This year’s dunk contest saw a back-to-back winner for the first time since Zach Lavine. G-League superstar and freak athlete Mac McClung defended his throne in the finals against Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown. His dunks got the crowd amped up. They were on their feet, hands on their heads like they couldn’t believe what he was able to achieve as a 6’2″ guard. But while he was blowing minds, the rest of the dunk contest was mediocre.

Brown, the only NBA star to have entered the contest in many years became the laughingstock for his fairly average dunks. He admitted to being there for “fun” and not worrying about the backlash he would receive. The other competitors, amongst which was New York Knicks‘ Jacob Toppin, the younger brother to a slam dunk champion Obi Toppin couldn’t make it past the qualifying round.

The forward displayed supreme athleticism and uniqueness in his dunks. Yet, he found no way into the Finals, a robbery in the opinion of his two teammates, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart.

Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson call out the robbery in the NBA All-Star dunk contest

Brunson and Hart. teammates since college started their podcast – Roommates Show. In the latest episode, while discussing the All-Star weekend, they couldn’t avoid the dunk contest. A Knick put on his sneakers and challenged McClung’s title. Jacob Toppin’s first dunk, a reverse 360 between the legs in Brunson’s mind was “something no one’s seen before”. The outcome was a 47 by the judges, a rather displeasing score for something unprecedented.

“I think it got a 47 and a half or something like that. Some terrible score from the judges, half of them can barely see,” Hart said mocking the vision of the likes od Dominique Wilkins, Gar Payton, and the other judges who were on the panel.

Hart in his reaction to the dunk contest felt the standards had sunk. “Let’s be real, it was ass”, he said while entertaining the idea of participating in the dunk contest himself given the tainted stature.

Then the duo agreed to something that might be controversial. They felt the only reason Jacob Toppin didn’t qualify for the final round was because the NBA wanted an All-Star, namely Jaylen Brown to compete against McClung.

“My thought process is there was no way they were going to put Mac McClung and Jakob Toppin in the final two over NBA All-Star Jaylen Brown,”. Josh Hart concurred, “Yeah Jaylen Brown got there because he is Jaylen Brown but it’s like you get it but it also sucks because you can’t rate or pick a number for who he is,”

Despite the harsh criticism of the contest and blaming Brown’s entrance on bias, Brunson sang his praises. The Knicks ll-Star felt what he did was break a stereotype and battle the fear of essentially becoming a meme. In that respect, Brown might have changed the mentality of the stars in the league.

He didn’t care about being laughed at. With the entire Indiana arena watching, legends and peers all expecting something remarkable, Jaylen Brown battled that pressure. It might have been underwhelming for many, but that’s been the trend of the dunk contest for years. The last time it was riveting was when Zach Lavine and Aaron Gordon came close to maybe sharing the trophy.

It’s difficult to see how the dunk contest can be revived. It not only needs big names, but it needs something new with its dunks. Simply put LeBron James won’t do the job. It will attract people, but it won’t fulfill their desire to have an entertaining dunk contest. It needs something more, something that will keep the fans wanting more.

READ MORE-Shaquille O’Neal Sets the Record Straight on Mac McClung’s Dunk Contest Showstopper

Is there anything you can think of that could amend the declining contest? Let us know in the comments below.