Did Donovan Mitchell really deserve to win the Slam Dunk Contest? Let’s argue about it!

MIKE PRADA: Donovan Mitchell won the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest, but judging from our Slack channel, a bunch of y’all feel like others were robbed. Complaints ranged from “Even I can jump over Kevin Hart” to “Cool, he did a dunk some other dude did way better 18 years ago.”

I love Mitchell, and I think he was a deserving winner. But before I explain myself, lemme cede the floor. Why were so many of y’all mad?

TIM CATO: I’m not even mad about Dennis Smith Jr. losing anymore. I’m just mad Donovan Mitchell actually put on a Vince Carter jersey and followed it up with a dollar store version of Carter’s most famous dunk. And then — Stephen A. Smith voice here — AND THEN he had the AUDACITY, he had the NERVE, to do the “It’s over” throat slash? PLEEEEASE.

MIKE SYKES: Well, it was actually over after that.

TIM CATO: Sykes, you still have time to delete this.

KOFIE YEBOAH: Kevin Hart is already short, so making him crouch is just a bad look. Especially when it looked like Donovan Mitchell could have cleared him standing up.

As someone who compares 50s to other 50s, that ain’t a 50 dawg. Think about all the great 50s we’ve seen in dunk contests past are sitting at a lunch table, and this dunk shows up.hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha NOPE!

TOM ZILLER: Look, All-Star Weekend has been delightfully bereft of Kevin Hart. You don’t need to bring him out willy-nilly like that. I understand that you need a short human to fly over. But doesn’t Isaiah Thomas live in L.A. now?

I also agree with Cato’s argument on the incredible AUDACITY of doing the Carterian “it’s over” signal after a damn 48-point dunk with generous judges.

MICHAEL SYKES: I’m not here to tell y’all that Donovan Mitchell definitively had the best dunks tonight — I’m not 100 percent sure that he did. But I also think he did some pretty cool dunks tonight. This Dunk Contest was a bit underwhelming, but that’s fine. It was still pretty good.

TIM CATO: Smith clearly had the best dunk — and you agree with me, Sykes! — and I’m sorry he didn’t jump over a 3’0 Kevin Hart on his other one. Is that what you want? Is that what a double-pump reverse 180 needs to score higher than a 39?

Honestly, the next dunker that involves Kevin Hart in their dunks should lose points. Minus-five automatically.

MICHAEL SYKES: Y’all gonna stop hating on Kevin Hart, man. He ain’t do nothing to y’all.

KOFIE YEBOAH: Kevin Hart also did nothing on that dunk.

MICHAEL SYKES: He jumped over three people while taking a knee in the air. It was a pretty good dunk.

I thought Smith’s first dunk was a bit underwhelming, too. He lost because of that. But, yeah, he pretty easily had the best dunk on the night.

TIM CATO: HE DUNKED OVER THREE CHILDREN.

MICHAEL SYKES: HUMANS ARE HUMANS.

KOFIE YEBOAH: SOME HUMANS ARE HARDER TO JUMP OVER, SYKES.

MIKE PRADA: All of you are badly missing the essence of the dunk contest. (I shouldn’t be surprised, since most of you were barely alive when Isaiah Rider brought out the East Bay Funk.)

Why are we judging these dunks as if we’re following some sort of damn instruction manual? Who cares if the people Mitchell jumped over aren’t tall enough to ride a roller coaster? Who cares if one guy twirled his body a few degrees more than another? Why are we nitpicking over Mitchell pulling off one of the greatest dunks of all time at 90 percent capacity?

The whole point of this event was to show off the artistry of high flyers. It’s a beauty contest, not an exam. And Mitchell is an artist who makes routine dunks look freakin’ awesome. He flies in the air. He springs off the floor. He dunks with authority.

Smith Jr. had the best dunk. Larry Nance Jr. had the most creative one. But Mitchell most looked the part. He provided the most visceral joy. The fact that he made dunks that y’all can nitpick to death look cool is exactly why he deserved to win.

KOFIE YEBOAH: I just care about the market value of 50s.

TOM ZILLER: “Dennis Smith Jr. had the best dunk.” I kind of feel like a Dunk Contest should reward that!

Perhaps we need to move away from averaging scores in each round and move forward with the two players who had the best dunks in the first round. No one is disregarding Mitchell’s incredible ability to fly through the air. We’re saying that when you don’t even have one of the best two dunks in a dunk contest with 12 official dunks and you win, it’s a problem.

And hold up a darned second: In defense of my salty brethren, how old were you circa East Bay Funk, Prada?

MICHAEL SYKES: We could just end this debate and replace the dunk contest with games of slam ball.

TIM CATO: As long as Smith wins it.