10 best ever moments at 3x3 Lausanne Masters

LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - The unforgettable Tokyo Games may be over but Olympic fever will be in the air during the FIBA 3x3 World Tour's return on August 20-21.

Lausanne, the Olympic capital, plays host and has been an iconic site on the pro circuit for many years.

Let's take a look back at the 10 most incredible moments from the Lausanne Masters

 

Smoove's debut (2013)

Dmitry 'Smoove' Krivenko is one of the OG dunkers on the World Tour's dunking contest. He memorably unleashed his gravity defying arsenal in Lausanne eight years ago in an unreal breakout.

The Ukrainian was oh so smooth with a series of signature self-alley dunks including a one-handed 360 and behind the legs slam to win the title.

It was the birth of a dunk legend who has continued to dazzle and shock fans throughout the years with his crazy feats in the air.

 

Darlington vs Maberry Dunk Contest (2014)

This epic duel remains one of the greatest dunk contests on the World Tour. Porter 'What's Gravity' Maberry proved that height doesn't matter when you can walk on air.

The 1.65m (5ft 5in) Maberry stole the show after continually dunking over towering participants to make Vince Carter's slam over Fred Weis look like Child's play.

It was tough for the 1.93m (6ft 4in) Justin 'Jus Fly' Darlington to quite get the same love but he threw down one of the most creative dunks seen with his trademark cartwheel slam in this battle for the ages.

But it was Maberry who won the crown and inspired all diminutive dunkers that anything is possible.

 

Finzgar leads Trbolvje to victory (2014)

Simon Finzgar aka the 'Sphinx' is one of the World Tour's pioneers. Many have tried to copy the Slovenian superstar's moves but only the master can mummify defenders.

And he was never better than at the Lausanne Masters in 2014 when he led Piran (SLO) then known as Trbolvje (SLO) to the title with a thrilling 17-16 victory over Kranj. Finzgar was unstoppable with a game-high 10 points in the decider, including the game winner two-pointer.

But it's his dazzling plays, complete with spins and banks off the glass, that will never be forgotten and this OG amazingly keeps pulling off the impossible until today.

 

Doug Anderson kills dunk contest (2016)

Joel Henry aka the 'Royal Guard' did little wrong in this insane dunk contest. He was just unfortunately matched up against Doug Anderson, who produced an all-timer on the big stage in Lausanne.

Anderson attacked the rim so hard it almost broke as he threw down a nasty between the legs dunk that had fans screaming for more.

And he produced with a monster bunny hop slam over Henry to take home the crown.

 

Michael Linklater's insane move (2016)

The Saskatoon legend pulled off a move so nice you have to watch it thrice to believe.

Seemingly trapped in the corner with a defender draped all over him, Linklater pulls out the crossover to gain clear before going between the legs to evade the help defender and cruise to the open layup.

If you blink, you'll miss Linklater's magic trick.

 

Team Lausanne puts on a show (2017)

Do you know why Lausanne have always had so much hype whenever they step on the court? Because no one can forget their show stopping performance at home in 2017, where they had their fans jumping around like a House of Pain concert.

They were a highlight machine throughout playing with so much fun and creativity in a breakout performance.

Young gun Natan Jurkovitz brought the massive crowd to its feet with a series of blocks and monster dunks throughout the two days of competition, where Lausanne upset top team Novi Sad on Day 1 before falling short to them in a tight final.

But Lausanne won the heart of a nation and it's proven a hard act to follow in the subsequent years.

 

Dejan Majstorovic leads Bulut-less Novi Sad (2017)

No Dusan Bulut, No Worries for Novi Sad who rode the hot hand of 'the Maestro' throughout their victorious campaign in 2017.

The sweet shooting Majstorovic tore the hearts out of the locals leading Novi Sad to a 20-15 victory over hometown heroes Lausanne.

He scored 11 points to silence the crowd with continual daggers as Novi Sad won their first ever Masters without 3x3's GOAT Bulut.

Stepping out of Bulut's shadow, Majstorovic proved he was more than capable of being the front man in 3x3's greatest band.

 

Liman vs Novi Sad Final (2018)

This Serb showdown was a battle between the best teams in 2018. And this was absolutely peak Novi Sad, who amazingly went 32-0 on the World Tour in the greatest ever season on the pro circuit.

But their perfect record was put the test in the Lausanne decider where Stefan Stojacic aka 'Mr Robot' outplayed Dusan Bulut to spark a furious comeback for Liman.

He hit a huge two-piece to tie the scores at 20 and one of the most remarkable comebacks seemed complete until a rare Aleksandar Ratkov miss.

You come at the kings you best not miss and Marko Savic proved savage to clinch the title for Novi Sad, who were never challenged to that degree again in 2018.

 

NY Harlem comeback vs Nantes and beating Princeton in Final (2019)

This quarter-final between NY Harlem and Nantes was one of the craziest games of 2019.

Nantes were up all game and proved that the bank was always open in Switzerland.

Kidani Brutus brought back the New Yorkers from the logo before Nantes missed - quite literally - their chance to ice the game from the line by bricking two free throws.

Disco Domo, who had been colder than the Alps, hit an insane contested shot to send the game to overtime, where Brutus proved the hero with the 2nd Tissot buzzer beater of the game to cap an instant classic.

It had been a three-year curse for USA on the World Tour but the all-American final between NY Harlem or Princeton ended the drought in style.

In a game featuring American stars, Disco Domo shone brightest and was in his groove scoring a game-high 10 points as NY Harlem won their first Masters in a thriller to enjoy bragging rights in the battle of USA's best.

 

Posters! Posters! Posters!

There have been so many high flying acts during games in Lausanne that these dunking machines should be trying to scale Switzerland's many famous mountains.

In 2017, Natan Jurkovitz just couldn't be stopped thanks to pitch perfect alley oops from partner in crime Gilles Martin.

Lausanne has also been the scene of several crimes with body bags needed after Karlis Lasmanis took off on Flight KLM in 2018 and a year later Robbie Hummel showed he's not just a sweet shooter by creating a poster of his own.

 

FIBA