On Saturday bad Valentine’s Day gifter Donald Trump reached a weird new low in self-parody: He hawked gold sneakers. The former president crashed Philadelphia’s Sneaker Con, where, amidst a sea of cheers and boos, he showed the crowd a new line of expensive Trump-brand kicks, including a pair that runs $400. The move earned instant mockery, including from the current president’s team.
Per Mediaite, shortly after Trump unveiled his gold shoes, the Biden-Harris campaign’s communications director, Michael Tyler, fired off a meme dragging his latest stunt, writing, “Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life.”
Trump’s pricey sneakers — which come in three kinds, the most expensive bearing the color gold, just like his toilets — happened to be unveiled the day after he was ordered to pay nearly $355 million (plus interest) after being found liable for fraud. What’s more, he’s banned from doing business in his home state of New York for three years.
Alas, these expensive gold sneakers won’t likely make a dent in that sum. The sneaker aren’t Trump products but rather the result of a licensing deal with a joint called 45Sneakers, which also put out a line of Trump fragrances. The gold shoes sold out quickly, though MAGA die hards can still pre-order $199 “T-Red Wave sneakers,” plus white “Potus 45” version. And don’t forget about “Trump Victory 47” cologne.
INDIANAPOLIS — So, a little inside baseball for you: Before a big event like All-Star weekend, websites will put together content plans so they have a general idea of what’s going up on a given day. Who’s recapping the events? Who’s going to be talking to which person? How can we make sure gaps are filled in when everyone is doing something that pulls them away from their computers? That sort of thing.
In the lead-up to this weekend in Indianapolis, our fine website had a brief discussion about something that could go up in the lead-up to Saturday night. It was this piece, a few hundred words on why the league should consider rearranging the schedule of events on Saturday — it’s gotten the agenda down to a science by this point. The broadcast starts up, the Skills Competition finds a way to get weirder and weirder every year, then the Three-Point Contest, and then, the Dunk Contest puts a nice bow on the entire thing.
I was going to write it before arriving in Indianapolis, and then, I came to a pretty strong realization: I’d look like a real doofus if the Three-Point Contest was mediocre this year and the Dunk Contest was sick. That, of course, ended up not happening, because Saturday night highlighted why the order of events needs to be tweaked.
For a moment, let’s think about the sport of basketball and how it exists right now. The three-point line is the great equalizer, the thing that can let teams shoot themselves into or out of games. As a result, players work tirelessly to get better from behind the arc, which has led to an explosion in, well, just about everything. Teams are hoisting from deep more than ever and scoring more points, all the stuff that gets brought up as a bad thing whenever an ex-big man talks about basketball on television.
Simply put: the game is built around the three-pointer right now.
This is reflected in the caliber of the players who participate in the Three-Point Contest. Six of the eight players who participated this year have made an All-Star Game before. A seventh, Jalen Brunson, will make his debut in the game this year. Go through the last decade or so of guys who have decided to compete: Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Trae Young, Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Donovan Mitchell, Dirk Nowitzki, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Kevin Love. These are some of the players who have come to define this era of basketball, the exact sort of stars that the NBA and the million brands in its ecosystem love to promote.
And then, look at who tends to do the Dunk Contest, particularly in the last couple of years. Jaylen Brown — the first All-Star to compete since Lillard in 2014 — doing it was huge news. He said after he competed on Saturday night that he believes “some players are just afraid to get turned into a meme or whatever,” echoing what dunk contest great Nate Robinson told Dime’s Katie Heindl earlier this week. But since the famed 2020 contest where Dwyane Wade conspired to keep Aaron Gordon from winning over Derrick Jones Jr. in Chicago (FOR LEGAL REASONS: this is a joke), the Dunk Contest has pretty consistently been a flop. Between crowds that tend to be a little bit flat and collections of players who don’t demand attention from fans like the Three-Point Contest guys above, it’s worth considering what should be the main event.
