This year’s edition of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest had a lot of promise, as fans were eager to see. Jaylen Brown compete. Fans have been waiting for an All-Star to participate in the dunk contest and Brown is the first to do so since 2018, when Victor Oladipo was selected to the All-Star team and participated in the dunk contest.
This anticipation turned into disappointment for fans, as Brown gave a somewhat lackluster performance on competition day. He finished second to Mac McClung, who won his second Dunk Contest in as many years, but overall the contest didn’t live up to the hype.
However, according to Jaylen Brown, part of the reason he was unable to realize his full potential was due to the new LED courts.
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“I feel like the ground was a little slippery,” Brown said. “So I wish I could actually do what I planned to do in my head or what I trained for, but I still think it came out and the message was sent and I had fun while I was doing it. I can live with these results.”
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Jaylen Brown pays tribute to Terrence Clarke in the Slam Dunk Contest
Jaylen Brown dominated rookies Jacob Toppin and Jaime Jacquez Jr. to advance to the final round of the dunk contest, where he faced defending champion Mac McClung.
In the second round, Brown opened by paying tribute to the late Terrence Clarke. Brown did so by first putting on Clarke’s high school jersey, No. 5, from Brewster Academy.
While wearing the jersey, he performed a 360-degree windmill smash with one hand. After the dunk, he created a heart shape with his hands and patted his chest to pay tribute.
The dunk received a score of 48 from judges Gary Payton and Fred Jones and three 49s from Mitch Richmond, Darnell Hillman and Dominique Wilkins for a total of 48.6.
Terrence Clarke is a Boston native who died in 2021 following a car accident in California. He dreamed of being in the NBA and worked hard to achieve that dream before his untimely death.
The NBA honored Clarke by selecting him posthumously in the 2021 NBA Draft. Adam Silver made a statement about Clarke in front of his mother and brothers before officially announcing that he would be chosen by the NBA. Clarke’s family then joined Silver on stage and, like the other rookies, received NBA hats.
