Hamidou Diallo didn’t participate in Saturday night’s controversial (more on that later) Dunk Contest. But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t watching.
The 2019 Dunk Contest champion had said at the end of January that he wanted to defend his title “if he was healthy”, and while that he was “100% a competitor” his primary focus was “trying to get into a groove on the court”.
Diallo missed significant time earlier this season dealing with a hyperextended right elbow injury that he suffered in a loss to the Lakers near the end of November.
Although he’s still been able to throw down some vicious dunks during the regular season, he didn’t feel his elbow was healthy enough to compete.
Apparently though, if he had been healthy enough, Diallo believes he would have been a back-to-back Dunk Contest winner, tweeting out midway through the competition, “This would’ve been an easy W.”
This would’ve been an easy W
— Hamidou Diallo (@hamidoudiallo) February 16, 2020
In fairness, that tweet was sent before the Dunk Contest got to the final round.
But even without Diallo’s tweet mid-competition, the 2020 Dunk Contest was full of controversy. Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. won the event over Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic in the second round of a dunk-off.
Although Jones Jr. threw down some seriously impressive dunks, including one where he hurdled someone, caught an alley-oop pass off the backboard, went between his legs and then dunked, many thought the crown should’ve have gone to Gordon.
Gordon not only hit a 360 alley-oop slam off the side of the backboard but he also dunked over 7’5” Celtics rookie, Tacko Fall.
According to ESPN, the final round of the dunk-off was supposed to end in a tie.
“We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, ‘This is a tie!'” one judge, hip-hop artist Common, told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. “But somebody didn’t do it right. I don’t know who it is.”
Diallo won the 2019 Dunk Contest with a dunk where he hurdled Shaquille O’Neal, stuffing it with so much power he had his arm all the way through the hoop and was hanging by his elbow.