To be clear, at its best, there is nothing in sports like the Dunk Contest. And I would argue the dunks in the 2024 version of the event weren’t that bad, but it ran into yet another problem that differentiates the two. A flat crowd (or, in the case of the 2024 event, a crowd that is more compelled to boo judges than anything else) absolutely kills the Dunk Contest, while scores are subjectively handed out by a panel that might be a bit harsh, a la this Saturday’s quintet of judges. If a guy misses a dunk attempt or two? That incredible moment where we see someone pull off a feat of athleticism few others can match gets the air taken out of it a bit. The ceiling is higher — that Gordon vs. Jones contest was one of the most remarkable sports things I’ve witnessed in person — but the floor is in the basement.
The ceiling of the Three-Point Contest is for sure not as high, but the floor is about as high as anything the NBA does this weekend. There are no judges who can become the story of the event, and the way the whole thing works creates a natural drama that just does not exist in the Dunk Contest — it’s an objective score, with competitors going against one another and a clock, and that tension builds and builds leading into their final rack. When that’s a moneyball rack and a guy can get scorching hot on it? Even better.
And in 2024, we learned something new about the Three-Point Contest: You can actually build it out and add even more intrigue to the entire thing. The league did shoot itself in the foot by not just having all four competitors who tied in the first round move on — the wholly unnecessary tiebreaker meant that the hometown hero, Tyrese Haliburton, did not move on to the finals — but watching the four-way tie get all sorted out between a quartet of All-Stars was ultra compelling.
And then, there was the spin-off of the usual event, when Stephen Curry and Sabrina Ionescu went shot-for-shot in an absolutely sensational spectacle. Both expressed the desire to run it back in 2025, but imagine if that gets built out even more? Obviously Curry and Ionescu should be involved, but what if the winner of that year’s event joins in? What if another elite shooter from the W like Jackie Young gets in on the fun? Or maybe they just never do this again, letting it be the sort of one-time thing that people look back on fondly for years. Which is fine! We still have the usual competition, the one consistently great part of the night.
Despite all of this, it does make sense why the NBA wouldn’t want to tweak its Saturday night format. Traditions are important, and the tradition of closing out Saturday with the Dunk Contest is as much a part of the Association as the silhouette of Jerry West that give us the logo. The event can turn someone into a household name — Mac McClung went from a high school mixtape hero, to a nice but forgettable college player, to a G League guy who got the occasional cup of coffee in the NBA, to a guy who can forever say he’s a back-to-back champion in a competition that’s been won by guys like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. That’s truly storybook stuff, and a reflection of what the Dunk Contest can be at its best.
But it’s worth remembering the discourse around the first time McClung won. In 2023, the league went to Salt Lake City and had a rather unspectacular field at first glance: McClung, Trey Murphy III, KJ Martin, and Jericho Sims, who was the injury replacement for Shaedon Sharpe. McClung and Murphy were both terrific as they made their way through the first two rounds, and the winner was praised for saving the Dunk Contest. Fast forward one year and McClung was back, this time in a field that included an All-Star (Brown), one of the most exciting rookies in the league (Jaime Jaquez Jr.), and the younger brother of a former champion (Jacob Toppin).
With each passing dunk by Brown that got a higher than expected score and boos from the crowd, one thing was made clear: The weight of making the main event of All-Star Saturday Night the spectacle that we all love should not be on Mac McClung’s shoulders, nor should that have ever been the case. It’s on the NBA to look at what works and what does not, and right now, that means considering changing up the order of events, letting the star-studded Three-Point Contest close out the night, and giving the Dunk Contest a chance to find its place again among the greatness of All-Star Weekend.
There’s a chance it had been a minute since you last thought about notorious race pretender Rachel Dolezal. That changed last week. A report surfaced that she’d changed her name and rebranded as an elementary school teacher — only to get fired over her OnlyFans account. Dolezal, now going by Nkechi Diallo, had kept quiet, but now she’s broken her silence — and she seems cool with her life hitting another bump.
Per The Daily Beast, Diallo posted a brief, semi-cryptic message on her Instagram Stories. It was a chipper selfie with a simple caption reading, “Keep On Living,” followed by three plant emojis.
