Aaron Gordon should have finally claimed the title he wanted. Scratch that. Aaron Gordon should have finally claimed the title he deserved. For all the recognition Zach LaVine received then, the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest should have been his for showmanship and flawless execution. And for all the outstanding efforts of fellow finalist Derrick Jones Jr. yesterday, he certainly proved even better. Except, that is, for three of the five judges who gave him nines for jumping over 7’5” Tacko Fall en route to an emphatic flush. The 47 he got was a point short of extending the competition, and, once again, he wound up the victim of an unmerited outcome.
Needless to say, Gordon was extremely disappointed to finish second anew. And, tellingly, so were just about all the warm bodies in the building, who had been celebrating his successful scaling of Fall as the Slam Dunk Contest decider. Even National Basketball Association commissioner Adam Silver recognized the feat, not just clapping, but doing so with hands over head, and in emphatic fashion. And so egregious was the faux pas that TNT’s commentators could not help but hark back to the 1988 slugfest, which Michael Jordan won at the expense of the seemingly triumphant Dominique Wilkins.
It’s too bad, really, because All-Star Saturday lived up to the hype until then. Twists and turns laced the festivities, with bigs dominating the Skills Challenge and the Three-Point Shootout being decided on the very last attempt. Given all the buildup, the Slam Dunk Contest was prepped to make the night one for the ages. Instead, it will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. And it will be paraded front and center as evidence of why high fliers choose to stay away for the most part. Judging is so prone to whim and fancy that the risks far outweigh the rewards.
Heading into the All-Star Weekend, LaVine was asked why he didn’t choose to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest even though he plays for the host Bulls. He replied the only way he could: He has nothing left to prove. Significantly, it’s an answer he stuck to like a broken record yesterday. And as frustrating as it may be to fans, he’s right. He’s already a two-time champion. Imagine if he competed and lost. Or worse: Imagine if he competed and won, but on the strength of errant scoring. It’s why Jones didn’t look triumphant at all in the aftermath, and why Gordon appeared every bit cheated. In truth, everybody was.
Maybe Dwyane Wade, Chadwick Boseman, and Scottie Pippen wound up regretting their lack of appreciation for Gordon’s final slam. To be fair, they didn’t do anything wrong. As badly as they may have considered the dunk, they had every right to score it a nine. They were, after all, armed with nothing but their judgment — which had hitherto been responsible for his perfect scores. Parenthetically, Jones was likewise just handed two nines (by Candace Parker and Boseman) on an otherwise superb dunk. Which goes to show that the Slam Dunk Contest will never get to exceed itself. It will be either Jeckyll or Hyde. The sky’s literally the limit, but since coming back to earth is inevitable, sticking the landing is critical to the result.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
