Celtics' Jaylen Brown Open to Competing in 2025 NBA Dunk Contest to 'Redeem' Himself
February 22, 2024
Jaylen Brown hasn't ruled out competing in the 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
The Boston Celtics star told reporters Thursday that he's opening to competing in next year's competition to "redeem" himself after losing to G League player Mac McClung in Indiana on Saturday.
"If they ask me and nobody else cares to do it, f--k it, I'll do it again," Brown added, per The Athletic's Jared Weiss.
Brown was one of the first All-Star level players to compete in the Slam Dunk Contest in a long time, but he wasn't able to match the creativity and wow factor of McClung in the final round.
The Osceola Magic guard jumped over two people for his first dunk of the final round. He followed it up by jumping over Shaquille O'Neal and hitting the reverse on his second dunk of the final to secure the victory.
McClung scored 50s across the board from the panel of judges that included Dominique Wilkins and Gary Payton by jumping over O'Neal. He also won the competition last year and is the first back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest champion since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016.
Brown had some of his own highlights throughout the competition, including honoring the late Terrence Clark by wearing his high school jersey during his first dunk of the final round and sporting a white glove on his left hand in a tribute to Indiana native Michael Jackson in his second dunk of the final.
Hopefully Brown does compete in next year's competition as it has lacked the level of star power many fans hope for every year. And, who knows, maybe he can convince some other players to compete.
Until then, Brown and many of the NBA's top players will be focused on making a run to the Finals later this year.
The Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league, sitting first in the Eastern Conference with a 43-12 record entering Thursday's game against the Chicago Bulls, and they are aiming to win their first title since 2008.