Diallo gained infamy in the mid-teens when she was busted not only passing herself of as Black but having nabbed a position as the president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Diallo defended her actions, saying that she was “biologically born white to white parents, but I identify as Black.” That did not mollify her detractors and she wound up stepping down from her NAACP position.
After years of laying low, Diallo was back in the news after being fired from the Catalina Foothills School District in Tucson, Arizona. It was reported that she’d been employed as a “part-time after school extended day instructor” as well as a substitute teacher. School district brass had discovered her OnlyFans account, where, according to The Daily Beast, she dropped fitness videos, “hair-chair” tutorials, and “foot pics.”
Anyway, best of luck to the former Rachel Dolezal.
It’s been some two-and-a-half months since George Santos was booted from the House of Representatives. But has he really gone away? Of course not. The serial fabulist quickly segued into a stint as a Cameo star, making some scratch recording videos for the celebrity service. Now he’s found another way to stay in the public eye: He’s suing someone who made fun of him.
Per The Daily Beast, Santos filed a civil suit on Saturday against Jimmy Kimmel. Why? Because Kimmel tricked him into recording a Cameo video then aired it on his late night show. In his filing, Santos accuses Kimmel of violating the terms of service, in turn committing copyright infringement and fraud.
Incidentally, Santos has been accused by the Department of Justice of credit card fraud.
According to the documentation, Kimmel “misrepresented himself and his motives” so that Santos would “produce personalized videos for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing” him and his “gregarious personality.” (Yes, that’s how Santos, or at least his lawyers, describe him.)
Shortly after the late night prank, Santos threatened to sue Kimmel, even contacting him with a heads-up.
“We are writing to congratulate you — your ‘dream’ of being sued by Mr. Santos may indeed come true,” Santos’ lawyer Andrew Mancilla wrote to Kimmel. “While your comedic efforts are much appreciated, you should have obtained Mr. Santos’ consent, as he is not camera shy, nor is he blind to the comedic irony of suing you for fraud.”
Santos was ejected from his House seat in part due to his long and prolific history of lying creatively about his past during his election campaign. Among his many whoppers include claiming his mother died in the September 11 attacks, that he was a collegiate volleyball star, and that he helped produce one of Broadway’s most notorious flops.
Nobody probably expected Noah Centineo, leading actor of Netflix romcoms like To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, to enter the realm of Dad TV. Yet that’s precisely what this former Internet Boyfriend has done in the action-packed yet comedic The Recruit, which stars Centineo as a newbie CIA lawyer who ends up in over his head and awash in a web of international intrigue.
The show rolls out like a combination of Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer and Amazon’s Jack Ryan with the viewership to back it up. Within its first six months of release, The Recruitracked up 147 million streaming hours, and it’s no wonder why this happened. In addition to holding built-in audience appeal from Centineo, the series pilot was directed by Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity) in a show created by Alexi Hawley (The Rookie, State Of Affairs). A second season was inevitable, so let’s dig in on what’s been revealed thus far.
Plot
As viewers will recall, Owen Hendricks’ first week as a CIA lawyer does not go smoothly. He swiftly ends up embroiled in potential international scandal after discovering that an ex-Russian asset, Max Meladze (Laura Haddock), is angling for exoneration from murder charges by threat of exposing agency doings. In order to clean up this mess, Owen finds himself whirling round the globe to prove that he’s got what it takes for this job. This leads him into precarious moral territory that is fraught with danger, and he certainly did not count on being sucked into the darker sides of espionage right off the bat.
Naturally, Owen personal life gets entangled in the adventure, too, because the complications will not stop coming for this guy. According to Netflix’s synopsis for the second season, the pace of the series will not slow down, and Max’s life remains in jeopardy after her story took a sudden turn:
The Recruit picks up after that massive cliff-hanger ending of the first season, where Russian asset Max Meladze’s (Laura Haddock) life hangs in the balance after her own daughter(!) shot her in cold blood. Season 2 finds CIA lawyer Owen pulled into a life-threatening espionage situation in South Korea, only to realize that the bigger danger just might be coming from inside the agency.
