Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid’s comments after the 2024 Dunk Contest about their high-flying abilities have set the stage for viral moments during tonight’s All-Star game.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown put on a show in the 2024 NBA Dunk Contest, falling one point shy of this year’s crown to Osceola Magic guard Mac McClung of the G League.
Fellow Eastern Conference rival and Philadelphia 76ers reigning MVP Joel Embiid sustained a lateral meniscus injury on January 30 and a four-week timetable for recovery after his surgery on February 6, killing his chances at participating in All-Star weekend.
Yet, both Brown and Embiid spoke highly of their own abilities to rock the rim, setting the stage for Brown to show out in tonight’s All-Star game and Embiid to offer priceless reactions to the slew of jaw-dropping jams as the league’s social media king.
Jaylen Brown & Joel Embiid boast about dunking skills
Brown spoke on his experience as a finalist in this year’s Dunk Contest and how having fun with the competition as opposed to fearing becoming a meme helped him get in his proverbial bag, per Legion Hoops on X:
Jaylen Brown on the 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.”(via @YoungNBA) pic.twitter.com/iVJHRkGY43
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 18, 2024
Brown also made comments after the fact, stating that the court was slippery and held him back from doing even more. The Celtics star was creative and emphatic with his arsenal of slams and will almost certainly add to a weekend of highlights in the open court tonight.
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Embiid let his true sentiments out on X concerning this year’s pool of contestants, the range they were able to display and the rigor with which the judges assessed their dunks:
I’m a professional hater but I’m not hating when I say I could win the dunk contest with these scores but not sure the knees would allow it lmao
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) February 18, 2024
Embiid’s career regular season highlight reel includes memorable posters, windmill flushes, and tomahawk finishes. For a player of his size at 7-0, 280 pounds, Embiid’s fluidity when rising up has left hoop fans in awe of his athletic talent.
Knowing what he’s done in-game with a higher degree of difficulty has boosted Embiid’s confidence in being able to take home a Dunk Contest title if he ever chooses to compete in the future.
Unfortunately, Embiid, who leads the Association in scoring at 35.3 points per game, won’t take the floor tonight as he recuperates from surgery. But, he’ll be sure to entertain with witty takes on social media. Brown will likely gun for the All-Star game MVP once more, and his dunks will be a major determinant in fan voting for the award.