Glenn Robinson III won the 2017 Slam Dunk Contest, beating Derrick Jones Jr. in the final round. Last year’s star, Aaron Gordon, didn’t even make it out of the first round.
The 2017 NBA Slam Dunk Contest dunks, ranked
We’ve had better dunk contests. We’ve had more creative dunk contests. If you skip the first six dunks or so, you’re not missing much. Still, those few at the end were flames.
It looked like Jones might be our winner after his first two, but he faded as Robinson finished with two great dunks in the final round. It was a shame to see Gordon fall off, but you could tell he didn’t quite have the same magic as he did last year. He’s been dealing with ankle injuries this year, and it makes sense that he might not be quite where he was last year. (You also can’t blame Gordon for saying he won’t compete next year, because going into this contest with those type of expectations must take something out of you.)
Here’s all 12 dunks from Saturday night, ranked by my incredibly arbitrary, but obviously irrefutable opinion.
12. DeAndre Jordan’s first attempt: A dunk over DJ Khaled’s turntable, plus DJ Khaled
Idea: -7/10
Execution: 5/10
Judge’s score: 41
I’m giving him one point for the turntable, one point for grabbing the ball from someone’s hand, negative 10 points for that person being DJ Khaled and one point for Khaled putting it on Snapchat.
Total score: -2/20
11. Aaron Gordon’s second attempt: a failed dunk all around
Idea: 0/10
Execution: 0/10
Judge’s score: 34 (lol)
I do like that you cannot complete a dunk and still get 34 points. That’s the type of work environment I can prosper in.
My score: 0/20
10. DeAndre Jordan’s second attempt: 360 dunk through his legs
Idea: 3/10
Execution: 3/10
Judge’s score: 43
This just doesn’t look impressive enough for a big man, which might not be fair, but it matters.
My score: 7/20
9. Derrick Jones Jr.’s third attempt: Jump over three people windmill dunk
Idea: 3/10
Execution: 4/10:
Judge’s score: 37
He lost idea points because he had already jumped over people and execution points for missing several to start.
My score: 7/20
8. Derrick Jones Jr.’s fourth attempt: Through the legs dunk with a half court head start
Idea: 4/10
Execution: 5/10
Judge’s score: 50
Look, I can’t even touch the rim. A through-the-legs dunk from anyone is an absurd feat of athleticism achievement. But the bounce here didn’t add much, and Jones Jr. didn’t take off that far away. (He got a 50, so maybe I’m way wrong.)
My score: 9/20
7. Aaron Gordon’s first attempt: Dunking from a drone
Idea: 10/10
Execution: 0/10
Judge’s score: 38
I thought Gordon was either going to grab the ball from the drone and dunk it, or grab it before the ball bounced. Instead, he waited for the bounce, tried to go through his leg and barely completed it. Ah well — those first two options would have been so damn creative, but he couldn’t quite pull it off.
My score: 10/20
6. Glenn Robinson’s second attempt: A double clutch 360 dunk
Idea: 5/10
Execution: 6/10
Judge’s score: 41
I thought he was trying to go “no look” but it turned out he was just dabbing at the end. That was a letdown.
My score: 11/20
5. Glenn Robinson’s third attempt: A windmill jumping over Paul George
Idea: 6/10
Execution: 6/10
Judge’s score: 44
A good, clean, solid dunk. This isn’t what won it for him, but it works.
My score: 12
4. Glenn Robinson’s fourth attempt: A reverse jam jumping over three people
Idea: 3/10
Execution: 10/10
Judge’s score: 50
This is literally John Wall’s dunk from the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest. Here’s his.
It’s also pretty close to his first dunk. But this was the one that won it, and it looks real nice.
My score: 13/20
3. Derrick Jones Jr.’s first attempt: Tomahawk dunk jumping over three people
Idea: 7/10
Execution: 8/10
Judge’s score: 45
That was a lot of people.
My score: 15/20
2. Derrick Jones Jr.’s second attempt: A windmill dunk off the side of the backboard
Idea: 7/10
Execution: 13/10
Judge’s score: 50
I’ve seen dunks like this before, but it’s hella hard and this is as smooth as I’ve ever seen it thrown down.
My score: 20/20
1. Glenn Robinson’s first attempt: A reverse dunk jumping over two men
Idea: 10/10
Execution: 11/10
Judge’s score: 50
I’ve never seen a dunker put someone on another person’s shoulders. I love it, because seeing the guy on top getting knocked off the other dude’s shoulders if Robinson didn’t jump high enough would be the best moment in dunk contest history.
That said, Robinson didn’t. I’m pretty sure he intended to two-hand reverse this (maybe not!), realized he was too far and threw it in with one instead. Either way, this was gorgeous and he deserved to win on this one alone.
My score: 21/20