Cast
Noah Centineo obviously will be back as Owen, but Netflix hasn’t revealed whether Laura Haddock’s Max will appear in this next season. Confirmed returning cast members include Nathan Fillion as CIA Director Alton West along with Fidel Stewart, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kaylah Zander, Maddie Hasson, Colton Dunn, Angel Parker, Kristian Bruun, and Jesse Collin.
Additionally, new cast members will include Teo Yoo and Young-Ah Kim as intelligence officers. Felix Solis will portray a senior U.S. diplomat, and James Purefoy will play a slightly shady and charming British business dude.
Release Date
Filming began in January, so viewers will hopefully see The Recruit return in late 2024.
Trailer
While we await a peek at the next season, here’s a compilation of action scenes, which are as amusing as they are filled with adrenaline.
There is a long way between now and the end of Curb Your Enthusiasm, but last week’s episode begs the question: is Larry David about to go all in with a Seinfeldtribute in the final season of his iconic comedy or is he just screwing with us?
Spoilers for anyone who didn’t watch the last episode or for anyone who hates theories like this that could possibly be spoilery for things that haven’t happened yet, but… If you did watch, you know that the episode picked up where the season 12 premiere ended – with Larry posing for a mugshot that’s identical to that of former President Donald Trump. Well, now Larry is navigating both the Georgia criminal justice system and life as an accidental political hero, reluctantly pleading guilty for handing out a bottle of water to Auntie Rae while she was waiting on line to vote in the Atlanta heat.
With a court date looming, the question is what does all of this mean for the show, week to week?
The trial will, of course, have to be dealt with at some point, but is it going to be the main focus of this final season? Curb has carried themes over from episode to episode before, but full-on story arcs are a little less frequent. The Producers arc, Mocha Joe war, and the Seinfeld reunion arc being obvious exceptions.
Let’s linger on that Seinfeld connection for a moment, because there are clear breadcrumbs.
Think back a couple of months to when Jerry Seinfeld teased some vague revisitation of the finale of that iconic comedy. You know, the episode that a lot of people hated on (myself included, though I’ve softened some). In that episode, which David wrote (after being away from the show for the bulk of two seasons), the Seinfeld core four get thrown off course as Jerry is about to fly off to LA to reignite talk of a sitcom. Instead, however, they land in Massachusetts and get caught doing nothing while a man is held up. There’s also a recording of them making fun of the victim. This sets up a trial that doubles as an excuse for the show to bring back dozens of familiar guest stars to testify to the wickedness of Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer, damning them to a guilty verdict and time in jail where they almost certainly learned nothing from the experience.
Learning was actually forbidden on the show about nothing. Part of a mantra that also outlawed touchy-feely hugging. But no one ever said anything about consequences, and David, for one, has spoken fondly of the finale, saying it was “clever” to bring past characters back to testify. He said this during an appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast in 2014 where he also said, “I got so much grief from the Seinfeld finale, which a lot of people intensely disliked, that I no longer feel a need to wrap things up,” referring to Curb with that last part. He said that a decade ago, but keep that thought handy.
Listen, Larry David closing his show by doing some big direct retake of the dynamics of the Seinfeld finale has some obvious benefits, creating space for a bunch of great character moments for everyone his character tortured across 12 seasons with his various quirks and psychoses. But as a finale, doesn’t that feel a little too obvious and a little too match made in pundit heaven?
There are also 8 episodes left. Can you imagine the fervor if we were watching them choreograph this big TV moment for the next couple of months? It’s the kind of big TV finale that David seemingly has no taste for. I also don’t think the Seinfeld dynamic works the same for David’s character.
On Seinfeld, these characters mostly lived in a vacuum, inflicting annoyance and psychological pain on the people they dated or otherwise interacted with without a lot of reflection or even self-awareness. Those people’s frustrations were rarely a factor in the story. With David, the torment and annoyance level of the people around him is constantly played for laughs. At times, Larry luxuriates in being a prick. He just can’t help himself. It’s kinda the point of the show. So if you make Curb end like Seinfeld in this epic attempt at a payoff, it’s going to feel kind of anti-climactic. What could Susie say on the stand that she hasn’t screamed in Larry’s face countless times?
