The All-Star Saturday night events are officially done with, and many fans feel a robbery may have taken place. The NBA Slam Dunk Contest featured four competitors, with two going back-and-forth in a fantastic finale.
However, the judges’ scores on the final two dunks raised eyebrows. So who the NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2020, and was it the right call?
Slam Dunk contest quickly down to two competitors
The main All-Star Weekend event in Chicago would begin with four slam dunk stars. Pat Connaughton was there to represent the Milwaukee Bucks.
Dwight Howard was back again, this time for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon was also back again, along with Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat.
Despite Howard bringing back his Superman costume for a dunk and Connaughton paying homage to the basketball classic White Men Can’t Jump, both competitors found themselves watching the finals from the sidelines.
Gordon and Jones Jr. would provide an entertaining showdown. A majority of the dunks featured the two competitors showing off their leaping ability over extras who came to the court to provide some assistance.
One of Jones’ dunks even involved him leaping over two extras.
On one particular dunk, Jones ran along the baseline and leaped over his helper, who tossed the ball off the backboard.
Jones completed a through-the-legs slam that generated a perfect 50 score from judges Dwyane Wade, Common, Candace Parker, Chadwick Boseman, and Scottie Pippen.
OFF THE BACKBOARD. THROUGH THE LEGS. WITH AUTHORITY.
DJJ throws down ANOTHER 50 in #ATTSlamDunk!#StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/gvbuGLs7Lc
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
Aaron Gordon also had help. He played to the Chicago fans by taking a chance with Chance the Rapper as his assistant. Chance was out for several dunks, including this one.
Aaron Gordon has FIVE 50s. ? pic.twitter.com/yTf7hHCcVO
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
By then, it seemed that Gordon should have been declared the winner. Fifty 50s in a dunk contest is unheard of, but wait; there was more.
Final two dunks fail to reach 50, Jones claims trophy
After multiple dunks pulled in scores of 50 for Jones and Gordon, the competitors would go into several dunk-offs. It only made sense to keep the fun going.
Just like previous slams, the final two dunks were also pure beauty. However, they received questionable scores.
Derrick Jones Jr. would pay tribute to Air Jordan in Chicago by running and attempting to leap from the free-throw line for MJ’s classic dunk contest jam.
He’d take off one step after the line and connect with a windmill, bringing everyone to their feet again.
DJJ with the 48!#ATTSlamDunk #StateFarmSaturday @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/00imNrVny0
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
Surprisingly, that dunk earned a score of 48 after so many straight 50s were given out for the previous dunks.
Exactly, how do you follow up that sort of dunk? Gordon called for the Boston Celtics’ Tacko Fall to come out.
Nobody could believe it when he set up Fall with a ball in hand. Yes, Gordon actually ran at him, jumped up and over him, slamming it down. Impressive stuff.
? AARON GORDON DUNKS OVER TACKO FALL! ?#StateFarmSaturday on @NBAonTNT pic.twitter.com/cMmRjnnTzN
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
The judges may have been fatigued by then because this wasn’t a 50. Instead, Gordon’s huge jump over Tacko received a 47 total.
Those nines hurt, as Gordon fell by one point to Derrick Jones Jr. The Miami Heat star is the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Champion.
The 2020 #ATTSlamDunk champion… DERRICK JONES JR.!#HEATTwitter #StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/pR2VAznv8u
— NBA (@NBA) February 16, 2020
Fans will debate who won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2020 after what some felt should have been a shared trophy.
However, the judges were told to make sure there was one winner, and that’s what happened. One has to wonder if this was a major robbery in Chicago, though.
Now fans will try to settle down for a bit so they can watch the 2020 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday night. Game time is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT.