INDIANAPOLIS — Because the NBA transforms Indiana’s capital metropolis right into a promoting venue for All-Star Weekend, the speak round city (or no less than the bar at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse) turns to nostalgia for the Slam Dunk Contest.
“There’s nothing I’m wanting ahead to extra,” appears to be the consensus. “Does anybody nonetheless care?”
Dialogue ranged from “It hasn’t been the identical since Vince Carter,” to “I wager Zach LaVine vs. Aaron Gordon was to that era what Carter was to us,” to “Final 12 months Mike McClung performed fairly effectively.”
With that, there’s some optimism for this 12 months’s Slam Dunk Contest, with McClung returning to defend his title and Jaylen Brown becoming a member of the ranks of G League guards, changing into the primary since Victor Oladipo in 2018 All-star gamers within the slam dunk contest. Rookie Jamie Jaquez Jr. and two-way signee Jacob Toppin additionally enter the sphere.
That is a G-League participant, a two-way participant, a rookie and Brown. The strain might be on the Boston Celtics’ wings in opposition to McClung, whose efficiency final 12 months was really jaw-dropping if the NBA has any hope of attracting different All-Star gamers and resurrecting what was as soon as a weekend exhibition recreation.
The league tried — actually tried — but it surely could not ship a greater dunk than McClung.
“I had lots of people come to me earlier than this,” McClung mentioned. “Oh man, try to be indignant. You wish to make it to the NBA. You need to be within the NBA. I imagine I did. However I additionally suppose that is my human expertise, and it is my human expertise for a motive, as a result of with out that grind and wrestle, I most likely would not have been capable of make the affect that I did and was blessed to have the ability to do one thing like this. That is my story and I settle for it. I’ll hold preventing. It doesn’t matter what the opposite outcomes are, I’ll by no means hand over. “
Let’s simply say the judges have been form to Brown. His first dunk, a two-handed windmill imitation of Dominique Wilkins, was inspiring. His second dunk? Not a lot. The primary try failed, and when Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum efficiently hit a lob on his second try, Brown jumped over YouTube celeb Kai Senat for the dunk, however A late copy of Dee Brown’s elbow-over-the-elbow dunk.
There have been even some boos from the Lucas Oil Stadium crowd. Followers believed the judges deceived Toppin, who obtained an excellent worse rating for finishing a 360-degree spin by means of the legs for a dunk. So, sure, Brown had a extensively mocked dunk in opposition to McClung within the finals. This isn’t a very good signal.
Brown’s remaining dunk, a strong 360 and left-handed dunk over Donovan Mitchell and carrying a sequined glove, drew criticism for the way he dealt with it. Not unhealthy, however not nice. The very best half is that the Browns’ jersey honors Terrence Clark, a Boston-area draft decide who died in a automobile crash in 2021.
“Terrence is sort of a little brother to me,” Brown mentioned. “Positively the Boston connection. I hope all the pieces I do has a objective. I hope there is a message behind all the pieces, and I feel that is what I do.”
The judges rated Brown’s dunk excessive sufficient that they requested McClung to attain larger than 49 on his remaining dunk. He placed on Shaquille O’Neal in his highschool jersey — an echo of McClung’s game-winning dunk a 12 months earlier — and hit a reverse shot on the Corridor of Famer.
“It was so cool for Shaq to put on my highschool jersey,” McClung mentioned. “I used to be so touched that he did that. When he put it on, he mentioned, ‘You higher not miss this dunk.’ I used to be like, ‘Nicely, I am not going to overlook it.'”
McClung adopted an analogous playbook to final 12 months’s victory. Early within the recreation, he grabbed the ball from somebody’s head and threw it to himself for the evening’s dunk. It was much like his 2023 opener, when he grabbed the ball from somebody’s head in mid-air, knocked it off the backboard, and located the again of the online to make one other assertion. The remainder of McClung’s try adopted comparable dunk makes an attempt we have seen earlier than.
What was initially a pleasing shock was a novel transfer the second time round. McClung is the primary man since LaVine to win back-to-back titles, and everyone seems to be speaking about how the group is making an attempt to get Brown to win.
As McClung took the stage, an NBA communications workers member requested, “Identical time subsequent 12 months?” McClung responded, “We’ll see.” It was considered one of 3 times he’d been noncommittal about making an attempt for a three-peat.
Brown does not sound like he’ll undoubtedly attend once more, both. Followers most likely will not cry out both.
“I feel that is the final word objective of going out and having enjoyable,” Brown mentioned. “I did it. It is an honor. A minimum of I can say I did it in some unspecified time in the future in my profession and I can dwell with that.”
Followers wished the largest names — Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins — and originality. That is previous hat. Be taught from Brown, enhance your recreation, famous person, and attempt to beat the G-League sensations.