The dunk contest during this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago will go down in infamy. A fantastic duel between the Miami Heat’s Derrick Jones Jr. and the Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon was ruined by questionable judging decisions in the final tiebreaking dunk-off. The debate as to who should have won this will live for years.
But before the panel of Dwyane Wade, Common, Candace Parker, Chadwick Bosman and Scottie Pippen made its biggest blunder of the night, it made one that served as a precursor to what eventually happened. Notre Dame legend Pat Connaughton, now with the Milwaukee Bucks, didn’t make it out of the first round even though a strong case could be made for it.
This first dunk, for which Connaughton was dressed in “White Men Can’t Jump” garb and Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich was involved, only netted him a 45, but tell me this shouldn’t have been a 50:
WHITE MEN CAN JUMP. Pat Connaughton! I thought this was a lot better than a 45. #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/REqQnLx8fp
— Dan (@statsbydan) February 16, 2020
Connaughton’s second dunk involved teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo. He got a 50 this time, but it wasn’t enough to escape the undeserved low score of the first dunk.
Pat Connaughton gets 🆙 over Giannis and has enough time to hit the backboard before throwing it down. 😱💥
Watch #NBAAllStar Saturday Night on SN ONE. 🏀 pic.twitter.com/lnmjJDrOoY
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 16, 2020
Oh, and perhaps in the ultimate show of disrespect, DJ Khaled, who was tasked with introducing the participants, admitted to the whole world he couldn’t pronounce Connaughton’s last name, even though he should have had more than enough time to learn beforehand.
DJ Khaled introducing Pat Connaughton lol pic.twitter.com/rxBiJeWylE
— Ⓜ️arcusD ▶️ (@_MarcusD3_) February 16, 2020
Oh well. Enter the contest again next year, Pat. Maybe things will go a lot better.
