NBA fans have criticized the Slam Dunk Contest for years for not being able to attract big stars to participate. But after years of criticizing the quality of the players, there’s now a new complaint: The quality of the dunks.
Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson claimed victory in Saturday’s Slam Dunk Contest. He narrowly beat Carter Bryant for the honor. Bryant had the only perfect 50 of the night, but messed up his final dunk with a low score that dropped him below the threshold to win.
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The other two participants were Jaxson Hayes and Jase Richardson, neither of whom particularly wowed the crowd in Inglewood.
The Crowd Goes Mild
NBA fans were completely unimpressed with the Dunk Contest – both in terms of the field of participants and the dunks they saw on the court:
“Dunk contest (expletive) stinks. No props, only one person jumped over someone. Basic ass in game dunks. (Garbage),” one user wrote on X.
“Cancel the Dunk Contest forever. It’s time,” wrote another.
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“Lack of star power, originality, and enthusiasm have killed the slam dunk contest,” a third lamented.
“The dunk contest needs to make a choice. Either fix the scoring. Or have the announcers buy in. But having weird scores followed by Reggie Miller complaining about the weird scores is god awful television.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 15: The panel of Dwyane Wade, Common, Candace Parker, Chadwick Boseman, and Scottie Pippen reveal their scores for a dunk by Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic in the 2020 NBA All-Star – AT&T Slam Dunk Contest during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night at the United Center on February 15, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Prior to this year, NBA journeyman Mac McClung had basically carried the tournament with some very impressive dunks. The only real criticism people had of McClung was him being a fringe NBA player at best and undeserving of participating since he didn’t have sufficient minutes.
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But while most of the Slam Dunk Contest participants had far more minutes than McClung, they’re not exactly household names either.
We’re reaching the point where fans are more than ready to see the Dunk Contest be either moved behind the Three-Point Contest in the All-Star Saturday pecking order or be suspended altogether.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 15, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.