Jaxson Hayes had a chance at NBA dunk contest glory Saturday, but instead entered the competition\u2019s unofficial Hall of Infamy.<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Lakers center was the best-known contestant in a field of relative unknowns at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif. Hayes was competing against the likes of youngsters Jase Richardson, Keshad Johnson, and Carter Bryant \u2014 names that wouldn\u2019t be familiar to most casual fans.<\/p>\n
Instead of going viral for throwing down a sick first dunk, Hayes may have accelerated the contest\u2019s downfall. Check the dunk out for yourself before reading what other folks had to say.<\/p>\n
Jaxson Hayes must think the rules of the dunk contest is to dunk the ball \u2014 Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) February 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Several fans saw Hayes\u2019 mediocre first attempt and called the NBA slam dunk contest officially dead.<\/p>\n OMG THE DUNK CONTEST IS OFFICIALLY DEAD \ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d\ud83d\ude2d<\/p>\n JAXSON HAYES WTF WAS THAT \ud83d\udc80 <\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/vpfOLnnMPE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) February 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n dunk contest was on life support until Jaxson Hayes unplugged it<\/p>\n \u2014 \ud835\ude4e\ud835\ude60\ud835\ude6e\ud835\ude5a\ud835\ude59 \ud83c\udde6\ud83c\uddfa (@SkyedOKC) February 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Jaxson Hayes just killed the Dunk Contest<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/f8gkZXcn7C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 ThunderWr1d (@ThunderWr1d) February 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Fans often see better dunks while watching players fool around during pregame warmups. It\u2019s one thing if it were 5\u20199\u2033 Nate Robinson doing a basic dunk like that, but it\u2019s another when it\u2019s 7\u20190\u2033 Jaxson Hayes.<\/p>\n Hayes\u2019 second dunk was at least a bit better. He put his own spin on the classic Eastbay dunk, putting a jolt into the crowd for at least a brief moment.<\/p>\n JAXSON HAYES EASTBAY \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/b1uLLhEL9S<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) February 15, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Hayes\u2019 first dunk got a 44.6 from the judges \u2014 the lowest in the first round. His second one received a more respectable 47.2, which mercifully wasn\u2019t enough for him to advance to the finals.<\/p>\n While Hayes embarrassed himself in the dunk contest, at least he didn\u2019t end up with a potential concussion as Richardson did<\/a>.<\/p>\n
pic.twitter.com\/ex4BB83WAo<\/a><\/p>\n