The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has been in decline for some time, with most of the league’s best players refusing to compete in the dunking exhibition. It certainly feels like the NBA has had to beg some players to go out and compete, and this year, there were plenty of throwbacks — from Jaxon Hayes’ routine tomahawk dunk, to Jace Richardson’s hard fall, to San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant’s timeout, to reigning Dunk Contest champion Keshad Johnson’s eccentric dance moves.
But it looks like a rising star in Spurs rookie Dylan Harper could at least bring a little name recognition to the dunk contest. In an appearance on the Cousins Podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, Harper, who was accompanied by his father and three-time NBA champion Ron and his brother, current Boston Celtics guard Ron Harper Jr., was perhaps inspired to attend the 2027 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Phoenix.
“I could have done every dunk you did in that contest,” Dylan told his father, referring to Ron’s appearances in the 1987 and 1989 dunk contests. “[But] “I’m not doing a no-dunk contest.”
“Don’t you think you’re good enough?” McGrady asked, provoking a reaction.
“No, I guess I don’t know that many tricks,” the Spurs guard replied. “[But] We can see like a year. We can see next year.
Can Spurs guard Dylan Harper at least outperform his father?
In 1987, Ron Harper, still with the Cleveland Cavaliers, self-lobed and tapped to the front rim for a reverse dunk before a reverse dunk for his second of two of the night. He finished fifth in the competition.
Two years later, he executed a one-handed, 360 Statue of Liberty jam (which he made on the second attempt) followed by a self-lob, a high toss off the ground, which he punctuated with a thrusting one-handed tomahawk.
The Spurs guard doesn’t have a high enough bar to clear given the dunks his father did.
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