Iman towered over Daniella, who stands at 5-foot 5-inches. However, it was during Horror Night in Week 6 when he emerged as a new frontrunner in the competition when he and Daniella performed one of the most iconic dances in the history of the show, a contemporary dance with stunning lifts, which earned him his first perfect score of all 10's from the judges. This dance allowed them to use their height difference as an advantage, and their jaw-dropping acrobatic lifts became their signature moves. This led Iman to become the first NBA player in the history of the show to make it to the semifinals.
During the finals, Iman and Daniella then danced a freestyle routine to a medley of "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott and "Bounce" by DJ Clent. Julianne proclaimed that it was her favorite freestyle she had ever seen in all 30 seasons of the show. Carrie Ann praised Iman for being the only contestant who allowed his partner to shine in the dance, which was a testament to their partnership.
In an interview with I think me and [Daniella] set our mind to that when we got that 40, that we don't want to just drop off now and just steam out of the competition. I think we just put in a lot of hours, and when it was time to perform, it got easy." Daniella revealed that they had a choreographer, Kemo, fly in from Chicago to teach them Chicago footwork for their freestyle dance, "and it was as authentic as possible. We had the best dancers in our number. They all killed it with the footwork. We just all worked out as a team to create this number for Iman, and we're just so happy with the way it turned out."
The only negative thing for Iman on this near-perfect night was that his parents could not attend the show because his father tested positive for COVID-19. He said that his dad was "okay. He's strong." Although Iman hadn't spoken to them yet at the time of the interview, he predicted that his mom was "probably gonna be choked up." He went on to say, "I can't wait to put this [trophy] in her hands so she can get a chance to enjoy this because this is a tremendous honor to be part of such a brand." Daniella continued to praise Iman, stating, "I couldn't think of anyone more deserving for it. It's never too late to start dancing, no matter what age, no matter what background you are." These inspiring words sum up everything that Iman and Daniella represented this season.
Iman and Daniella's journey throughout Dancing With The Stars season 30 is the definition of what the show is all about. Watching a pro dancer work with someone without a dance background and turn him into a master of so many forms of dance is very powerful and inspiring. Iman deserved this win, and he will always be ed as one of the most hard-working, unique and talented champions to ever take home the Mirrorball Trophy.
Source: ET