INDIANAPOLIS — Jaylen Brown wanted to have fun with the Slam Dunk Contest.
More expectations settled on the biggest star to perform in the event since Dwight Howard in 2008-2009 anyway. Especially once none of his contemporaries followed him into it. Brown followed through with the commitment that reports initially teased before the lineup of G-Leaguers Mac McClung and Jacob Toppin joined him on the bill along with rookie Jaime Jaquez. The loss Brown suffered to McClung, despite Brown injecting admirable theatrics into the event, represented one of the reasons NBA stars stay away from the once-top competition on all-star weekend.
"It takes some energy to go out there and do tricks and perform," Brown said. "In this media era, I think some players are afraid to make it into a meme ... it's a show at the end of the day. I thought it was cool, I thought the setting was great, thought the court was great, the LED lights. I just wanted to be as creative as possible."
Brown did that, with a thoughtful tribute to his late friend and Boston native Terrence Clarke, who died in a car accident in 2021 months before his NBA draft. Brown utilized the court, transforming it into the TD Garden floor while Jayson Tatum tossed an alley-oop in his most ill-fated attempt of the night that chunkily included a Dee Brown tribute. Fans in attendance booed the rave reviews that dunk received, along with his reference to Michael Jackson and the infamous left hand criticism following his east finals meltdown, all while leaping over friend Donovan Mitchell. The crowd didn't like that Brown's highly-produced attempts beat out more impressive athletic displays by Toppin, and they almost snuck by McClung's high-flying routine at 6-2.
A tribute to Terrence Clarke 💚 pic.twitter.com/6ddkLbcYyA
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 18, 2024
McClung utilized some dramatics, leaping over Shaquille O'Neal to secure his decisive perfect score on his final slam, the only one of the night. He mostly stuck to the origins of the contest, to the delight of fans, while Brown tried to propel the contest into the future. Brown's tribute to Dominique Wilkins that flowed into a sideways windmill didn't reinvent the wheel, but showed that he could pull out explosive dunks with ease. His leap over seated streamer Kai Cenat (5-4), who recorded the stunt while the MC begged fans to pull out their phones, elicited sighs everywhere. Worse, Tatum botched the first pass attempt. The crowd sounded outraged that finish beat out a between-the-legs 360 from Toppin, however much the originality benefited Brown.
"I wanted to pay homage as much as I could and put a little bit more purpose in everything I was doing," Brown said. "I wanted to have a message behind it and that's what I did tonight ... I feel like the court was a little slippery."
Anthony Edwards began Saturday asking what Brown was thinking by entering the Slam Dunk Contest, saying he hoped Brown would win as a long-time friend, but that he was surprised when he heard Brown signed up. Brown smiled learning about Edwards' confusion later in the afternoon. He said Edwards should know from his high school games how he floated through the air. Still in his athletic prime, Brown noted he wanted to embrace the art of dunking and lamented the abandonment of the event. He also anticipated that his performance would look better in retrospect, slowed down and replayed over time. Brown pulled from the power of Wilkins, Michael Jordan's gliding and Vince Carter's innovation.
Days before arriving at all-star weekend, far from the major production he'd employ while dunking, Brown stood alongside Celtics assistant Tony Dobbins in Brooklyn bouncing a ball high in the air and trying to time a landing during warmups. Teammates like Kristaps Porziņģis teased that Brown left his dunk plans secret. Tatum and Brown soon revealed they'd team up on a dunk. Porziņģis joked Brown probably didn't know what he'd do. Mitchell knew Brown had a plan by the time Saturday arrived, at least, let in on the plans while staying tight-lipped himself. He previously won the dunk contest in 2018 and believes years later that it keyed him landing on the NBA map on his way to five all-star appearances since.
"It changed my life," Mitchell said. "I don't really think you guys knew who Spida really was before I won the dunk contest. That really changed, just from a branding standpoint, from a marketing standpoint. Off the floor, my life changed in the blink of an eye... then we started winning ... it changes a lot. It's truly a blessing to have that. I'm glad Jaylen's doing it, I wished guys would continuously do the dunk contest, but it's something that changed my life for sure."
