What to watch for at the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend
By Nate Friesen
AT&T Slam Dunk Contest
Aaron Gordon is simply the best dunker here. If he goes 0-3 that will be quite disappointing.
Dwight Howard is old and isn’t going to be good. I feel pretty confident in saying that Dwight Howard’s dunks will almost certainly be bad. And to make it worse, Dwight is probably going to make it gimmicky. I’m already cringing.
Derrick Jones Jr. is an effortless leaper, similar to Zach LaVine and had a real shot when he competed back in 2017. If anyone in this contest is going to pose a real threat to Aaron Gordon I would bet on the guy with the nickname Airplane Mode.
Pat Connaughton is certainly an underdog coming into this competition. I personally wouldn’t bet on him to win but its not impossible. Crazier things have happened (see Nate Robinson, 3-time Dunk Contest champion).
Unfortunately (or not), no Hamidou Diallo to defend his title. It doesn’t seem like anybody is too upset about this, including Diallo. Maybe he’ll come out last minute with Zach LaVine and we’ll get six dunkers (one again… fingers crossed).
Prediction: Aaron Gordon beats Derrick Jones Jr. and finally gets redemption