Aaron Gordon had a lot of frustration built up towards Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade following the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest. Of course, many people thought Gordon should have won, especially since he dunked over Tacko Fall who is 7'6." In the end, Gordon lost out to Derrick Jones Jr. who just so happens to play for Wade's old team. Gordon was so upset about his dunk contest loss that he even wrote a diss track about Wade called "9 OUT OF 10."
Recently, Gordon and Wade decided to talk things out on Instagram Live, where they had an in-depth discussion about everything that went down during the contest. As Wade explains, Gordon had the best overall score but since the dunk contest winner was based on who had the best final round, Wade had to give the better score to Jones Jr. In fact, Wade admits he wasn't trying to make Gordon lose that round and simply wanted to judge that dunk on its own.
Gordon eventually came around to Wade's explanation while also acknowledging that Derrick Jones Jr. was very impressive in the competition. All in all, it seems like there is no real bad blood between these two and finally, we have some closure to this very strenuous saga.
Florida basketball fans can finally be at peace with each other.
Steph Curry Sends Shots At Dwyane Wade For Dunk Contest Blasphemy
Steph Curry took some playful jabs at Dwyane Wade during an Instagram live session.
Steph Curry's 2019-2020 campaign will certainly be one to forget. The NBA sharpshooter suffered a broken hand at the beginning of the season and as soon as he came back, the league was suspended due to the Coronavirus. Ever since the NBA shut down, Curry has been spending a lot of time connecting with all of his fans on Instagram live. These live sessions have led to some funny moments and recently, he decided to take a swipe at none other than Dwyane Wade.
A fan was talking about some sort of contest between Steph and his brother, Seth. The fan said Seth won which led Curry to compare the fan's opinion to when Wade infamously gave Derrick Jones Jr the dunk contest win, over Aaron Gordon. It was a pretty subtle jab and yet another example of people's displeasure over Wade's decision-making.
As for Curry and Wade, this was all in good fun so don't expect any real beef in the future. Overall, Curry's comments aren't a big deal and are yet another example of how much we need sports back. These IG lives are the only thing fans have at this point and it's starting to get a little old.
Hopefully, we can all band together to flatten the curve and eventually get back to normal.
Kevin Durant Upset Early In NBA 2K Tournament: Results & Scores
The NBA 2K Players Only tournament saw quite a few upsets in Round 1.
NBA players have nothing else to do right now so as a way to supplement their inability to play basketball, the good people at Take-Two Interactive put on a tournament in collaboration with ESPN and the NBA. Sixteen NBA players were selected to be a part of an NBA 2K20 tournament that will be broadcast on National Television. In fact, the first four matchups were on TV last night and the entire event lasted just over three hours.
The four matchups included Kevin Durant vs. Derrick Jones Jr, Tray Young vs. Harrison Barnes, Zach Lavine vs Deandre Ayton, and Hassan Whiteside vs Patrick Beverley. Thanks to his overall rating, Durant was the number one seed but he ended up being upset by Jones, who beat him 78-62.
Some of the other results include Ayton defeating Lavine, 57-41, Young destroying Barnes, 101-59, and Patrick Beverley blowing out Whiteside, 84-54. On Sunday, there will be four more matchups as Donovan Mitchell takes on Rui Hachimura, Devin Booker battles Michael Portis Jr, Andre Drummond goes head to head with DeMarcus Cousins, and finally, Montrezl Harris will duke it out with Domantas Sabonis.
The tournament has already been a whole lot of fun and we can't wait to see what else comes from it, further on the down the line.
Who do you think is going to win?
Derrick Jones Jr. Lands Sneaker Deal Following Dunk Contest
Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. inks multi-year deal with PUMA Basketball following Slam Dunk Contest championship.
PUMA Basketball has reportedly reached a multi-year sneaker deal with Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr., following his controversial victory over Aaron Gordon in the 2020 Slam Dunk Contest. According to ESPN's Nick DePaula, the two sides have been hammering out the details on an endorsement contract for several months but his victory in Chicago seems to have sealed the deal.
Jones, who turned 23 yeard old on the day of the Dunk Contest, has swapped between Nike and PUMA sneakers throughout the season thus far, but he pulled out a colorful Puma Clyde Hardwood to match with his "Vice Nights" uniform during All Star Saturday night. Now, with his PUMA officially locked up, the high-flying forward is setting his sights on the 2021 Dunk Contest
"As a kid, I told my father I was going to win one, and I got it," he said, according to ESPN. "So I'm going to go get another one next year."
