Jaylen Brown had great response to Dunk Contest haters

May 19, 2022; Miami, Florida, USA; Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) brings the ball up court during the first half of game two of the 2022 eastern conference finals against the Miami Heat at FTX Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has lacked star power for several years now, and Jaylen Brown tried to change that by participating this time. He also had a great message for critics of the event when the night concluded.

Brown finished second in the Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night behind back-to-back champion Mac McClung. Brown was mocked via social media over some of his dunks, but he wasn’t deterred.

Brown spoke afterward about the hesitancy players have had to compete in the event and offered an interesting theory.

“I think, ultimately, in this media era, some players are just afraid to get turned into a meme or whatever,” Brown said. “I wanted to come out and have fun with it and that’s what I did.”

Jaylen Brown after tonight’s dunk contest: “I think, ultimately, in this media era, some players are just afraid to get turned into a meme or whatever. I wanted to come out and have fun within it and that’s what I did.”

— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) February 18, 2024

Brown lost to McClung in the final. Some fans felt the Boston Celtics star had no business being there. Brown’s dunks were not all that challenging, though a blunder from TNT made it so viewers could not even watch one of them live.

A lot of star players would rather not risk injury by taking part in the Slam Dunk Contest. That is one of the main reasons the event has been on life support. Brown may be right that other factors are at play as well, but he was willing to ignore all of that to give fans a proper All-Star in the Dunk Contest for the first time in six years.