published on in Celebrated Individual

Aaron Gordon dunked over the tallest player in the NBA but was robbed by judges of the slam-dunk con

2020-02-16T20:14:26Z
  • Aaron Gordon was robbed by the judges of the NBA's 2020 Dunk Contest on Saturday night.
  • Gordon lost to Derrick Jones Jr. in the final, despite dunking over Tacko Fall in his final slam-dunk attempt of the night.
  • It was the second time in Gordon's career in which he had just missed out on the title, having lost the 2016 Dunk Contest to Zach LaVine.
  • On Twitter, fans were livid that Gordon didn't take home the trophy.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
  • Aaron Gordon lost to Derrick Jones Jr. in one of the most electric slam-dunk contests in NBA history.

    The two high-flyers advanced out of the first round of the 2020 Dunk Contest on Saturday night after besting Dwight Howard and Pat Connaughton, and both put up two perfect scores to start the final. While the judges were undoubtedly liberal with their distribution of 50s all night, both Gordon and Jones were worthy of the high praise.

    —NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2020—NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2020

    The perfect scores meant the competition would come down to the fabled "Dunk Off" — a sudden death of dunking delirium. The two once again traded 50s in the first attempted dunk-off, keeping the pressure on each other throughout the competition.

    For his final dunk of the evening, Jones took off from just past the free-throw line and threw down a windmill.

    —SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 16, 2020

    Jones was awarded a 48 out of 50 on that attempt, leaving Gordon with one final chance to take the win.

    In the decisive dunk, Gordon brought out Celtics center Tacko Fall, the tallest player in the NBA.

    Then he dunked over him.

    —NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2020

    Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is 6 inches shorter than Fall, was dumbfounded.

    —NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 16, 2020

    The commentators argued that the contest be left as a tie, but the judges awarded Gordon only a 47, leaving Jones the winner.

    On Twitter, fans were stunned Gordon had been robbed for the second time in his career, having already lost what is considered by many to be the best dunk contest in recent history to Zach LaVine in 2016.

    —Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) February 16, 2020—SB CHAMP PATTY 💍 (@PatrlckMahomes) February 16, 2020—Shawn Brar (@Mr_Singh_15) February 16, 2020

    After the contest, Gordon implied that he would not be competing again, having already felt robbed of two Dunk Contest titles.

    "I did four straight 50s — five straight 50s. That's over. It's a wrap. Let's go home," Gordon said. "Four 50s in a row in an NBA Dunk Contest, it's over. But I don't know. Who's running the show?"

    —Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) February 16, 2020

    "It's a wrap, bro," Gordon said. "I feel like I should have two trophies."

    Making matters more intriguing, the rapper, actor, and activist Common, who was one of five judges in the competition, said Gordon's final score was supposed to end the contest in a tie.

    "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."

    Fans immediately pointed to Dwyane Wade as the judge who went rogue. Wade, who played with Jones in Miami, awarded Jones a 10 on his final dunk attempt and gave Gordon a 9 on his final, leaving him one point short of a tie.

    But Wade denied any wrongdoing. "It took nine rounds. I mean, it wasn't biased," Wade said. "I wasn't the only one who gave him a nine, let's talk about that. There was three people that gave a nine. But people are going to talk."

    —Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) February 16, 2020

    There's no objective way to score the Dunk Contest, and anything can happen with a result that is left in the hands of celebrity judges — but it certainly feels as if some chicanery threw this year's title to Jones.

    Zach LaVine nearly pulled off an astounding 360-dunk from the free-throw line that has fans clamoring for him to be in the Dunk Contest

    Watch Steven Adams hit the most casual three-quarter-court buzzer-beater in NBA history

    How Kobe Bryant's tragic death rocked the sports world and put a spotlight on grieving a public icon

    Tristan Thompson says LeBron James 'eats like s---' and has the worst diet ever, but dominates anyway

    ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony3tcOepmaZkae8r3nGqKmdp55isba6yqxkqK6Vp3q1rcKkpmaekaG5brDUp6Jmm5%2Bjwaa%2F02apqJqSmrFufo9rZ2Zq