Washington Wizards: JaVale McGee was robbed in the 2011 Dunk Contest

JaVale McGee may not have had the most successful stint as a Washington Wizard, but he should have been the franchise’s first slam dunk champion. He was robbed.

Think back with me, if you can, to February 2011. Specifically All-Star Weekend. More specifically, the Slam Dunk Contest. If you need a reminder, that was the possibly (almost definitely) slightly rigged one in which Blake Griffin jumped over a Kia in what ultimately became a live televised ad in the middle of the dunk contest.

There’s no question that Blake Griffin is and was an incredible dunker. He’s one of the best the NBA may have ever seen. But his slam dunk title is questionable even without the sketchy Kia product placement that went down in the finals. It’s sketchy because then-Washington Wizards JaVale McGee threw down a series of more impressive dunks that night.

In fact, all four competitors were in their bags that night. And with the shroud of uncertainty that now looms around this award, any could retroactively claim victory and be pretty justified. But the hoopla of the car on the court has helped everyone forget literally anything else that happened that night.

Well, I’m here nine years later to set the record straight and get McGee his proper respect.

The Dunkers

Looking back, the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest was full of future stars. There was Blake Griffin of the LA Clippers, who was amid his Rookie of the Year campaign after missing the entire previous season with an injury. DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors was still a fresh-faced 21-year-old. Serge Ibaka of the Oklahoma City Thunder was still getting used to the NBA in just his second season, and JaVale McGee, repping for the Washington Wizards, was already a ‘Shaqtin a Fool’ regular less than three seasons into his career.

Griffin certainly came into the night as the favorite, but the entire field put on a show that wound up being one of the best Slam Dunk Contests of all time.

The Dunks

Now, let’s get down to the action. McGee might have been the name with the least star power heading into the competition, but he quickly put any doubters to rest with a historic first-round dunk. Everybody pulled off something impressive to start.

DeRozan caught an alley-oop off the side of the backboard, went through the legs, and slammed it in with his right hand. 44 points. Ibaka followed that up with a legit free throw line dunk. 45 points. Then, McGee pulled off a dunk contest first. He dunked on two different baskets at once. With two hoops placed side by side, McGee threw himself an alley-oop off the backboard, went up to catch it, dunked on the left hoop with his left hand, grabbed the oop with his right hand, and slammed that home, too. Perfect 50. Griffin’s first dunk, a vicious 360, only got him a 49.

The second dunks were somehow even more impressive. DeRozan made up for his first-round 44 with a 50 after completing an insane reverse dunk in which he caught the ball off a bounce. Ibaka had a strange, but creative, dunk in which he grabbed a teddy bear off the rim with his teeth. Another 45. Griffin caught a pass from Baron Davis off the side of the backboard and threw down a ferocious windmill, but only got 46 points. Then McGee pulled off another unprecedented dunk.

With the help of John Wall, McGee used only one hoop this time but dunked three balls through the rim. Two he brought with him on the way up, one was provided by a perfect pass from Wall. Another dunk contest first, but only 49 points this time.

After two rounds, JaVale was in the lead and heading to the finals with Blake Griffin. DeRozan and Ibaka were eliminated.

In the final round, each dunker got two dunks. To start things off, Griffin did something mind-blowing. He took a Vince Carter classic to the next level and stuck his arm in the rim after catching it off the backboard. But McGee was ready with something crazy of his own.

For his first dunk of the finals, McGee pulled off a weird reverse windmill dunk in which he jumped underneath the backboard. While verticality is often rewarded in the dunk contest, McGee made this dunk more difficult by limiting how high he could actually go.

Griffin’s final dunk is the one everyone remembers: Baron Davis’s head poking out the sunroof of the Kia as Griffin soars over the hood and hammers home the assist creating the NBA’s first mid-contest commercial. It was impressive, no doubt but more spectacle than spectacular.

McGee didn’t exactly wow with his final dunk, either, throwing down a fairly mild backboard pass to himself. He was falling away from the basket on the dunk, but it was hardly his most impressive dunk of the evening. He didn’t exactly save the best for last.

The Verdict

A fan vote decided the 2011 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, so with Blake Griffin being the more prominent name than JaVale McGee, the cards were already stacked against McGee. With 68 percent of the votes, Griffin came out victorious. However, in my personal record book, Griffin’s dunk contest title comes with an asterisk.

McGee’s full body of work was more impressive. His dunks were more creative. The degree of difficulty was harder. McGee’s performance was so ridiculous that they broke it down on Sports Science. To put it simply, McGee was better. He just didn’t have a relationship with Kia.

There’s a time and place for car commercials and product placement, and everyone wants to see the stars win. I get it. But in the dunk contest, dunks should be rewarded and JaVale McGee should have been the first Slam Dunk Champion in Washington Wizards franchise history.

Luckily, John Wall picked up on a few things while helping McGee in 2011 and took home the crown when he competed in the 2014 Slam Dunk Contest.