BBNBA: Jacob Toppin was robbed of giving us a Dunk Contest-winning slam

Should Jacob Toppin have been one of the two finalists for the NBA Dunk Contest earlier this month at NBA All-Star Weekend? This writer says absolutely yes. The former Kentucky Wildcat turned New York Knick threw down one of the two best dunks of the entire event, but some obvious bias from the judges toward Boston’s Jaylen Brown (the lone All-Star to compete) allowed him to find himself in the final round against eventual winner Mac McClung.

McClung deserved to win over Brown, but those two shouldn’t have been matched up in the first place. It should have been McClung vs. Toppin in the championship. And we were all robbed of a potential historic Toppin dunk because of it.

Toppin had a championship slam ready that he was eager bust out — one that no one has apparently ever seen before.

Chuck Millan, known as the official Dunk Contest Coach of the NBA (which is a real thing?), shared a clip of what Toppin had primed up for the championship had he advanced that far. According to Millan, Toppin is the only person in the world who has done this exact dunk — a two-handed finish off a lost-and-found 360 dunk (I have no idea how to fact check this. Jordan Kilganon did it with a one-hand finish years ago, so it’s certainly possible Toppin is the first to do so on camera).

All I know is this beauty from Toppin would have absolutely won him the Dunk Contest title over McClung.

Here’s the dunk Jacob Toppin saved for the finals of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

It took me eghhh 10 minutes to teach him this 2 hand lost & found dunk.. He’s the only person in the world that has done this. pic.twitter.com/GsST8kdHy4

— Chuck Millan | THE Dunk Guy (@TFBChuckTheBoss) February 27, 2024

Just another reason why the Dunk Contest has become a laughing affair…

Adebayo’s double-double downs Sacramento’s 3 Kentucky Kings

With only four games on the slate for Monday night, the schedule was light on former Wildcats in action. But the final game of the evening did provide some Kentucky-related fireworks.

Powered by 28 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists from Bam Adebayo, the Miami Heat (32-25) was able to fend off a late comeback attempt by the Sacramento Kings (33-24). In what was Adebayo’s 31st double-double of the season, the Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro-less Heat won its fourth game in a row, beating the Kings by a final score of 121-110. Adebayo shot 11-18 from the field in 36 minutes and also recorded two steals and a block. Herro was sidelined with a hyper-extended knee that he suffered late last week.

Miami pulled out the victory in spite of De’Aaron Fox dropping 27 points and Domantas Sabonis recording his league-leading 21st triple-double of the season for Sacramento. Fox shot 13-24 overall to reach his 27 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals (plus seven turnovers) for the Kings. He was aided by eight points (4-10 FG) and seven assists from Malik Monk. Monk played the same number of minutes (20) as teammate and fellow former ‘Cat, Trey Lyles, who finished with just five points and three rebounds in the loss.

The Heat closed the third quarter on a 17-2 run to take a 20-point lead into the final frame. Sacramento outscored Miami by nine in the fourth and got the deficit as low as two points with under four minutes to go, but it wasn’t enough down the stretch.

Tonight in the NBA

• 7:00 | Mavericks (PJ Washington) @ Cavaliers
• 7:00 | Warriors @ Wizards
• 7:00 | Nets @ Magic
• 7:30 | Pelicans @ Knicks (Randle: out, Toppin)
• 7:30 (TNT) | 76ers (Maxey) @ Celtics
• 7:30 | Jazz (Juzang: 2-Way) @ Hawks
• 8:00 | Hornets (Richards) @ Bucks (Livingston, TyTy Washington: 2-Way)
• 8:00 | Pistons @ Bulls
• 8:00 | Spurs (Johnson) @ Timberwolves (Towns: out)
• 10:00 | Heat (Adebayo, Herro) @ Trail Blazers (Hagans, Sharpe: out)
• 10:00 (TNT) | Rockets @ Thunder (Gilgeous-Alexander, Sarr, Wallace)