Utah Jazz: Donovan Mitchell’s 2018 dunk performance outdid any in 2019

The performance of Utah Jazz standout Donovan Mitchell in the 2018 Dunk Contest was far more entertaining than what we saw in 2019.

All-Star Saturday Night has come and gone and the overwhelming consensus was that the night, particular the banner event, the Dunk Contest, left quite a bit to be desired. While Hamidou Diallo had some bright moments and was the clearly deserving winner, between missed dunks from his competition, questionable scores from the judges and an overall lack of flash, the 2019 Dunk Contest just wasn’t all that thrilling.

True, perhaps we were spoiled by the legendary Dunk Contest of 2016 in which Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine duked it out with some of the most incredible dunks we’ve ever witnessed, but even after laying that to one side, this year’s event felt even less thrilling than normal. In fact, I don’t think it’s a stretch at all to say that Donovan Mitchell‘s performance a year ago and the entire 2018 Dunk Contest in and of itself was better than the most recent edition.

As all Utah Jazz fans will agree, Mitchell was absolutely sensational last year, beginning with his thrilling dunk off a second hoop’s backboard into another, followed by athletic display after athletic display, topped off by his nod to Vince Carter in the final dunk.

But not only was last year’s contest so great because of how well Mitchell did, but the fact that he faced stirring competition in Larry Nance Jr., who threw down some incredible dunks, made it all the more exciting. Heading into the championship round, it was anyone’s guess who would emerge victorious, and Nance had arguably the coolest dunk of the night with his double-tap off the backboard dunk.

Contrast that to the 2019 Dunk Contest in which I’m pretty certain that by dunk two, we all knew that Diallo was going to win. Once Dennis Smith Jr. struggled with his first dunk of the championship round, it was almost as if Diallo didn’t even have to put any effort into dunk number three. Sure, his hyper athleticism that resulted in his head being level with the rim was exciting, but the dunk wasn’t all that memorable at all.

Then his final dunk of the night wasn’t even enough to merit him a single 10 rating from the judges. Not that the judges could be trusted considering they gave Smith an odd 50 the time before, but still, it was a rather anticlimactic ending.

Between Mitchell’s insane athleticism, four memorable dunks and legitimate competition in facing Nance in a closely contested final round, Donovan’s performance and the entire 2018 Dunk Contest were both significantly better than the 2019 edition. Ideally, Mitchell will find his way back into the contest in the not so distant future, and the subsequent Dunk Contests beginning with 2020 will provide more entertainment than this year’s rendition.