No, I think we’re going to get a modified salute to the Seinfeld finale (maybe even with some of that show’s cast), but I don’t think we’re going to have to wait long and I don’t think it’ll be the defining moment of this season, much less this show. If anything, it’s highest purpose may be for any slights or stories that spin off from it leading toward the real end game. As for what that will be, your guess is as good as mine, but 12 seasons in, I think it’s safe to say that it’ll be pretty, pretty, pretty… oh, you know.
Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.
10: TIE. Tracker (CBS series streaming on Paramount+)
Alright, so hang tight for the long-term ratings verdict on this series, which premiered with an undeniable boost due to following the Super Bowl. Naturally, the title will make you think of Reacher, although this is very much not Jack Reacher territory. Still, there’s a relatively lone wolf (Colter Shaw, portrayed by Justin Hartley) who’s out there, you know, tracking people while seeking rewards and prospering due to his survivalist family background. This series is based upon Jeffrey Deaver’s The Never Game, and yes, they totally used Tracker as the show’s title for a reason.
Ben Mendelsohn can belt out Beyonce on a whim, but on a more serious note, he portrays a World War II-era Christian Dior in this series (also starring Maisie Williams) that charts his modern-fashion rise alongside the likes of Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, and Coco Chanel. History buffs and fashion junkies alike will enjoy tucking into this saga, despite the traumatic moments within.
The Von Erich wrestling family is here to make you burst into tears and thank it. Zac Efron is a jacked-up wrestling-ring force as Kevin, who endured tragedy of an unfathomable scale. How did The Oscars overlook this performance? He’s accompanied by Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson (who is so underrated despite being everywhere lately), and Stanley Simons as they took their father’s wrestling dynasty to the moon and then crashing back down again. Eventually, this title will stream on Max, but for now, it’s in VOD City.
Pablo Schreiber is back as Master Chief, and if he has any say in the matter, there won’t be Sexy Master Chief on display this season. In other words, Master Chief will not be sporting a Pornstache, among other things. Officially, he will be fretting about the changing tide of his war and how to prepare for what he believes is an imminent attack by the Covenant on the most valuable stronghold known to mankind. Can he finally find the Halo, which will either help humanity survive or kill it off forever? Master Chief could use a break.
Naturally, Valentine’s Day might motivate more people to pick up the online dating apps, but let this horrific documentary be a cautionary tale. An unwitting love triangle turned deadly, and although the “twist” is predictable, this real-life terror will remind you that hanging out in your pajamas at home on a Saturday night is much better than this alternative.
This show is still working through the many, and increasingly dangerous, missions of World War II or the Bloody Hundredth. Austin Butler is perhaps too handsome for this role, but that’s par for the course in this cast. Callum Turner, Barry Keoghan, Anthony Boyle, Ncuti Gatway, and Nate Mann similarly ask us to suspend belief as their real-life daredevils who led bombardments aimed toward taking Nazi Germany down. The aerial fighter scenes are visceral, as are the coming-down-to-earth moments, and despite Barry Keoghan’s character delighting in reminding the world that he’s Irish, this might be the most normal person that he’s ever portrayed.
5. The Tourist (BBC One/Stan series streaming on Netflix)
This series originally streamed on Max and found new life after moving over to Netflix for its second season of U.S.-based streaming. Jamie Dornan’s character took a hell of a road trip in the Australian Outback and has moved onto Ireland, where he’s attempting to make progress against those ultra-bad dudes who want to take his also-bad dude self off the map. First, he’ll be drawn into a family feud — the most delicate kind of feud.
James Clavell’s beloved 1975 novel (within his Asian Saga) will be lushly rendered to bring his 1600s civil war-story to life. You might need a flowchart to keep track of the various alliances and betrayals in this show, which begins when Lord Yoshii Toranaga finds himself being dragged into oblivion by “vultures,” i.e. the opposing Council of Regents. Enter an apparent ally, John Blackthorne, whose ship has conveniently been marooned nearby, although he could be the key to helping Toranago tip the balance against his enemies. That’s only the beginning, and clearly, any attempt at a small blurb would fail to adequately describe what’s in store for viewers here.