Jones is averaging 8.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 40 appearances this season.
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Dwyane Wade Claps Back At Dunk Contest Critics
Dwyane Wade weighs in on the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest, says he's not the only one to blame for Aaron Gordon's final score.
Dwyane Wade has received plenty of criticism for the way the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest concluded, but he insists he's not the only one to blame for Aaron Gordon's final score. In case you missed it, the Dunk Contest ended in controversy when Wade, Scottie Pippen and actor Chadwick Boseman all gave Gordon a '9' for his final dunk over 7'5 center Tacko Fall, resulting in a win for Derrick Jones Jr.
Wade, who was clearly favoring his former Miami Heat teammate, was promptly bombarded with nasty messages from disgruntled fans who felt he personally robbed Gordon of his first Dunk Contest crown. Check out the video embedded below to listen to D-Wade's thoughts about all of the hate he has received.
According to a report by ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Malika Andrews, the five judges had agreed to give Gordon a total score of 48, which would have tied him with Derrick Jones Jr. in the dunk-off. However, it appears that someone (Wade) went rogue, and Gordon ended up with a 47 as a result.
"We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, 'This is a tie!'" Common told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne."But somebody didn't do it right. I don't know who it is."
Needless to say, Gordon was just as frustrated as the fans after he delivered five, perfect 50 dunks in a row only to go home empty handed. "I did four straight 50s -- five straight 50s," Gordon said afterward, per ESPN. "That's over. It's a wrap. Let's go home. Four 50s in a row in an NBA dunk contest, it's over. But I don't know. Who's running the show?"
Derrick Jones Jr. Beats Aaron Gordon In Controversial Dunk Contest
Derrick Jones Jr. battled through two tiebreaking dunk-offs to notch the dunk contest win over Aaron Gordon during All-Star weekend.
It was a battle that ended in conspiracy, tiebreakers, unbelievable dunks, and more: Miami Heat's Derrick Jones Jr. won the NBA dunk contest in a neck-and-neck battle with Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon.
After two tie-breaking dunk-offs, the judges awarded Jones Jr. the victory-- a decision they claimed afterward was made in error: "We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, 'This is a tie!'" Common, who was judging for the event, told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "But somebody didn't do it right. I don't know who it is."
Candace Parker, who was also on the judges' panel, confirmed they had intended the second dunk-off to end in a tie as well.
The final score was decided after Jones Jr. earned a 48 for a free throw line (close enough) windmill dunk and Gordon notched only a 47 for dunking over 7-foot-5 Boston Celtics rookie Tacko Fall.
"I did four straight 50s -- five straight 50s," Gordon said. "That's over. It's a wrap. Let's go home. Four 50s in a row in an NBA dunk contest, it's over. But I don't know. Who's running the show?
"It's a wrap, bro," he said. "I feel like I should have two trophies."
The NBA All-Star Game tips off Sunday at 8:00 PM EST.
Bucks’ Pat Connaughton To Participate In 2020 Dunk Contest: Fans React
Connaughton rounds out the 2020 dunk contest participants.
The 2020 NBA Dunk Contest field has reportedly been finalized and, sadly, the fourth participant is not two-time champion Zach LaVine.
According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Milwaukee Bucks' Pat Connaughton has agreed to participate in the contest on February 15th, joining Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon, and Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr.
Connaughton may not be the popular pick amongst fans but the 27-year old is looking forward to disproving the naysayers who don't think he's worthy of competing.
"I actually like the stereotypes, because I can disprove them. In today's day and age, political correctness and stereotypes are kind of unspoken truths, if you will," Connaughton told The Undefeated's Martenzie Johnson. "From time to time, people don't want to talk about them and they're not always true, but they're just kind of the way it is. So to be able to be a part of, you know, a small group that can disprove a stereotype like 'White men can't jump,' I think is pretty cool.
"If you do work hard, it doesn't really matter who you are, where you're from, what box people try to place you in. You can kind of get out of that box. You can accomplish what you want to with some hard work, with some dedication."
Connaughton is the only first-time dunk contest competitor amongst the 2020 participants. Howard is the only one who has won the event, but he has not participated in over a decade. Check out some the mixed reactions around #NBATwitter regarding the
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