Brown's debut, his first dunk contest in his life at any level, came after the supermax contract, an NBA Finals trip and winning in Boston that started from his rookie year on in 2016-17. Little could change in terms of his legacy, as with Tatum's, but both found themselves in Indianapolis advocating for themselves. While Tatum talked about winning MVP, and both stressed their priority to win a title, Brown's entry into the tournament followed comments earlier in the season about desiring to reach All-Defense status and hone his playmaking. He aims to approach things differently in almost all circumstances.
McClung's more straightforward approach prevailed, also promising a never before seen slam and delivering the dunk of the night by letting go of his double-clutch in mid-air then grabbing it again. Brown pulled out uniforms, experimented with lights, props, guests and undoubtedly put on the best show of any performer. His presence likely drew attention toward the efforts by McClung, Jaquez and Toppin that might've gone overlooked otherwise. That Brown's efforts went over well enough could quell fears of the backlash losing to a G-Leaguer in an all-star event could carry. Yet trying to do too much left his efforts short of a slam dunk title.
"I wish I could've done what I planned to do in my head," Brown said. "The message got sent and i had fun while I was doing it, so I could live with those results ... we'll see (about next year), I'll take it day-by-day. Today was fun, regardless of the result, I felt like I was close. It was fun, nonetheless, to get out there ... have some another platform, no different than anything else, so I think tomorrow will be fun too."
Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...
Boston (43-12): Executed late against a Heat rally to sweep Miami in the seasons series before doing the same in Brooklyn, then unloading a 50-point win over the Nets that somehow didn't mark the Celtics' biggest blowout of the season (51 vs. IND). The latter win came without Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, and featured the first real rotation minutes from rookie Jordan Walsh, who didn't score, but added five rebounds, one steal and a block, along with numerous hustle plays in an admittedly nervous debut. Walsh spent the final week before the all-star break with Boston. Joe Mazzulla won his 100th game. Jayson Tatum finished sixth in ESPN's latest MVP straw poll. He gave his perspective on the race and how he's covered at all-star media day.
"Individual awards are important," Tatum said. "I'm not gonna say that they're not. Everybody wants to win a championship, but you want to be rewarded for the work you put in. For the things that you go out there and do on the court ... as a competitor, as a player, you grew up watching your favorite players win MVP and First Team All-NBA and things like that. Of course, you want to win those things, but it can't take precedence over playing the right way and doing the things that you have to do for your team to essentially be the best team in the league ... would I love to win? Yes, but apparently us losing in the Finals two years ago affects what people think of me now. So I guess I got some ground to make up, but everybody who has a vote, the criteria is different. Everybody thinks differently ... it is what it is. You can't tell people what they should look for when they vote. That's the beauty of it."
Charlotte (13-41): Their organizational shuffling continued by reassigning team president Mitch Kupchak and beginning a search for a new leader of their basketball operations department. Philadelphia's Elton Brand, New Orleans' Trajan Langdon, Cleveland's Mike Gansey and the Clippers' Trent Redden, according to ESPN, along with Brooklyn's Jeff Peterson, Washington's Travis Schlenk and Sacramento's Wes Wilcox are all under consideration to become the next Hornets GM and select in the top-five of next year's draft, determine the future of Miles Bridges and other few remaining top-end players in Charlotte after the team sold before the trade deadline.
Cleveland (36-17): Their eight-game winning streak ended when Darius Garland missed a corner three at the buzzer for the win against Philadelphia early last week. They beat Chicago two days later behind another Donovan Mitchell 30-point game and Jarrett Allen double-double, improving to winners of 18 of their last 20 entering the break, finishing second in the east, 6.0 games behind the Celtics, who they'll face once more at home on Mar. 5. Despite their enormous success midway through this season, one league executive told Howard Beck there's no doubt that Mitchell will leave Cleveland.
