Watch: Jaylen Brown finishes second in 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Brown paid tribute to Massachusetts native and Kentucky basketball player Terrence Clarke, who died in 2021, during one of his dunks.
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The Celtics’ Jaylen Brown advanced to the final round of the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk contest Saturday night, but he wasn’t able to defeat back-to-back champion Mac McClung.
Nonetheless, Brown put on a show with a handful of unique slams. He was Boston’s first representative in the contest since Gerald Green in 2006-07.
During his third dunk of the night and his first in the final round, Brown wore a Brewster Academy Terrence Clarke jersey. Clarke, a Massachusetts native, was a Kentucky basketball player who died in 2021 after being involved in a car crash in Los Angeles.
Brown and Clarke had built a bond prior to Clarke’s death; Brown referred to him as a “little brother” during an emotional speech at a 2021 ceremony honoring Clarke’s life.
The Celtics’ star ran to the paint from the left side of the court for his dunk. Brown dribbled once before spinning in mid-air and slamming the ball in with authority from his right hand. The dunk earned him a 48.6 score out of 50 total points.
No. 7 decided to switch things up on his fourth and final slam of the night. Brown wore a Michael Jackson-esque white glove on his left hand – his non-dominant hand. He used that hand to dunk, concluding his pair of finals slams.
Brown snatched the ball from the Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell, jumped over him, and dunked it with his left hand. His unique slam earned him 49.2 points, but it wasn’t enough to take home first place.
The Celtics’ fifth all-time Slam Dunk contest participant’s first dunk of the evening was a windmill dunk in a nod to one of the contest’s judges, Hawks legend and NBA Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins. Brown’s initial slam earned him 48.8 points, the highest among all four players’ first-round results.
Brown’s longtime Boston teammate, Jayson Tatum, joined him on the court for his second dunk of the contest. The on-court graphics were used to make the court look like the TD Garden’s parquet floor once he put the ball through as Brown paid tribute to Dee Brown after the dunk.
Tatum stood in the paint holding the ball for Brown and lightly tossed it in the air. Brown ran up to the ball and jumped over content creator Kai Cenat just in front of the net for the slam.
The dunk earned Brown a score of 47.6 to advance him to the final round vs. the Magic’s McClung.
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