Dallas Mavericks' second-year point guard Dennis Smith Jr. won't be making an appearance at the slam dunk contest in February, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon. Smith competed in last year's dunk contest in Los Angeles, but was eliminated before he ever really had a chance to showcase what kind of explosive dunks he had up his sleeve.
Unlike the eventual winner, Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell, Smith didn't use any props or gimmicks and was eliminated after just two dunks, despite scoring a perfect 50 on his second attempt. Apparently, it all left a bad taste in his mouth because Tim McMahon reports DSJ told him the following, “I’m not doing the dunk contest this year.” He adds that “the gimmicks and everything that go with it, I’m not with it.”
Mitchell, who brought multiple throwback uniforms and dunked over comedian Kevin Hart and his family, hasn't said whether he'll be returning to the dunk comp in Charlotte to defend his crown, but he is at least encouraging Smith Jr. to give it another go.
Check out the dunk contest chatter in the tweets below, followed by highlights from last year's event.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1043211389760954370
https://twitter.com/_/status/1043214253338112002
