Common Explains NBA Slam Dunk Judges Intended to Call it a Tie
By Michael Luciano
The 2020 Slam Dunk Contest was an amazing exhibition of athleticism, but almost everyone is talking about the controversial ending instead, as Miami Heat guard Derrick Jones Jr. was declared the winner despite Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon jumping over 7-5 Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall.
Common, one of the celebrity judges who helped award Jones the contest over Gordon, claims that they thought it was going to be a tie, but one of the three judges who gave the dunk a 9/10 "didn't do it right."
Just spoke to dunk contest judge @common who tells @ESPN, “We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, ‘This is a tie’ ...But somebody didn’t do it right. I don’t know who it is.” ???
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) February 16, 2020
Heat legend Dwyane Wade, Bulls Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, and "Black Panther" star Chadwick Boseman were the three judges that gave Gordon a less than perfect score.
One of those three judges has to be kicking themselves the morning after, as their hesitancy to break out the 10 has cost Gordon a dunk contest victory.
— Ƒunhouse (@BackAftaThis) February 16, 2020
We can piece together which of the three judges went rogue and decided to hand the contest to Jones, but we can't change the fact that Gordon might have two of the top five slam dunk contest performances of all time under his belt, and he has yet to come out a winner.