Tag: all-star week

Kai Cenat explains how he ended up in the dunk contest with Boston’s Jaylen Brown

This is the origin story of how Cenat linked up with Brown in the Dunk Contest.

Although Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown came up short in the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, he put on a memorable performance. His dunks paid homage to basketball history, to the late Terrence Clarke, and more. Likewise, Brown collaborated on one of the internet’s hottest stars for one of his slams.

Kai Cenat is a YouTube streamer known for his comedy, pranks, and live streams. With millions of followers across social media, he’s a big time celebrity. Celtics Wire caught up with Cenat ahead of the 2024 All-Star Game, and asked him about his experience joining Brown on the court during the dunk contest.

“It was good,” Cenat said. “I’m just glad I got to experience everything. I’m having a good time out here.”

PHOTOS: Best moments from Jaylen Brown in the NBA’s 2024 Slam Dunk Contest

Despite not getting the victory, it was a good showing for the Georgia native and one that should help encourage other renowned NBA dunkers to participate in future contests. Let’s take a look at some highlights.

Star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has become the fifth-ever member of the storied ball club to take part in the NBA’s annual Slam Dunk Contest, coming in the runner-up against the defending champion, Mac McClung of the Osceola Magic.

Apart from Brown and McClung, the contest also pitted New York Knicks forward Jacob Toppin and Miami Heat wing Jamie Jaquez, Jr. against one another, with Toppin and Jaquez, Jr. not making it out of the first round. Brown put together a solid array of tribute dunks to Dee Brown, Dominique Wilkins, and his friend and teammate Terrence Clarke, in the losing effort.

Despite not getting the victory, it was a good showing for the Georgia native and one that should help encourage other renowned NBA dunkers to participate in future contests. Let’s take a look at some highlights.

Jaylen Brown talks All-Star Week, Slam Dunk Contest with Draymond Green, Shaq, Charles Barkley

The number of Boston Celtics who have taken part in the NBA’s annual Slam Dunk Contest has now risen from four to five.

The number of Boston Celtics who have taken part in the NBA’s annual Slam Dunk Contest has now risen from four to five active Celtics suiting up to compete in the yearly All-Star Week competition, with Jaylen Brown coming in the runner-up to defending champ Mac McClung.

The Georgia native paid tribute to one of the Celtics who was immortalized in the Dunk Contest in Dee Brown as well as his fallen friend Terrence Clarke, a solid showing in an event that has scared many a high-profile participant away in the past. Ahead of that performance, Brown sat down with the TNT media assembled to cover the festivities.

In a chat with the likes of Golden State Warriors big man Draymond Green, Shaq, Charles Barkley, and Ernie Johnson, the five got into all things All-Star Week.

Check it out above!

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Nate Robinson wants All-Star Week’s Dunk Contest to rise again

He hopes that his involvement will help more stars like Jaylen Brown take part.

Nate Robinson wants All-Star Week’s Dunk Contest to rise again, and as a former winner of it, he knows what sort of formula it should take to bring it back to its former glory. A lack of star power and some middling contests has diminished the former marquee event of the league’s annual All-Star Week festivities. However, Nate Rob believes he can help restore its place in the pantheon of All-Star events among younger fans of the league.

Speaking in a recent interview with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, the former Boston Celtics floor general spent some time breaking down his new role with the Dunk Contest. Robinson also got into how players like star Celtics forward Jaylen Brown could be the spark to revitalizing the now moribund event.

“I’m working with AT&T as a newly appointed AT&T Chief Dunk Officer for 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend,” said Robinson.

Should Boston’s Jaylen Brown do the NBA’s All-Star Week dunk contest?

Brown would become the first All-Star to take part in the Dunk Contest since 2017.

Should star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown do the NBA’s All-Star Week dunk contest? The Athletic’s Shams Charania recently reported that  Brown might enter the NBA Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis, Indiana, and it was later confirmed that the Georgia native will take part.

Brown would become the first All-Star to take part in the Dunk Contest since 2017. But he would not be the first Celtics player wearing No. 7 with the name “Brown” emblazoned on it in the contest, that honor falling to Dee Brown ahead of his historic no-look flush. It remains to be seen whether Jaylen can get into that sort of stratosphere, but he is the highest-profile posterizer on the bill for the event — but will Boston want the risk of injury his participation entails?

Or is that simply needless hand-wringing?

CLNS Media’s Bobby Manning weighed in on a recent episode of the “Garden Report” podcast — check it out above!

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Shams: Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama set to participate in All-Star Week’s Skills Challenge

Wemby is reportedly going to play in the 2024 All-Star Skills Challenge as well as the Rising Stars contest.

