{"id":604292,"date":"2026-02-15T08:57:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T08:57:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/604292\/"},"modified":"2026-02-15T08:57:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T08:57:21","slug":"miami-heats-keshad-johnson-triumphs-in-nba-all-star-dunk-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/604292\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson triumphs in NBA All-Star dunk contest"},"content":{"rendered":"

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star Saturday, overcoming perfect scores by San Antonio rookie Carter Bryant on his first dunk in the final round.<\/p>\n

For his final dunk, Johnson started behind the judges\u2019 table, took off from the free throw line and threw down a one-handed windmill jam. His first dunk earned a slightly higher score for a between-the-legs move.<\/p>\n

Bryant earned the contest\u2019s highest score for his first dunk in the final. He bounced the ball in front of him, caught it between his legs and dunked with his right hand, earning perfect 50.0 marks from all five judges.<\/p>\n

But Bryant struggled on his second dunk. He missed his first two tries, pausing to talk to Vince Carter in between. He attempted bouncing the ball off the glass and throwing down a reverse but it rolled around the rim and out. He settled for a less flashy but successful dunk on his third and final attempt.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t enough, giving the NBA a new slam dunk champion in Johnson. He accepted the trophy from Hall of Famer Julius Erving after shaking hands with all of the judges.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Sacramento<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAll the kids out there, keep dreaming, anything can happen,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI just came out here and showed people.\u201d<\/p>\n

If there\u2019d been a dance contest, Johnson would have won that, too. He came dancing onto the court, smiling all the way, and danced after claiming the title.<\/p>\n

Three-time dunk winner Mac McClung \u2014 currently on a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls \u2014 didn\u2019t participate. He was the only competitor in history to have a perfect contest, scoring 50s from every judge on all of his dunks last year in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

It was a four-man field for the fifth consecutive year, with Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers and Jase Richardson of Orlando joining Johnson and Bryant. But Hayes and Richardson didn\u2019t advance to the final.<\/p>\n

In the first round, Johnson brought out rapper E-40. After missing on his first try, he leapt over E-40\u2019s bowed head and slammed the ball down while keeping his left hand behind his head. <\/p>\n

Judging the contest were Erving, fellow Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette and Brent Barry.<\/p>\n

3-point contest<\/p>\n

Damian Lillard isn\u2019t playing this season. He still scored big anyway, winning the 3-point contest over Devin Booker.<\/p>\n

Lillard tied Larry Bird and Craig Hodges with his third title, most in the contest\u2019s history. Defending champion Tyler Herro of the Miami Heat didn\u2019t compete.<\/p>\n

Lillard scored 30 points in the final round, edging Booker, who got hot early but tailed off and finished with 27. Booker of the Phoenix Suns was the champion in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was praying for his downfall,\u201d Lillard said.<\/p>\n

Charlotte Hornets standout rookie Kon Knueppel finished third with 17 points, wrinkling his nose at the result.<\/p>\n

Lillard won his first title in 2023 while playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. He won it again the following year with Milwaukee. He\u2019s not playing for the Blazers while rehabbing from a torn left Achilles tendon. Still, he told the NBA he\u2019d suit up for the contest if he needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s all I do it for, keep adding to my legacy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Booker was the top scorer after the first round with 30 points. Knueppel and Lillard were tied for second with 27.<\/p>\n

Lillard fired away in the final, with the The Wall section of fans at the Los Angeles Clippers\u2019 Intuit Dome holding up red umbrellas in a sign he was making it rain.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just got to let the ball fly, trust your instincts as a shooter, and you can\u2019t get ruffled when someone else gets hot,\u201d Lillard said.<\/p>\n

Eliminated after the first round were Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey, Norman Powell, Jamal Murray and Bobby Portis Jr.<\/p>\n

Among the celebs on hand were Spike Lee, Magic Johnson, Queen Latifah, James Worthy, comics Keegan-Michael Key and Chris Tucker and singer Joey Fatone. Ludacris performed \u201cAll I Do Is Win\u201d and other hits in a flame- and firecracker-filled show before the dunk contest.<\/p>\n

Shooting stars<\/p>\n

Team Knicks, comprised of Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston and Jalen Brunson, won the Shooting Stars trophy with 47 points. Lee, wearing his New York bucket hat, grinned from courtside. <\/p>\n

They rallied in the final seconds to beat Team Cameron\u2019s Knueppel, Jalen Johnson and Maggette, who finished with 38 points in the contest\u2019s return for the first time since 2015.<\/p>\n

Brunson\u2019s father, Rick, a current Knicks assistant, served as the winning team\u2019s \u201ccelebrity\u201d passer. <\/p>\n

Team Cameron, a nod to the trio\u2019s alma mater of Duke, took its passes from actor-comedian Anthony Anderson.<\/p>\n

Ron Harper Jr., Dylan Harper and Ron Harper of Team Harper, along with Team All-Star\u2019s Richard Hamilton, Chet Holmgren and Scottie Barnes were eliminated after the first round.<\/p>\n

Teams had 70 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting locations around the court, with all three players on a team shooting at each spot in a set order.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the Slam Dunk contest at NBA All-Star…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":604293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[16336,78314,7,36312,17011,160,366,27839,12879,4105,125,2292,11904,864,1676,226,583,420,288,2990,762,1194,960,32,80544,563,46292,3497,24376,9934,2682,189,6,7218,446,1136,7295,191,558,6912,2470,687,80543,38711,732,1261,75525,5567,66,492,1263,2685],"class_list":{"0":"post-604292","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-allan-houston","9":"tag-anthony-anderson","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-bobby-portis-jr","12":"tag-brent-barry","13":"tag-california","14":"tag-chet-holmgren","15":"tag-chris-tucker","16":"tag-corey-maggette","17":"tag-craig-hodges","18":"tag-damian-lillard","19":"tag-devin-booker","20":"tag-dominique-wilkins","21":"tag-donovan-mitchell","22":"tag-dwight-howard","23":"tag-dylan-harper","24":"tag-fl-state-wire","25":"tag-florida","26":"tag-jalen-brunson","27":"tag-jalen-johnson","28":"tag-jamal-murray","29":"tag-james-worthy","30":"tag-jase-richardson","31":"tag-jaxson-hayes","32":"tag-joey-fatone","33":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","34":"tag-keegan-michael-key","35":"tag-larry-bird","36":"tag-ludacris","37":"tag-mac-mcclung","38":"tag-magic-johnson","39":"tag-miami-heat","40":"tag-nba","41":"tag-nba-all-star-game","42":"tag-nba-basketball","43":"tag-new-york","44":"tag-new-york-city","45":"tag-new-york-knicks","46":"tag-norman-powell","47":"tag-or-state-wire","48":"tag-oregon","49":"tag-portland","50":"tag-queen-latifah","51":"tag-richard-hamilton","52":"tag-ron-harper","53":"tag-scottie-barnes","54":"tag-send-to-apple-news","55":"tag-spike-lee","56":"tag-sports","57":"tag-tyler-herro","58":"tag-tyrese-maxey","59":"tag-vince-carter"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}