NBC player makes history by winning DWTS award; Credits: ABC
Dancing With the Stars will be going down in the books with its history-making facts that definitely made the reality show a great piece to watch!
Dancing with the Stars has gone for 30 years but making its first several firsts this year, the show has raised Iman Shumpert as its winner. The NBA star player is the first athlete from the team to make it to the finals of the competition in the entire history of its airing. But apart from the record-breaking final entrance of Iman Shumpert, he also became the first NBA athlete to win the mirrorball trophy during the 30 seasons.
The incredibly tall athlete shares his win with dance partner Daniella Karagach. He shared his delight in getting to acquire the excellent honor of the win with his partner and compared the moment to the time when he got to grab an NBA title with fellow athletes LeBron James along with the Cleveland Cavaliers five years ago. The player, aged 31 shared, “Thank you ‘Dancing With the Stars’ … y’all gave us some streamers before we came out with mirrors on the floor. It was so nice, man.” He continued, “We don’t get all of that in the NBA. … Championship or not, all you’re getting is the hardwood, so thank you.”
The dance room win for the athlete has been a particularly special one for the star. He later revealed that he wishes to pay tribute to his mother and dedicate the historical win to her. Unfortunately, the proud mother could not see the dance action live from the stage on the Monday finale event as she was exposed to Cocvid 19 earlier. However, the NBA star shared his gratitude for his mother very vocally and shared his all-consuming appeasement at the fact that his parents will get to see him win the award.
Shumpert said, "My mother has been coming to support every week, her and my father. When they said our name, I couldn’t think about nothing but what they were doing right now, how they were feeling about it, being able to watch it."
The clearly excited star shared his enthusiasm for meeting his mother and presenting his hard-earned trophy to the lady who motivated him to win it. The NBA athlete said, “I just can’t wait for my mom to actually get her hands on this trophy because this is a show that means a lot to her."
The star also shared that his mother is usually pleased when she sees people growing out of their comfort zones and respective niches into fields beyond them and then conquering it. He explained, "It really makes her smile to see people be more than an athlete, more than an entertainer, more than whatever their respective field is. She loves when people grow … so this mirrorball is definitely for her.”
The stars celebrated their iconic win for the 30th season with a freestyle number danced to Missy Elliott's song "Lose Control," followed by an equally spectacular performance on DJ Clents's song "Bounce." Just like their crown winner performance, their end two celebratory dances took the cake and stunned fans around the globe. Celebrity judges of the show Tyra Banks along with Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli applauded the freestyle dance moves.
Apart from the regular judges of the show, guest judge Julianna Hough also praised the performance and claimed it to be the best free-style performance she has ever seen. The guest judge, Julianne Hough, had been passing verdicts on the show in the stead of her brother Derek Hough, who has been quarantined due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. Julianne shared that Shumpert and Karagach's final freestyle choreo was the best to be ever seen on the stage of Dancing With the Stars in its 30 years of airing history.
Hence, the two won a perfect score for their dance performance!
Talking about their final performances, Karagach said, “Well, it was only fair. Iman had to dive into our culture of ballroom dancing, and I had to dive into his in the freestyle. We did have an amazing choreographer, Kemo, who came from Chicago. He’s the real deal." Expanding on the techniques the Chicago dancer taught them, the pro dancer revealed, "He taught us how to footwork, and we kind of morphed our knowledge together, so we created this fun routine. And the dancers in it are absolutely breathtaking. They’re all so special, and we’re just so blessed that we had them with us.”
Apparently, the two dancers had a great time at the show, and it was fun to have the last dance at the place where they created so many memories. Karagach shares nostalgically, “Honestly, it was just so much fun. We had such a good time, and that’s all we cared about; all we wanted to do was have a good finale. It’s the last time we got to dance together, and we enjoyed the crap out of it.”
The dancer also posted a still from the dancing show to her Instagram account that she captioned, "Leaving our hearts on the floor for the last time this season. Tonight we’re taking y’all to Chicago 🔥"
However, Iman Shumpert was not the only celebrity who created history during the 30th season of Dancing With the Stars. It was the dancer couple of JoJo Siwa and pro dancing partner Jenna Johnson who first brought an air of fresh breath to the long-running show. JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson became the first same-sex couple on the celebrity dance show this year!
Both the dancers totally nailed their routines on the show and ended up becoming the first runner-up at the show. The two dance enthusiasts had been leading the show from the first episode itself, and while they did not get to win the coveted award handed out in the finale, JoJo is happy with her second place and is grateful she got to compete in the finale of the show.
The Dance Moms alum said, “Nobody likes to lose, nobody does, but I would much rather get second than have gone home a week earlier.” “I am very grateful for the things that I’ve won throughout being here. … It’s been such a good time,” said the star, aged 18. However, the dancer did have an emotional breakdown right before she had to head onto the stage to perform her dance routine to Lady Gaga's hit number "Born This Way."
Regardless of finally losing the battle to the NBA, the two dancers, Siwa and Johnson, aged 27, are proud of the fact that they got to change the face of the competition forever. They celebrated their final moments on the show with a lot of zeal and a healthy competitive spirit.
Talking about their final moments on the set, Siwa conceded, “I was so proud of it. I didn’t tell you this, but I was crying in my little egg before I went out. I had a talk with myself, and I said, ‘Pull it together really fast, otherwise Jenna’s going to kill you.’ But I just was so happy, yet so sad, because I knew everything was going to be over in two minutes.”
The dancer also admitted, “It was two minutes of my life that were on fire and that I’m so grateful for.”
The show ended with Cody Rigsby, the Peloton instructor, and Cheryl Burke coming at the third position while “The Talk” co-host Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten ended up being fourth.
