Dennis Smith Jr. ROBBED! Perfect 50 doesn’t get him to Dunk Contest Finals

Former Wolfpacker and current Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr is known for his highlight reel slams. That’s why, when he was invited to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk contest, people considered him the front-runner. Here is a quick clip of his peers talking about his chances..

It’s almost time! Let’s get this 🏆 @Dennis1SmithJr!#MFFL #DSJinLA #NBAAllStar pic.twitter.com/8khPyTYxx0

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 18, 2018

On to the contest…

To start things off, Smith went with the high-flying, double-pump reverse in round 1.

Dennis Smith Jr going reverse in round 1! 🔥 #VerizonDunk #MFFL pic.twitter.com/7puAieo73I

— NBA UK (@NBAUK) February 18, 2018

That’s not a bad dunk. In fact, that’s a pretty amazing athletic feat right there. Unfortunately, it only netted him a 39.

Really, though?? Victor Oladipo didn’t even make his dunk and ended with a 31. Smith had something to say about it.

@Dennis1SmithJr Double pump= 39@VicOladipo No dunk= 31

What that look like?

— Dennis Smith Jr. (@Dennis1SmithJr) February 18, 2018

DSJ followed that up with the dunk that maybe should have won him the night. This 360, through the legs, switching hands slam earned him a perfect 50 in round 2.

DENNIS SMITH JR WITH A 50. SHEEEEEEESH pic.twitter.com/IUOlcqWELd

— Barstool Pack (@BarstoolPack) February 18, 2018

Are you serious? Let’s see that in slow motion…

Poetry in Motion…

Dennis Smith Jr. dazzles the crowd with the night’s first 50!#VerizonDunk #PhantomCam pic.twitter.com/7Ufj3HD2rO

— NBA (@NBA) February 18, 2018

Like we said, that dunk netted Smith Jr. a perfect score, but because of the way they combine the two rounds, he didn’t get to advance to the finals.

Now sure, that first dunk wasn’t all that unique, but it was pretty darn good. Then, to follow that up with what ended up being the best dunk of the entire contest and not get to advance. That shows a real flaw in the system.

Below is the full highlights of the competition. But save yourself the time. It isn’t all that exciting. Larry Nance Jr, recreated his father’s windmill dunk from years ago and he did it pretty perfectly. Problem is, it isn’t that difficult of a dunk. In the finals, he did what in theory was a pretty cool dunk, but in real time it looked boring. He threw it off the backboard caught it, threw it off the backboard again (although it looked like he just tapped it against the backboard and threw it in without much authority.) Somehow this got him a perfect score.

Donovan Mitchell went on to win by again, copying someone else. His final dunk was a re-do of Vince Carter’s reverse 360. Very cool, but please, we’ve seen it before. How is this the big winner?

I hate watching the NBA dunk contest these days. It’s less about the creativity or athleticism and more about gimmicks. The only reason I cared about it this year was because Dennis Smith Jr was in it. But after this robbery, I’m back to hating it again.

I mean, can you really even take it seriously when Chris Rock, Mark Wahlberg and freaking DJ Khalid are 3 of your judges? Is this what entertains people today? People who have never done something, judging people who do that thing professionally? I’ll pass.

Sorry, Dennis. You deserved better.