This year's NBA All-Star Dunk Contest is without a doubt one of the most controversial editions of this highly-anticipated spectacle. Miami Heat high-flyer Derrick Jones Jr. took home the title after going toe-to-toe with Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon in the final rounds.
Gordon's last dunk, however, was where all the controversy rooted from. After spectacularly dunking over Boston Celtics 7-foot-5 rookie Tacko Fall, many believed that this dunk was enough to get him the trophy. This was especially since Jones had just scored a 48 on his previous dunk. This was not going to be Gordon's night, though, as the judges decided to give the 24-year-old a score of 47, which effectively handed the victory to Jones.
Simply put, many believed that Gordon was robbed. To make matters worse, this is not the first time this has happened, since a similar incident transpired in 2016 when Gordon faced off against, and lost to eventual champion Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls in what was an equally epic dunk off.
To be fair to Jones, he had a tremendous performance, and there's no question that he deserved the title. This, however, does not take away from the fact that perhaps Gordon also equally deserved to be crowned as the champ. This begs the question: is the judging system of the dunk contest broken and does it require a complete overhaul?
The quick answer to this very demanding question is yes. This is not the first time this has happened, and considering the reaction of the general public to last night's fiasco, the league should at the very east look into somehow modifying the judging system. After all, these NBA All-Star events are for the fans, so it would only be proper that the league office do right by them/us.
There are so many areas in which the NBA can make some changes. Starting with some sort of qualifying prerequisites for the judges would not be a bad place to start. Tweaking the scoring system wherein each participant gets a cumulative score for his overall performance could be another suggestion to look into.
The fact of the matter is that the league has to do something about this. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has done a great job in improving the All-Star game itself, and to some extent, it has made the contest more exciting. At this point, perhaps it is due time that the Dunk Contest gets some much-needed upgrades as well.
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