Denver (36-19): Nikola Jokić criticized the 65-game minimum for NBA awards, a popular topic at the all-star media day, saying it forces players to play through injuries with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Haliburton the most notably impacted players who had clear paths to MVP and All-NBA berths as they navigated their respective ailments. Embiid is now eliminated from the MVP race and Haliburton is on the edge of the threshold that could lose him tens of millions of dollars in his rookie scale extension. Jokić also praised Boston's start and Tatum's role in it as a potential MVP candidate like himself.
"They're first in the east, right? They're playing amazing. Some people would say they got better this year than last year," Jokić said at media day. "Definitely, they have a really good group of players, they're playing really well, they're definitely there at the top ... Tatum, I think he's leading that group ... he's really a tough matchup for all the teams ... they're so consistent, for the last 3-4 years, I think every year they're dangerous. They always have a chance."
Detroit (8-46): Police arrested Isaiah Stewart after he allegedly punched Suns center Drew Eubanks in the face during a tunnel altercation at Phoenix' arena. The incident reportedly happened hours before the Suns-Pistons game that Stewart missed with a long-running ankle injury, and stemmed from hostilities between the pair in the previous Detroit-Phoenix game. Phoenix police issued Stewart a citation and released him, with the Suns criticizing Stewart in a statement while the Pistons said they're gathering more information. Monty Williams ripped his former Suns for speaking on the matter.
"The attack on Drew Eubanks was unprovoked, and acts of violence such as this are unacceptable," the Suns said. "We unequivocally support Drew, and will continue to work with local law enforcement and the NBA."
Golden State (27-26): ESPN reported that Warriors and Lakers ownership groups spoke about a LeBron James trade before the deadline, with Jeanie Buss willing to engage as long as James decided he wanted to move on from LA. She gave Joe Lacob and Golden State's ownership permission to speak with Rich Paul, who indicated James wanted to stay with the Lakers. Draymond Green reportedly encouraged the Warriors to engage in the pursuit. Klay Thompson, who would've theoretically been traded, moved to the bench for the first time in his career during another inconsistent, frustrating season and scored 35 points in a close win over the Jazz before the break. Golden State quietly won 6-of-7 to reenter the playoff picture in the west, currently the 10 seed by 2.5 games over Utah. Thompson said he embraced the benching, and looked at Manu Ginobili's sixth man role in Spurs championship for inspiration.
Indiana (31-25): Hosted the All Star Game after initially losing the game due to cancellation in 2021 during the COVID-19 breakout, with Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton the visible hosts of the game. Bennedict Mathurin scored the Rising Star MVP honor in a tournament where the G-League team led by Mac McClung and top prospects from G-League Ignite like Ron Holland, who stunned Victor Wembanyama's team of NBA stars in the first round before losing to Mathurin's squad. Mathurin scored 18 points in his team's first round victory. Obi Toppin declined to return to the Slam Dunk Contest, which Mathurin joked that his Pacers teammates teased him over. Jacob Toppin said he and Obi will dunk together in a contest one day.
Clippers (36-17): The NBA fined PJ Tucker $75,000 for publicly demanding a trade that went unfulfilled before the deadline, with Tucker frustrated that he hasn't played since Nov. 27. The Clippers sent Tucker and guard Bones Hyland home early to reset before the all-star break as both deal with their extremely limited roles on the roster, and while the team appears to have no plans to buy out either from their contract, both would fall below the limit that prevents teams like the Celtics above the apron from signing either. Though neither would likely receive minutes in Boston. Tucker is signed for two-years, $22.6 million, complicating any effort to buy him out. LA enters the break third in the west, 2.0 games behind the Timberwolves, after winning 7-of-10.
