It's safe to say there's not much love lost between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. Eastern conference rivals dating back to the league's inception, both teams rank toward the top of the Eastern Conference this season, set to potentially face off in what could be an epic playoff series—especially if the underdog Knicks were somehow to win it.
In wake of a broadly disappointing All-Star weekend, though, Knicks teammates Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart set aside their built-in rivalry with Jaylen Brown to give the Celtics star what many will deem undeserved flowers for participating in the dunk contest.
“That takes a lot of nuts to go out there and do that because whole world is watching,” Brunson said of the dunk contest on the latest edition of Roommates Show. “Basically, people are scared to become a meme now if you don't perform the way people want you to perform. Almost every dunk has been done. There's only a slim few dunks that haven't been done and only a certain amount of people can do it. Even the most athletic people can't even do that stuff. So I respect him [Jalen Brown]. We were talking about it after he did the fake Dee Brown. We all looked at him after I think the next day, like, ‘So what were you thinking with the dab?’ He just started laughing, having a good time with it.”
Brown finished second to two-time reigning champion Mac McClung in the 2024 dunk-off, advancing to the final round on some very favorable scoring from judges. His most notable slam was memorable for all the wrong reasons. Brown leapt over a seated Kai Cenat—the YouTuber stands 5'3—before catching a lob with one hand and finishing, only covering his face Dee Brown-style after putting the ball through the hoop.
Brown, the first All-Star to take part in the dunk contest since 2018, receiving a lot of flak for his pedestrian at best performance. Like Brunson, though, Hart couldn't help but praise him for trying.
“Nah, kudos to him. I don't know,” Hart said. “Hopefully at some point guys really want to do the dunk contest. Obviously, we got guys that are crazy athletes in the league, but for some reason now the dunk contest is just kind of like the afterthought. I feel like NBA guys, like the three-point shootout more than the dunk contest. Now I don't, maybe that's just because of how the league is, but hopefully guys do it.”
Could younger stars follow Jaylen Brown's dunk contest footsteps?
Brown is 27, with six-and-a-half seasons worth of NBA wear and tear on his body. There might've been a time several years ago when he would've won the dunk contest, but it was hardly surprising to see him underwhelm in Indianapolis. But could his selfless choice to engage in the All-Star weekend festivities prompt a younger generation of players to follow his lead?
Minnesota Timberwolves franchise player Anthony Edwards would be a top-line choice for the NBA's dream dunk contest, but didn't exactly take All-Star events seriously this year. Memphis Grizzlies superstar Ja Morant has already insisted he'll never participate. New Orleans Pelicans counterpart Zion Williamson hinted a year ago he might enter this season's dunk contest, but was nowhere to be found in Indy. Portland Trail Blazers skywalker Shaedon Sharpe, perhaps basketball's most effortless leaper, put his name in last year's event only to withdraw last-minute.
There's still no tangible momentum toward stars taking part in the dunk contest. The more peers like Brunson and Hart praise Brown's effort, though, maybe that will change ahead of next year's event in San Francisco.
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