Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon signaled he was “done” with participating in the slam dunk contest at the NBA’s showpiece All-Star Weekend after controversially losing out to Miami Heat star Derrick Jones Jr.
Gordon and Jones Jr. put on a slam dunk spectacular for fans in Chicago on Saturday, with a tight contest going to two tiebreaker slams to decide the winner.
Each had recorded perfect scores of 50 in the final and the first dunk-off, before Jones Jr. edged the second tiebreaker with a score of 48 from the panel of five judges for a massive left-handed windmill dunk.
Gordon attempted to better that with his effort – in which he took the ball from 7ft 5in Boston Celtics player Tacko Fall’s hands while leaping over him and netting it – but was only given a score of 47 from the judges.
However, that was met with anger by many – including from members of the panel – who felt that the second tiebreaker should have been awarded a tie, with another dunk-off to determine the winner.
NBA rules do not allow co-champions, although LA Lakers star LeBron James felt both men were worthy winners.
It was a bitter pill for Gordon to swallow, after he suffered a similar fate as runner up back in 2016.
He signaled he was finished with the competition after the latest drama at United Center.
"I did four straight 50s, five straight 50s. That's over. It's a wrap. Let's go home. Four 50s in a row in an NBA dunk contest, it's over. But I don't know. Who's running the show?" Gordon said, ESPN reported. "I feel like I should have two trophies."
Many online agreed, claiming the Miami Heat star had been “robbed.”
Others, though, defended Jones Jr. as a deserving winner.
Elsewhere on the night, the skills contest was won by Jones Jr’s Miami Heat teammate Bam Adebayo, who edged out Indiana’s Domantas Sabonis.
The three-point contest was won by Sacramento Kings' star Buddy Hield.