While it does not seem especially likely that San Antonio Spurs wunderkind rookie forward Victor Wembanyama will be suiting up to play for the West in this year’s NBA All-Star game, the Frenchman is reportedly set to take part in All-Star Week events just the same.

Wemby is reportedly going to play in the 2024 All-Star Skills Challenge as well as the Rising Stars contest per recent reporting from The Athletic’s Shams Charania. The former No. 1 pick will not be the first big man to take part in the Skills Challenge as it has been won by the likes of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Karl-Anthony Towns and Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo in the past.

But he is uniquely talented even for a big and especially for a rookie, which should add plenty of intrigue to an otherwise mediocre event that tends to be overshadowed by the dunk contest and 3-point shootout.

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Celtics lose 2026 NBA All-Star Game to Los Angeles Clippers; could 2027 be the year?

Boston has not hosted an All-Star game since 1964.

If the Boston Celtics host an NBA All-Star game any time soon, they will have to wait at least a year longer than they were hoping. Per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the honor Boston hoped to have as their own fell to the Los Angeles Clippers as the Clips inaugurate their new arena, owner Steve Ballmer’s new Intuit Dome.

Now, with the Indiana Pacers hosting this season’s All-Star Week, and the Golden State Warriors the next, the nearest season the Celtics could host All-Star Week would be 2027. This would be a season after they had formally applied to host an All-Star Game now being awarded to the Clippers. It is not unusual for the league to assign such honors to teams which have recently built new stadiums or renovated old ones.

And while Boston technically falls into the latter category, it is a relatively minor renovation of an arena the Celtics rent and do not own, unlike Ballmer’s new, state-of-the-art arena.

While this news will likely please many in the media unhappy with the trend of holding the event in cold-weather cities, Boston has not hosted an All-Star game since 1964.

It is long overdue, Adam Silver and Co. — let’s make it happen for 2027.

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Celtics’ Jaylen Brown hints he may enter the ’24 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

“Maybe if the people want it, enough people ask for it, we’ll get it,” said Brown.

There are few — if any — better live-game dunkers in the NBA right now than star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown. And though it has been more than a while since a bona fide star took part in the league’s annual slam dunk contest, Brown is evidently at least mulling taking part in the All-Star Week contest in 2024.

Speaking after the Celtics’ 144-119 dismantling of the Sacramento Kings via Boston Dot Com’s Luke Scotchie, Brown was asked if he might consider throwing his hat in the proverbial ring of the ’24 dunk contest. “We’ll see,” he offered. “I haven’t put any thought into it. Maybe if the people want it, enough people ask for it, we’ll get it.”

“As of now, I’m not really thinking about it,” qualified the Georgia native.

Describing his thunderous flushes as “instinct,” Brown shared that his approach to the art form is to “read and react as I see the parts moving” as “the defense” is “making the rotations.”

“You know where to go and when to go and the game tells you what to do.”

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Former Celtic Dominique Wilkins on the NBA’s slam dunk contest

They do not call Dominique Wilkins the “Human Highlight Reel” for nothing, after all.

They do not call Dominique Wilkins the “Human Highlight Reel” for nothing. The Boston Celtics Hall of Fame small forward made a name for himself as one of the most exciting dunkers in the history of the game. After his playing days, Wilkins would often sit on the panel of judges for the league’s annual slam dunk contest.

On a recent episode of the “Vlad TV” podcast, Wilkins opened up about the contest as both a former competitor and judge. He discussed how in the past, top players like himself and Michael Jordan eagerly participated, given it was done for the fans and didn’t affect their legacies.

Wilkins also shared his experience in the 1984 Dunk Contest, where he initially felt awed by competing against his idol, Dr. J.

To hear the story in full for yourself, check out the clip embedded above.

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Jayson Tatum flops at 3-point shootout, but wins All-Star MVP on the way to setting scoring record

In sum, it was an outstanding weekend on one of the NBA’s biggest stages for the St. Louis native.

While his early exit from the NBA’s 2023 All-Star 3-point shootout was not exactly auspicious, star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum put together an impressive performance in the 2023 All-Star Game, winning the annual exhibition contest’s Most Valuable Player award, which is named after his friend and mentor Kobe Bryant.

The St. Louis native set the all-time scoring record for the All-Star Game, hanging a jaw-dropping 55 points on Team LeBron to elevate Team Giannis to its first All-Star Game win.

The folks over at the official Bleacher Report YouTube channel captured Tatum being honored with the MVP award:

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