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!
Duke commit Sean Stewart took down opponents including Bronny James, Elmarko Jackson and Matas Buzelis. See McDonald’s dunk contest highlights here.
The dunk contest at the Powerade Jam Fest on the first night of the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game week helped the all-star tournament start with a bang as Duke commit Sean Stewart took down the competition.
With Stewart’s dunk contest win and fellow Duke commit Jared McCain winning the 3-point contest, the Blue Devils swept the Jam Fest. Those weren’t the only two involved in the evening — Stewart got help from soon-to-be teammate Mackenzie Mgbako as well in one dunk.
See highlights below from Stewart’s win over opponents including Bronny James, Elmarko Jackson and Matas Buzelis. The McDonald’s All-American girls game will take place Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. with the boys game scheduled to begin after it ends, around 9 p.m.
dunk contest 1.) Elmarko Jackson 2.) Mookie Cook 3.) Stephon Castle 4.) Ron Holland II 5.) Matas Buzelis 6.) Omaha Biliew 7.) Bronny James 8.) Jeremy Fears Jr. 9.) Sean Stewart
— McDonald's All American Games (@McDAAG) March 27, 2023
Jabari Smith Jr., KJ Martin, Tari Eason, and Alperen Sengun will lead a healthy #Rockets contingent in the NBA’s 2023 All-Star weekend festivities. Here’s when and what to watch for.
Second-year center Alperen Sengun, rookie forwards Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, and third-year forward KJ Martin will represent the Houston Rockets in three events at the NBA’s 2023 All-Star weekend. Second-year guard Jalen Green was scheduled to, but he no longer will due to the left groin strain that he suffered on Wednesday.
With the NBA’s worst record, the young and rebuilding Rockets (13-45) understandably won’t have any representatives in Sunday’s actual All-Star Game. But their widespread representation in many of the other events designed to spotlight the league’s young talent should provide hope that better days are ahead for the franchise.
Here’s a look at specific details for each All-Star event.
It would be hard for him to recreate the magic of 2016, but the dunk contest clearly means a lot to Gordon. In fact, the Denver forward says that he wears No. 50 for the Nuggets to represent a perfect score.
Although he has sworn that he will never do the dunk contest again, Gordon recently told SI.com’s Rohan Nadkarni that he would do the dunk contest if he made the All-Star Game.
Aaron Gordon has an offer for the NBA.
“If I’m in the All-Star game, I’ll do the Dunk Contest.”
Gordon would be an excellent addition to a dunk contest that is currently highlighted by Portland Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe, Houston Rockets forward K.J. Martin, and Mac McClung — the first-ever G League player to participate in the dunk contest.
It would be very nice to see Gordon, who already threw down the best dunk of the season thus far, back in the dunk contest. But it would be just as good to see him in the All-Star Game, and he deserves a spot.
The Nuggets are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and Gordon is in the midst of the best season he has ever played. Based on his productivity, an All-Star nod is well within reason.
As his rim frequency reaches a career-high (he trails Giannis Antetokounmpo by five for the most dunks in the NBA), his shooting efficiency is also better than ever.
Denver’s point differential with Gordon on the floor ranks as the third-best in the league and advanced stats — like Estimated Plus-Minus — suggest that he is having his most impactful season to date.
Gordon, who is also shooting a personal-best 37.6 percent on 3-pointers, is a do-it-all forward for the Nuggets and he is integral to all of their success on the court.
He has found a perfect role within their organization and he would be a fantastic addition to the 2023 NBA All-Star Game and the 2023 NBA Dunk Contest.
Third-year #Rockets forward KJ Martin is reportedly accepting an invitation to join the NBA’s 2023 dunk contest at All-Star Weekend, but second-year guard Jalen Green has declined.
Third-year Houston Rockets forward KJ Martin plans to participate in the NBA’s 2023 dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, but second-year guard Jalen Green has declined. The news was first reported Sunday by Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
Martin, a high-flying forward drafted in the 2020 second round by the Rockets, was clearly disappointed after not being invited by the league to join the 2022 dunk contest. A year later, the 22-year-old gets his wish granted with an opportunity on the big stage.
Green didn’t win the 2022 contest, and in subsequent comments, he vowed to return in 2023 and perhaps avenge his loss. However, his thinking seems to have changed over the past 11 months.
Green, Martin and the rest of the 2022-23 Rockets return to the court Sunday night versus Minnesota. Both players are likely to be asked about their decisions by local media members at Toyota Center.
Martin, the son of former NBA All-Star Kenyon Martin, is averaging 10.4 points (55% FG) and 4.8 rebounds in 24 minutes per game this season. Green is averaging 21.6 points (40.9% FG, 32.5% on 3-pointers), 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34.4 minutes.
