All-Star Weekend: Derrick Jones Jr. wins Slam Dunk contest amid controversial judging

Birthday celebrant Derrick Jones Jr. got a birthday gift from the judges when he won the NBA Slam Dunk contest after going through two rounds of Dunk-offs after he and his competitor, Aaron Gordon, kept earning perfect scores. He finally won after judges gave Gordon 1 point less on his last dunk. The Slam Dunk contest is part of the NBA All-Star Weekend on February 14-16 in Chicago.

The stadium booed the judges for giving Gordon a 47 in his last dunk over a Celtic Rookie, the 7'5" Tacko Fall. The entire stadium, Jones Jr. and Fall included, was disappointed with the score. According to CBS Sports, it was a controversial loss for Gordon.

The judges are Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade, Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen, WNBA star Candace Parker, Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman, and rapper Common, who also played in the All-Star Celebrity game. Dunking legends Dominique Wilkins and Shaquille O'Neal are on the sidelines watching the contest with other players.

The competitors were Dwight Howard from the Los Angeles Lakers, Pat Connaughton of the Milwaukee Bucks, Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic, and eventual winner Derrick Jones Jr. of the Miami Heat. Defending champion Hamidou Diallo did not compete this year. Jones Jr's first dunk was interrupted by the Chicago Bulls cheerleading team to give him a birthday cake, and the stadium sang him a song.

The first round ended with a score of 100 for Gordon, 96 for Jones Jr., Connaughton with 95, and the 34-year-old Howard with 90. Pat Connaughton got a 50 in his second dunk after dunking over teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo then slamming the ball in the backboard before dunking it.

In the final round, Jones Jr. jumped over two people then went between the legs before dunking it hard. Gordon jumped over rapper Chance then turned 360. Both players got a perfect score.

In the dunk-off, Jones Jr. did a variation of his dunk, but the ball was bounced off the board first. Gordon answered with the same 360 off the board from the baseline using only one hand. Both players got perfect scores again.

In the second dunk off, Jones Jr. got 48 after stepping inside the free-throw line off a windmill superman dunk. Gordon got a controversial 47 points after dunking over Tacko Fall, effectively losing the contest.