Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Derrick Jones, Jr. won the dunk contest but yet it was overshadowed by controversy.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Nam Y. Huh/AP.)
People are still buzzing about the slam dunk contest from Saturday night. But they’re talking about it in terms of the judging controversy instead of how good the contest actually was.
Derrick Jones, Jr. defeated Aaron Gordon in the finals of a rare compelling dunk contest. Jones used a windmill dunk a couple of steps inside the free throw line for his last dunk that scored a 48. Gordon jumped over 7’6″ Tacko Fall (even if he nudged him a bit) for his final dunk but he got a much-debated score of 47. That was enough to deny Gordon the dunk contest title a second time in the finals and a third time overall.
We can go on and on about this. DJJ might have used the between-the-legs dunks four straight times but they all looked so incredible that it was hard to deny him a 50. Gordon’s dunks were more of the spinning type and the best I can describe them is that they looked weirdly awesome. The critics liked to say that Gordon jumped over Chance The Rapper too many times but let’s not forget that DJJ jumped over someone multiple times, too. It’s tired, really, and during the event, I actually wished that someone would do a pure dunk without a prop, per se.
And yes, all the dunks looked incredible but it was almost like the judges put themselves into a corner by giving out a 50 on nearly every single dunk, especially with the way the contest ended. Before the final dunk, Gordon scored a 50 on EVERY dunk he did. Somehow, the dunk that could be argued to be the most impressive (dunking over Tacko Fall) was the one that DIDN’T get a 50. Aaron Gordon said he wasn’t going to do the dunk contest ever again and Ja Morant, who would be an incredible performer under these lights, decided he didn’t want to do the dunk contest anymore.
But judged contests like this will always be subject to controversy. People love to say that Aaron Gordon has been robbed twice but Zach LaVine going between-the-legs one step inside the free throw line is a better dunk than his tomahawk to double clutch jam. Gordon did his iconic under-the-legs dunk that many consider to be the greatest dunk of all-time (by the way, why didn’t he use that on Saturday night?) but it’s tough to deny LaVine’s free throw windmill dunk that was previously only in James White territory. Maybe it’s the scoring system that’s broken.
And if both dunks in the finals were tied, the NBA likely wouldn’t let the dunk contest end in a tie and it was going to be back in the judges’ hands, regardless. What if DJJ still won, anyway? What if Gordon DID win? Then we’d complain that DJJ deserved it, right? Not everyone was going to be happy with the result. (There was also talk that the judges tried to end it in a tie but someone didn’t do their job on doing it.)
Maybe the dunk contest needs to change the judging procedure again. In some years, the finals of the dunk contest was left to fan voting. In earlier years, they let dunkers do a plethora of dunks and the compilation of the jams get judged. Neither way was received well which was why we returned to the old-school format. Again, this is what inevitably is going to happen on a judged and subjective contest.
Still, it was a very entertaining contest. Was it a Top 5 NBA dunk contest ever? Well, honestly, I don’t know but at least, it wasn’t a dud. These are the dunk contests that were really good:
1986: 5’6 Spud Webb defeated defending champion Dominique Wilkins in a huge upset.
1988: The famous Michael Jordan/Dominique Wilkins duel that also ended in controversy. Of course, this was ALSO in Chicago.
2000: The Vince Carter showcase.
2003: Jason Richardson and Desmond Mason don’t get enough credit for this slugfest.
2006: Nate Robinson also won in controversial fashion because he got to try his dunk like 20 times before defeating Andre Iguodala.
2016: Another controversial ending that ended with Zach LaVine upending Gordon.
As Magic Johnson loved to say many times, “THE DUNK CONTEST IS BACK!” Well, for this year, it was.
2020 Dunk Contest in 52 seconds pic.twitter.com/R1PAdbDR5L
— John Asileaux (@johnedwardasilo) February 16, 2020
Bullet Passes
The other two participants weren’t bad in the dunk contest, either. Pat Connaughton‘s tribute to White Men Can’t Jump is pretty tired, too, but his tap-the-board dunk while jumping over (and nearly injuring) Giannis Antetokounmpo was very impressive. Dwight Howard was also really good with his two jams. That delayed 360 will not get enough credit and his old-school Superman jam (complete with Jameer Nelson throwing him the lob!) was STILL incredible.
The skills challenge was a race that saw Bam Adebayo defeat Domantas Sabonis in the finals. It was funny because Dwyane Wade and Reggie Miller were doing commentary and it became a Heat vs Pacers thing.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
The three-point shootout came down to an exciting final shot with Buddy Hield beating out Devin Booker in the finals. But please. Eschew those 29-foot shots that were sponsored by a soft drink company, go back to the old format, and LEAVE THE THREE-POINT SHOOTOUT ALONE.
(VIDEO CREDIT: NBA.)
The Scoreboard
Bam Adebayo (MIA) defeated Domantas Sabonis (IND) in the Skills Challenge.
Buddy Hield (SAC) scored 27 points to defeat Devin Booker (PHX, 26 points) and Davis Bertans (WAS, 22 points) in the 3-point shootout.
Derrick Jones, Jr. (MIA) scored 48 points to defeat Aaron Gordon (ORL, 47 points) in a second dunkoff of the slam dunk contest.
Still, All-Star Saturday night was really, really fun. Can’t say that for a lot of the other years.
GG.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.
I sign off “GG” which means “good game” but also to honor Gianna “Gigi” Bryant.