Kristaps Dārgais Ends Dunking Career; Polish Dunker Wins 'Kings of Air'
Tonight at Grīziņkalns, Kristaps Dārgais competed in his final dunk contest, placing fourth, as Polish dunker Piotr Grabo Grabowski claimed victory at the 'Kings of Air' event organized by Ghetto Games.
Tonight, the 'Kings of Air' dunk contest, organized by Ghetto Games, took place at Grīziņkalns, marking the end of Kristaps Dārgais' dunking career. The Latvian legend finished fourth in his final competition, losing to eventual winner Piotr Grabo Grabowski in the semifinals and then to Britain's Jeremiah Skywalker in the bronze medal round.
A total of ten dunkers participated. After the first round, two other Latvian representatives were eliminated: last year's champion Eduards Avotiņš and qualifier winner Andris Benedikts Gusts, who impressed with a dunk involving a flaming ball. Gusts is also the head of 'Ghetto Basket'.
Winner Grabowski, from Poland, defeated another British dunker, Joel Henry, in the final. The full list of participants for the 2026 'Kings of Air' included: Bartosz Szwed, Joel Henry, Jeremiah Skywalker, Chris Staples, Piotr Grabo Grabowski, Dmitriy Smoove Krivenko, Mattia Meneghini, Kristaps Dārgais, Andris Benedikts Gusts, and Eduards Avotiņš.
The judging panel featured notable figures: Latvia's top basketball player Kristaps Porziņģis, along with Artūrs Žagars, Rihards Lomažs, artist Vladislavs Lakše, actor Kārlis Arnolds Avots, and Simon Piechowski, manager of Dunk Elite.