If you’ve been missing Tom Ellis in Lucifer, do yourself a favor and check him out in romcom mode. He portrays a war correspondent who rotates through a sports writer’s little black book of hookups. Damon Wayans Jr. also stars as a friend who will always have a woman’s back, and more.
Did you watch the big fart episode yet? Well, get down to business already. Donald Glover and Maya Erskine are here to do something completely different than the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie blockbuster of yesteryear while also making handy use of the overarching framework of married spies. Be warned that this season ends with a cliffhanger, which may or may not be resolved, depending on how Amazon rolls with a second season. If not, we can talk again about the show and make up our own ending.
Season finale time is upon us, and hopefully, we won’t end up seeing Jodie Foster pulling a desert-walking Vince Vaughn, only in the Arctic Circle. She and Kali Reis’ conflicted cops will need to finally sort out the rest of the frozen horrors, and perhaps those who remain can take a nice vacation down in Carcosa after this mess is over. Although Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson have yet to appear onscreen, they are behind the scenes as executive producers, and this season has ultimately done the franchise proud despite the protests of Nic Pizzolatto.
Ilia Topuria (15-0) knocked out Alexander Volkanovski (26-4) with a huge right hand to claim the UFC featherweight championship in the main event of UFC 298 in Anaheim.
Volkanovski was measured to open the first round, going to his lead leg kicks to keep the challenger out of range. Topuria connected on consecutive calf kicks that seemed to throw the champ off his game. Topuria had Volkanovski flinching at each feint and looked for to connect on his overhand rights. Volkanovski was able to shift out of the leg kicks and gave the challenger a bit of his own calf kicks to mix things up in a fairly even first round.
The second saw Topuria move away his calf kicks to chip away with strikes upstairs. Topuria continued to work Volkanovski around the cage with a mix of leg kicks, heavy shots up top, and eventually found his opening with a massive right hand that put the champion out cold.
Topuria came into Saturday night’s main event 14-0 in his career and 6-0 since hitting the UFC in 2020. He earned the championship bout with a decision victory over Josh Emmett in June of last year.
Volkanovski dispatched Yair Rodríguez with a knockout victory over Yair Rodriguez in July. Just three months later, he came back to avenge one of the rare losses in his career, but a first round head kick from Islam Makhachev sent him back to the featherweight division. Outside of two losses in the lightweight division, Volkanovski had never lost a featherweight bout heading into Saturday night’s tilt.
INDIANAPOLIS — Mac McClung is once again the winner of the NBA Dunk Contest. After putting on a show last year in Salt Lake City, McClung returned to defend his crown and managed to do what he does best: soar through the air and put on a show.
Despite some remarkably harsh judges and a crowd that made booing Jaylen Brown its top priority, McClung was still able to entertain. He was the top dunker in the first round, earned a showdown with Brown in the finals, and once again earned a win. And now, one question remains: Will McClung return in 2025 and be the first person in NBA history to successfully three-peat in All-Star Saturday Night’s main event?
First Round
Jaime Jaquez Jr. got things started in the event. He started things off in a very literal big way, as he brought Shaquille O’Neal out onto the floor. With Shaq recording things on his cell phone, Jaquez propelled himself over the big man while doing a one-handed windmill. It didn’t quite get him a 50, though, as he set the bar at a 47.4.
Next up was Jacob Toppin, who enlisted the services of his brother, Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin. With Obi holding the ball over his head, Jacob went up and did a two-handed reverse for a 47.8.
The biggest name in the competition went third, with Jaylen Brown stepping out onto the floor. He became the third straight competitor to get some help, although he had someone in a full Dominique Wilkins uniform and give him some instructions. Brown pulled off an ultra-athletic windmill with a little hesitation at the very top of the dunk, which got him a 48.8 that actually got some boos from the crowd.
