Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star weekend in Los Angeles, overcoming perfect scores by San Antonio rookie Carter Bryant on his first dunk in the final round.
But the story once again for the dunk contest was its continual fade from relevance, once again bereft of star power and memorable finishes.
And the lasting image of this year’s showcase won’t be an exciting dunk, it will instead be Orlando’s Jase Richardson nearly landing on his head after a failed attempt.
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Jase Richardson’s dunk did not go to plan. Twitter
Richardson started by the courtside seats parallel with the hoop and had someone run in with him to bounce the ball off the side of the backboard. His plan was to catch it in one hand mid-air and jam the ball in from there.
But that’s where it all went wrong as the Orlando player got his arm caught upon catching the ball and ultimately landed squarely on his back, his head bouncing off the court.
Richardson bounced back up, clearly fighting through the pain, while fans looked on awkwardly and groaned.
The 20-year-old is the son of former two-time dunk contest champion Jason Richardson, and was a late call-up to the event, hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps.
He was eliminated before the final, leaving Johnson and Bryant to battle it out.
For his final dunk, Johnson started behind the judges’ table, took off from the free throw line and threw down a one-handed windmill jam. His first dunk earned a slightly higher score for a between-the-legs move.
Bryant earned the contest’s highest score for his first dunk in the final. He bounced the ball in front of him, caught it between his legs and dunked with his right hand, earning perfect 50.0 marks from all five judges.
But Bryant struggled on his second dunk. He missed his first two tries, pausing to talk to Vince Carter in between. He attempted bouncing the ball off the glass and throwing down a reverse but it rolled around the rim and out. He settled for a less flashy but successful dunk on his third and final attempt.
It wasn’t enough, giving the NBA a new slam dunk champion in Johnson. He accepted the trophy from Hall of Famer Julius Erving after shaking hands with all of the judges.
Three-time dunk winner Mac McClung — currently on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls — didn’t participate. He was the only competitor in history to have a perfect contest, scoring 50s from every judge on all of his dunks last year in San Francisco.
It was a four-man field for the fifth consecutive year, with Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers and Richardson of Orlando joining Johnson and Bryant. But Hayes and Richardson didn’t advance to the final.
In the first round, Johnson brought out rapper E-40. After missing on his first try, he leapt over E-40’s bowed head and slammed the ball down while keeping his left hand behind his head.
Judging the contest were Erving, fellow Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette and Brent Barry.
Only one NBA All-Star has won the event in the last decade – Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell back in 2018.
For the most part, they avoid the night completely out of fear of what could go wrong.
Earlier in the evening, Portland star Damian Lillard took home the three-point contest, despite sitting out the season with a torn Achilles.