Last year’s dunk contest was one of the best in NBA history.
And with the return of Aaron Gordon back to defend his title and guys like DeAndre Jordan participating, there was a lot of hype entering the slam dunk contest. And while many didn’t expect 2017 to top last year’s performance, many expected a better showing that what took place Saturday night.
It looked promising as Gordon attempted to throw down a big slam with the help of a drone. However, after multiple failed attempts, by the time Gordon finished the dunk, people were less than excited.
— José (@whoisjoserivera) February 19, 2017
Did you see that? Air Gordon takes flight and goes through the legs with the assist from a Drone powered by @Intel. #VerizonDunk pic.twitter.com/jQpFs0Bh9h
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2017
Jordan didn’t do any better with several misses and sub-par dunks. The Clippers power forward didn’t come close to advancing to the next round along with Gordon.
That meant the finals belonged to Glenn Robinson III and Derrick Jones Jr. who came into Saturday’s dunk contest having played a total of 24 minutes with the Phoenix Suns.
Jones Jr. did have probably the best dunk of the night when he caught a pass off the side of the backboard from his teammate Devin Booker. The 20-year-old brought the ball between his legs and then slammed it home.
Derrick Jones Jr. was born to dunk. #VerizonDunk#StateFarmSaturday pic.twitter.com/NLqCuzjzRA
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2017
But in the finals, Jones failed miserably as he missed on all three dunk attempts which seemed to be the theme of the evening.
Derrick Jones Jr. was unable to complete a dunk in three attempts in the second round of the #VerizonDunk pic.twitter.com/0QufoUQ1tE
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 19, 2017
To cap off his win, Robinson pulled off an reverse dunk over teammate Paul George, the Pacers’ mascot and one of the cheerleaders.
GR3 makes a statement in the #VerizonDunk Contest. pic.twitter.com/ZuuhHreqFa
— NBA (@NBA) February 19, 2017
But if you were like most of us, Saturday night’s festivities had you thinking of going to bed early leading up to the final round. NBA players felt the same way as they were less than impressed. Fans joined in on the roast with some hilarious tweets and gifs.
Welp that was…..
— Austin Rivers (@AustinRivers25) February 19, 2017
Dunk contest! ????????
— Javale McGee (@JaValeMcGee34) February 19, 2017
Who woke me up for this ??
— Delon Wright (@delonwright) February 19, 2017
Remember when people used to dunk during the dunk contest
— The Crossover (@TheCrossover) February 19, 2017
Is this the Slam Dunk Contest or the Missed Slam Dunk Contest? #ThingsToPonderAtNight
— Not Bill Walton (@NotBillWalton) February 19, 2017
The NBA Slam Dunk Contest in one gif pic.twitter.com/0LrtSa4eiX
— Cavs in 5 (@THE_OSU) February 19, 2017
Earlier in the evening, Rockets guard Eric Gordon won the three-point contest and the Knicks’ Kristaps Porzingis won the skills competition.
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