2021 Slam Dunk Contest was underwhelming, especially without Zach LaVine

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After blowing a kiss to the rim, Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons won the 2021 Slam Dunk Contest by a 3-2 vote to make him the first Trail Blazer to do so.

While Simons showcased his impressive vertical, consistency and creativity in his winning dunk where he threw himself a lob -- the Slam Dunk Contest was nothing special this year.

I particularly liked the uniqueness of setting the ball up on a little platform at the top left of the square on the backboard. At 6-foot-4, he soared all the way up, grabbed the ball and dunked it in.

But it wasn't aggressive enough for me. Most of these dunks lacked the explosiveness and authority that I like to see, especially in a dunk contest.

The kids today aren't getting a flavor of the dunks that we got to witness in the past years of the contest -- and let's not blame the pandemic.

If everyone still gathers in the arena to make the contest happen, then the execution should not disappoint.

The contest took place during halftime, and unlike past years, there were only three contestants: Indiana Pacers guard Cassius Stanley, New York Knicks forward Obi Toppin and Anfernee Simons.

Rather than the usual scoring, this time the final round was decided by a simple judges' choice.

Stanley started off hot for someone who hasn't thrown down a dunk in an actual NBA game yet. He was the first one up and he got a 44 for this dunk:

Toppin jumped over his dad and teammate Julius Randle. He then threw it down with power, which was more satisfying to watch than some of the other jams of the contest. Obviously jumping over people is always entertaining to see, which instantly got me thinking back to last year when Aaron Gordon jumped over Tacko Fall, who I must remind you is 7 feet 5 inches tall.

This dunk contest just had me thinking back to arguably the greatest dunk battle between Zach LaVine, back when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and Gordon. I miss that.

LaVine won the Slam Dunk Contest in 2015 and 2016.

While we were craving the excitement we used to get watching him in the Slam Dunk Contest, he decided he's past that.

This year, he participated in the 3-Point Contest, hoping to become the first player in NBA history to win both the Slam Dunk Contest and the 3-Point Contest. It's heart-warming to see how versatile LaVine is.

He can throw down the toughest slams while also drain some impressive 3s. He shouldn't be putting the dunk contest in the past just yet. It would've been a whole different competition if LaVine was in it.

His 22 points weren't enough to get him past the first round of the 3-Point Contest. He finished tied with Donovan Mitchell for fourth in the field, behind Steph Curry (31), Mike Conley (28), Jayson Tatum (25) and ahead of Jaylen Brown (17).

Simons himself was seeking approval from the dunk king. He kept going up to LaVine to ask him if his dunks were "worthy."

Here's what this year's Slam Dunk Contest should've looked like: