Double-Duped
This one should have been a slam dunk.
After a jaw-dropping performance in the dunk contest, Aaron Gordon came up short – again.
Gordon was edged out by Zach LaVine in 2016, and after losing to Derrick Jones Jr. on Saturday night in Chicago, he won't be back for round three.
We don't blame him.
The Slam Dunk Contest took place over two rounds. In the first round, four players performed two dunks, and the two highest scorers – Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr. – moved on to the final round to execute two more dunks to determine the winner.
Okay, so there were some impressive dunks, and we give credit where credit is due to Jones.
His final dunk was solid, earning him a 48 out of 50.
Possibly. But we can't ignore that Gordon dunked over Boston Celtics center Tacko Fall – he's 7-foot- 5.
You heard that correctly.
7-foot-5.
Giannis was everyone's reaction.
We were in shock.
But, the judges shocked us even further. Gordon was awarded a 47 out of 50, making Jones the winner.
The judges gave out perfect scores to these two like candy, which meant the competition had to go to the infamous "Dunk-off," otherwise known as sudden death.
And Gordon lost because of that dunk over Fall.
Parker and Common gave Gordon a 10 for his final dunk, with the other three judges – Dwyane Wade, Scottie Pippen and Chadwick Boseman – awarded him a 9.
Allegedly, the plan was to have him tie with Jones and keep the competition going.
But a tie is never ideal.
Fans quickly blamed Wade for playing favorites, considering he played with Jones in Miami.
Wade clapped back though!
He's right. There were three other judges that gave him a 9.
Because yes, the dunk wasn't perfect – he clipped Tacko's head.
But he still made a dunk over a 7-foot-5 man, and furthermore, had the gall to try it.
We weren't the only ones that were upset.
Many athletes, fans and broadcasters took to social media to express their distaste with the judging:
But, he is still the winner in all our eyes.
It seems the fans have spoken.
All we need now is a fan petition to convince AG to give it one more go.