Avante “The Joker” Nichols

Avante “The Joker” Nichols grew up playing everything from hockey and baseball to soccer, tennis, and football before focusing on basketball around fourth or fifth grade. On Dunk Talk #77, he recalled spending much of sixth grade in the gym, asking friends to throw him lobs with tennis balls and whatever else they could find. He dates his first dunk to age 12, near the end of sixth grade, followed by his first in-game dunk in seventh grade. Kobe Bryant made him want to play basketball and dunk. As he began following professional dunkers, Jonathan Clark became a particular inspiration, both for his unusual dunks and for being a teacher who could perform them.

Basketball took Avante from Georgia to junior college in Kansas. Living away from home, early workouts, and a demanding practice schedule changed how he approached the game. Many of the dunks that eventually brought him attention were filmed after practice, when he had already spent hours running and jumping. A 360 Eastbay off the side of the backboard spread online and helped lead to contest opportunities. He also described getting a call from 2K to perform dunk animations and joining the DunkMan television show. What had once looked like a career reserved for the people he watched was becoming a possibility for him.

That path brought him into Shaquille O’Neal’s DunkMan League. In Group Stage B, Avante landed a Toe Touch on his first attempt in front of Jonathan Clark, one of the specific goals he had set for himself. He entered the group final in first place, but the night also exposed how much contest preparation matters. His planned passer was unavailable shortly before the event, and his high school point guard stepped in with limited time to practice together. Avante missed his two final-round dunks, including a free throw line attempt he had kept quiet beforehand. In the interview, he described finishing 11th overall in the league’s first year and coming away with a clearer understanding of what to work on.

After DunkMan, Avante won the Bulls Fest dunk contest in Chicago, where one of his dunks took him over Benny the Bull. The experience gave him another contest to learn from, this time on an outdoor court. He also told Dylan about a dream he had months earlier that seemed to anticipate the crowd, mascot, and celebration. His dunking combines the tricks that first caught his attention with his own variations, while the years spent playing basketball remain a major part of his background.

At the time of his Dunk Talk interview, Avante was still playing college basketball and weighing that path against a fuller commitment to professional dunking. He spoke openly about loving the game while recognizing the opportunity to build a career around dunking itself. His advice to aspiring dunkers was to keep jumping, take care of their bodies, have fun, and develop their own style instead of comparing themselves with somebody else. In episode 77, he walks through that journey with Dylan Haugen, from his first attempts to the lessons of his first DunkMan League season.