In recent years, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has seen a decline in participation from big-name players. Jaylen Brown sought to revitalize the event by way of joining this 12 months and shared his insights on the criticism surrounding the opposition after it ended.
Brown secured the runner-up spot in the Slam Dunk Contest, coming in at the back of the reigning champion, Mac McClung, on Saturday night. He commented on why players may be reluctant to join the contest, proposing a special perspective.
“I think, ultimately, in this media era, some gamers are simply afraid to get grew to become into a meme or whatever,” Brown said. “I wanted to come out and have exciting with it, and that’s what I did.”
Despite losing to McClung in the final, there have been combined opinions about Brown’s participation, especially due to the fact that some of his dunks lacked complexity. Additionally, a technical mishap from TNT prevented one of his dunks from being broadcast live.
Brown was once capable to use the dunk contest as an opportunity to pay homage to Terrence Clark, who died in a vehicle crash in 2021. Before one of his dunks, Brown put on Clarke’s Brewster Academy jersey.
“Terrence was once like my little bro,” Brown said. “Definitely a Boston connection. I desired to have a motive in everything that I was doing. I desired the whole lot to have a message behind it, and I assume that’s what I did tonight.”
The concern over workable injuries is a extensive purpose why many superstar athletes ignore the Slam Dunk Contest, contributing to its dwindling excitement. He additionally cited the LED court docket “was a little slippery” and avoided him from doing some dunks he desired to convey out.
However, Brown pushed aside these concerns, aiming to carry star excellent lower back to the Dunk Contest and delight followers for the first time in six years.