Lakers (30-26): LeBron James, who refused to shed light on cryptic tweets or what he'll do next summer before the trade deadline, reportedly decided to stay with the Lakers despite being able to go to the Warriors through a trade if he decided to. Brian Windhorst believes that James will return to LA this summer too, though ESPN also reported that LA and James haven't discussed their future plans together. Worse, the Warriors talks were supposed to remain top secret. James has a $51.4 million player option for next season, when he'll turn 40 in his 21st NBA season.
Memphis (20-36)/Milwaukee (35-21): Solid start for former Celtics forward Lamar Stevens, who moved into a battered Memphis team's starting lineup and scored double-figures in each of his first three games with 6.7 rebounds per night. Stevens also blocked two shots in each of his first two appearances, then helped the Grizzlies stun the Bucks, who entered the break losing 7-of-10 under Doc Rivers and falling to third in the east, 2.5 games behind Cleveland and 8.5 back of Boston. Rivers said the transition to becoming Milwaukee's head coach has been harder than expected and that some of his player's heads were in 'Cabo' during the stunning loss to Memphis. Rivers also noted at all-star media day that he's talked to Adrian Griffin about delivering the all-star coaching bonus to the former Milwaukee coach. The Bucks signed forward Danilo Gallinari after the Pistons bought him out.
New Orleans (33-22): Howard Beck said executives he spoke with believe the Pelicans will have to choose between stars Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson long-term after New Orleans finished the first half relatively healthy in the sixth seed, 1.0 game over Dallas above the play-in line. It's a question facing a number teams with looming tax hikes and apron penalties impacting teams around the NBA, with the Timberwolves facing a similar dilemma with stars Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns both inevitably making the supermax eventually, and the Clippers and Heat with aging stars Paul George and Jimmy Butler on increasingly expensive contending teams.
New York (33-22): OG Anunoby (elbow) will be evaluated around Mar. 1 following his clean-up surgery, according to The Athletic and will reportedly return to basketball activities not long after if all goes well. That eliminates him from the final Celtics-Knicks matchup of the regular season on Saturday in New York, with the Knicks 10.0 games behind Boston despite their 16-7 record since Anunoby arrived. As for Julius Randle (shoulder), a looser prognosis that's in line with Mitchell Robinson's signals their best hope being a return before the regular season ends. Bojan Bogdanović logged his first minutes with the team before the break, scoring 26 points on 10-for-23 shooting across both games. Alec Burks averaged 13.3 PPG on 34.2% FG.
Orlando (30-25): Mac McClung, now a member of the Magic's G-League affiliate, shined on Friday and Saturday at all-star weekend by helping lead a group of G-League players to a win over Victor Wembanyama and other NBA rookies and sophomore stars. On Saturday, McClung came back from an early deficit to Jaylen Brown to win back-to-back Slam Dunk Contests with a performance that included a double-clutch reverse slam jumping over someone while releasing the ball from his hands. A similar jam stole the show and prevailed over Brown's final attempt, a left-handed jam with a Michael Jackson glove while leaping over Donovan Mitchell. As for first-time all star Paolo Banchero, he became a rare star to suit up for all three nights.
San Antonio (11-44): Victor Wembanyama didn't make the all-star team, but became a de-facto main event while showing up for the Rising Stars game and skills competition. Wembanyama's team fell in both early, while the rookie admitted to needing the extra days off at the end of the break after the exhaustion at the start of the season. Droves of media, nationally and internationally, arrived to watch and talk to the star, who Kevin Durant joked he won't have to deal with as he's on his way out of the league. Wembanyama said he hopes to participate in all the all-star events one day.
Washington (9-45): Bought out veteran guard Delon Wright, who will join the Miami Heat, according to ESPN. He played sparingly for the Wizards in his age 31 season, in favor of different players, but posted 7.4 PPG and 3.9 APG on 47.4% shooting last year. Wright joins a Heat team that lost Josh Richardson (shoulder) and Terry Rozier (knee) in their loss to the Celtics last weekend. Rozier is week-to-week with a knee sprain and Richardson will miss several weeks with a dislocation. The Washington Post broke down how the Wizards ended up deciding to move to Virginia.