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Then came the dunks.<\/p>\n
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The highlight of the first round belonged to Johnson. And it wasn\u2019t even close. AP<\/p>\n
The four contestants<\/a> \u2014 Carter Bryant of the Spurs, Jaxson Hayes of the Lakers<\/a>, Keshad Johnson of the Heat and Jase Richardson of the Magic \u2014 each had two attempts in the first round. The top two would advance to the finals. Five judges sat courtside like royalty: Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins, Dwight Howard, Corey Maggette and Brent Barry \u2014 men who once treated rims like their own personal property.<\/p>\n The highlight of the first round belonged to Johnson. And it wasn\u2019t even close.<\/p>\n The Heat forward walked out dancing alongside Bay Area legend E-40 to \u201cTell Me When to Go,\u201d a cultural anthem that turned the Dome into a West Coast block party.<\/p>\n Then Johnson did exactly that \u2014 he told us when to go. He leapt over E-40, cleared him cleanly, smiled midair like he was posing for a magazine cover and hammered it home with authority. It was swagger. It was theater. It was what this contest is supposed to be.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The building erupted.<\/p>\n Then came the local favorite: Hayes, who plays center for the Lakers.<\/p>\n Playing in front of family and friends in his adopted city, Hayes promised excitement.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just excited. My whole family is here, and I\u2019m excited to put on a show,\u201d he said beforehand. He had studied old contests on YouTube, scrolled Instagram for ideas, searching for that one dunk that \u201cgets people going.\u201d<\/p>\n His first attempt didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> Hayes took off from just inside the free-throw line and finished with a one-handed slam. The judges awarded it a 44.6 \u2014 the lowest score of the first round. In a building that had just witnessed Johnson turn a dunk into a music video, Hayes\u2019 attempt felt like a warm-up layup line drill.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Los Angeles is unforgiving when it\u2019s underwhelmed. The murmurs were immediate.<\/p>\n His second dunk showed more imagination. Hayes tossed the ball to himself, caught it off the bounce, went between the legs and flushed it. It took several attempts \u2014 momentum bleeding out with each miss \u2014 but when he finally completed it, the score reflected the improvement: 47.2. His 91.8 total was enough to avoid immediate elimination, but he missed the finals by a point.<\/p>\n Hayes had joked earlier that if he could dunk on anyone, it would be \u201cLeBron.\u201d Saturday night, he couldn\u2019t even dunk over the moment.<\/p>\n In a city that breathes basketball mythology, Saturday felt like a missed opportunity for the Lakers\u2019 sixth Slam Dunk Contest participant.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The finals belonged to Bryant and Johnson, and the contrast was electric versus surgical. Johnson brought the showmanship. Bryant brought the hammer.<\/p>\n On his first dunk of the finals, Bryant rose, went between the legs with violent precision and detonated the rim. The judges flashed perfect 50s across the board.<\/p>\n But when the moment mattered the most, Bryant faltered. Needing just 47 points to win the contest, Bryant couldn\u2019t finish any of his attempts on his final dunk. With the clock winding down, Bryant ditched his between-the-legs, off the backboard, reverse dunk and settled for a simple 360 instead. The judges didn\u2019t buy it, and Bryant had blown his chance to be crowned champion.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n When the dust settled, it was the Johnson, the Heat forward, who stood alone as the champion, having delivered the most entertaining dunk of the night. In doing so, he proved that consistency, patience and theatrics were all that was needed to follow in the footsteps of legendary past winners like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter.<\/p>\n \u201cI give all the glory to God,\u201d Johnson, a native of Oakland, said after the contest. \u201cAlways believe in yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n The NBA\u2019s Slam Dunk Contest remains a strange beast \u2014 equal parts nostalgia and innovation, judged by men who once defined it. Saturday night proved something important: Creativity wins the crowd, but execution wins the crown.<\/p>\n
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