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A look back to when Kobe Bryant won the dunk contest as an 18-year-old rookie

Emmett KnowltonDec 2, 2015, 00:53 IST

Kevork Djansezian/AP

It didn't take long for Kobe Bryant's hyper-competitiveness to become his defining feature as a basketball player.

Over All-Star weekend during his rookie season on the Lakers in 1997, Bryant set a Rookie Game record with 31 points. The next night, Bryant won the Slam Dunk Contest in dominant fashion.

Below is footage from that dunk contest.

This is before the dunk contest became an over-the-top circus show with cars and Superman costumes. But even in 1997, as an 18-year-old, Bryant's facial expressions and overall swagger shines through.

Here are the highlights (all GIFs and screengrabs via Youtube):