’s flagship event also set to be broadcast live on Sky Sports.
Fans from across the world are also encouraged to vote for their favourite dunk from the season by using the #BritishDunks and #NowYouKnow.
The British Basketball League’s Head of Marketing and Communications, Joe Edwards, said:
“Make no mistake, this season the British Basketball League has made history and we’ve taken the sport we all love to new heights. We wanted to do something to grab the attention of Basketball fans and the general public and celebrate the end of season play-off’s at The O2.
He added: “Whilst a completely crazy idea it might seem, it made complete sense to do this, and we hope Basketball Fans worldwide enjoy what the British Basketball League has to offer. I want to say a special thanks to our partner General Tire, and all of our other partners, the players and our staff for sharing our vision together and making this possible.”
Speaking on the incredible dunk challenge, Peter Robb, Marketing Director at General Tire, said:
“It’s great to work on this project with the British Basketball League, basketball in Britain is really taking off and it was fantastic to be able to support such an innovative idea. The challenge perfectly ties in with our brand’s philosophy of ‘anywhere is possible’, so it was a real privilege to partner with the league and make this incredible idea come to life.
“The British Basketball League has done an amazing job in harnessing the country’s love for basketball and we’re thrilled to be a part of it. As an SUV/off road tyre specialist we stand for adventure and getting out and living life to the full, so hopefully this project encourages people of all ages to get off the sofa and participate in the sport and head down to watch their local British Basketball League team in action.”
British Basketball has never been at such a high – in every sense of the word, after another meteoric year for the league, which has seen incredible progress both on and off the court. The league has had record viewership across its broadcast, fans have packed into arenas across the country each week and the men’s championship champions, London Lions, proudly flew the flag for UK basketball in a record breaking run in the EuroCup.
But the trophy the teams all dream to lift is still up for grabs, as the league’s most sought after championship game, the play-off final is set to thrill a sold out crowd at The O2 on Sunday May 14th.
Just four teams remain standing and fighting for the chance to compete in the play-off finals in ten days time. London Lions face Cheshire Phoenix, whilst Bristol Flyers do battle with last season’s champions Leicester Riders this week to try to book their tickets to the capital.
Tickets for the event are selling fast and fans can grab the last few remaining tickets by visiting https://www.bbl.org.uk/2023playoffs/.
Fans unable to make the finals will be able to tune in live on Sky Sports and the Sky Sports YouTube Channel on Sunday May 14th from 13:00 BST.