The league also reached out to second-year guard Jalen Green about participating — but he politely declined, sources tell @TheAthletic. https://t.co/mS9ZcIZ74c
Man. Miles Bridges and Obi Toppin really gave us a show in Charlotte on Friday night.
The two really exchanged windmill dunks in the middle of a game. No, you didn’t read that wrong. Windmill dunks, y’all. MID-GAME WINDMILL DUNKS. That is just unthinkable.
So Toppin got the ball on the break and knew exactly what to do with it. With no one around him, he leaped up and gave us a ferocious windmill. It didn’t even look like the ball made it through the rim initially. The dunk was amazing. Of course, the Hornets had to call a timeout.
But, clearly, that was only because they needed to let Miles Bridges know it was time for him to give a windmill right back. So he got the ball on the break and did what needed to be done.
Miles Bridges said the crowd got him going. Specifically Knicks fans. "Being in your home arena and having people cheer for the other team, it's definitely not a good feeling."
He also said once Obi Toppin did his dunk he knew what he was going to do when he had his chance. pic.twitter.com/BOvK4s2xKd
With the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest on tap for Sunday, we look back at some of the most memorable dunks in the history of the Rockets.
With the NBA’s annual slam dunk contest on tap for Sunday night, we’re looking back at some of the most meaningful and impressive dunks in the history of the Houston Rockets franchise.
No player has ever won the dunk contest as a member of the Rockets. That said, Steve Francis finished second as part of a spectacular showing in 2000, and likely would have won in most years. That year’s winner was Vince Carter, who had perhaps the greatest dunking night of all-time.
The Rockets, however, have certainly had their share of memorable in-game dunks — including on the league’s biggest stage, in the playoffs. Looking back over many years, here’s a roundup of some of Houston’s most impressive and significant dunks over the years.
Henry Ruggs III is literally the best of us. Is there anything he cannot do? I’m dead serious right now.
This man came into the NFL combine and casually ran an official 4.27 40-yard dash, one of the fastest in combine history. There are six receivers ever who have run sub-4.3 40-yard dash times. You get the point. Dude is fast.
But that’s not what I’m hear to tell you. What you also need to know about Ruggs is that he’s also apparently a hooper.
And not only is he a hooper, he’s also an INSANE dunker. Like, a “put him in the dunk contest right now” type of dunker.
— Alabama Crimson Tide | BamaInsider.com (@bamainsider) February 28, 2020
He is not just dunking. He’s going over, around and through people. He’s busting 360’s without much of a running start. His head is very clearly over the rim. Keep in mind that my man is only six feet tall.
Every dunk we saw from him there would’ve gotten a 10 in Chicago during NBA All-Star Weekend. Well, maybe not by Dwyane Wade’s standards — but still!
I’m just saying, man. I know a hooper when I see one. Henry, buddy, if the NFL really does this lockout thing? The NBA is waiting my friend.
Paul put down a two-handed dunk off an alley-oop pass from Russell Westbrook during the second quarter of Sunday’s All-Star Game.
Who knew that Chris Paul could still throw it down?
Apparently not a lot of people.
Social media went insane on Sunday night when Paul showed he could still get up at age 34, throwing down an alley-oop off a pass from Russell Westbrook and finishing with a two-hand jam.
Honestly, with how high he got up, Paul looked like he could’ve competed in Saturday night’s dunk contest.
The play came with 7:37 left in the second quarter and Team LeBron trailing Team Giannis 12-10. He even got a little extra hang time on the rim.
The dunk was met by a standing ovation from his teammates on the bench.
Although Tim MacMahon sighted Basketball Reference saying the dunk as Paul’s first since the 2015-16 season when he was with the Clippers, Twitter users were fast to point out that Paul threw down a dunk in game four against the Utah Jazz last year.
Paul has thrown some beautiful lobs of his own during Sunday’s game, including one in the first quarter to Ben Simmons who finished with a monster slam.
The Golden State Warriors former Dunk Contest Champion Jason Richardson tweeted in defense of Aaron Gordon, saying the Magic forward was “robbed again.”
Every year Aaron Gordon enters the NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend, the Orlando Magic forward puts on a show. However, after two memorable performances in the contest, Gordon has no hardware to show for it.
In 2016, Gordon lost an epic Dunk Contest duel to Zach LaVine. Although he didn’t win a trophy in 2016, Gordon established himself as a modern dunking icon.
In 2020 Gordon returned to the event in Chicago and picked up right where he left off. The Bay Area native threw down multiple dazzling dunks, including a jam over 7-foot-5 Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall.
Aaron Gordon with the 360 windmill off the side of the backboard! 😱
For the second time, Gordon’s dunks weren’t good enough for first place as the judges awarded Derrick Jones Jr. the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest championship.