With the first three dunkers down, defending champion Mac McClung stepped onto the floor. The G League standout had a helper stand under the time, and while he missed his first attempt, he cleared the person holding the ball, grabbed it, let it go in midair, and did a reverse with two hands for a 48 that once again got the crowd booing.
Jaquez came back out for the second round of dunks. He couldn’t quite make his first attempt, but tossed the ball from the wing did a 360 with one pump in midair that got him a 46.8. With both of his dunks down, Jaquez registered a 94.2 in the opening round.
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) February 18, 2024
For Toppin’s second dunk, he made his way to the wing and missed his first attempt. But he more than made up with it on his second try, as he did a 360, put the ball through his legs, and finished with two hands. The 47.2 he earned gave him a 95 between his two dunks, but the score on the dunk once again got some boos from the crowd.
McClung stepped onto the floor next and headed over to a corner. He cocked the ball behind his head, did a two-handed windmill, and threw down a reverse. His 49.4 was the highest score of the round, and his score of 97.4 between both dunks earned him a spot in the final and officially eliminated Jaquez.
Brown got a chance to go last and needed only a 46.2 to eliminate Toppin and move into the final. He enlisted the help of Jayson Tatum and Kai Cenat, with the former throwing him a lob over the latter, who was seated in a chair. Brown caught the lob, dunked with one hand, and earned a score of 47.6, giving him a 96.4 and a spot in the final round.
Brown got the chance to go first in the final round, and paid tribute to the late Terrence Clarke by throwing on his high school jersey. His effort was a windmill with a 180 that got him a score of 48.6 — which was, once again, a score that earned boos from the crowd.
For McClung’s first dunk of the final round, he had someone sit on someone else’s shoulder and take the ball. He missed his first try, but on his second attempt, McClung cleared them both, grabbed the ball, and did a powerful windmill that injected some life into the crowd. It did just enough to move him into first place, as he picked up a 48.8.
To try and pick up a monster final score, Brown pulled Donovan Mitchell out from the crowd and put a glove on his left hand. Mitchell propped the ball up on top of his head, and Brown jumped over his fellow All-Star and did a windmill that he put home with his weaker hand. The judges gave him a 49.2 — enough for a 97.8 in the final round that, you will be shocked to learn, the crowd did not like.
McClung had to save his best for last, as he needed a 49.1 to win the competition. He once again pulled Shaq out from the crowd and made the Hall of Fame inductee put on his high school jersey. With the big fella holding the ball above his head, McClung ran in from the corner and jumped right over him en route to a powerful reverse. This earned the only perfect score of the night, and with his 50, McClung officially went back-to-back.
HE’S DONE IT AGAIN
Mac McClung is the back-to-back #ATTSlamDunk champion
The win made McClung the first person to win two Dunk Contests in a row since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016. He joins LaVine, Nate Robinson, Jason Richardson, and Michael Jordan to accomplish that feat.
The2024 Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis featured a bit of a judging controversy, not quite on the level of Dwyane Wade in 2020, but there were some questionable scores from the judging panel that seemed to favor the lone current All-Star in the competition, Jaylen Brown.
The Dunk Contest has been lacking in true star power in recent years, and the crowd in Lucas Oil Stadium certainly wasn’t in agreement with the scores Brown was getting for his dunks compared to the others in the competition. Brown advanced to the final round against Mac McClung on these two dunks.
The crowd made their feelings known, booing after almost every score was revealed for Brown, and they weren’t alone in feeling like something was a bit fishy. Joel Embiid, who was home watching the contest due to his knee injury, was tweeting throughout and said that he’s “a professional hater” but if he entered the contest he could win based on the scores being handed out for All-Stars — that is, if his knees could do it.
I’m a professional hater but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores but not sure the knees would allow it lmao
McClung did end up winning with a 50 on his final dunk as he cleared Shaq without needing a pushup, edging out Brown in the finals, so if there was an agenda to get Brown better scores, there was also a limit to how far it would go.
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via @PhillyInquirer, h/t @soleretriever pic.twitter.com/ihFbysuYqS
