Pat Connaughton Wants Another Shot at Dunk Contest

Milwaukee Bucks guard Pat Connaughton put on a show on Saturday night at the NBA Dunk Contest in Chicago, but came up just short of the finals. 

Connaughton showed off his 44-inch vertical by jumping over Christian Yelich on his first dunk while decked out in 'White Men Can't Jump' attire, and then he jumped over his teammate, Giannis Antetokounmpo, before tapping the ball on the glass.

"Those were two dunks I knew I could do, but I also thought they were two dunks no one thought I could do," Connaughton said. 

The dunk over Yelich scored a 45, but the dunk of Antetokounmpo was a perfect 50. 

Connaughton also showed some experience by making sure the judges and everyone in the United Center knew he had tapped the glass after clearing his teammate.

"Being a guy that's loved dunk contests since I was a kid, I actually remembered Dwight's (Howard) dunk content when he put the sticker on the backboard," explained Connaughton. "No one really realized it until it was too late. The judges had already put their score in. 

"I wanted to make sure I got the dunk first and foremost, but I wanted to point to it a little and make sure people saw the replay before they put a score in. I think people at the beginning thought I just jumped over a taller person, but when you add that element to it, the tap of the backboard, it's a lot of body control and I have to be hanging in the air for a quite a bit of time. I wanted to make sure that it didn't go unnoticed." 

The five-year veteran didn't necessarily agree with his first score, but also recognized there were some special dunks in the first round.

"I thought the first dunk should have been a 50 also, but there were a lot of 50's thrown around," said Connaughton. "I'm glad I got at least one of them." 

Connaughton was also grateful for the appearance of Antetokounmpo.

"It's great by him," Connaughton said. "I had never done that dunk with him before. For him to know, see it and make sure everyone saw it, it was big. 

"Giannis is like family for me. For him to come down after just having a son means even more." 

The Miami Heat's Derrick Jones Jr. ended up winning the contest in the end and while controversial in the end, Connaughton wasn't arguing for Aaron Gordon too hard.

"I thought both of them deserved to win," stated Connaughton. "I know that's a cop-out answer, but with how crazy of a dunk contest it was, I thought they both did. 

"When I look back on it, I love the dunk off and the extra dunks. It was phenomenal to be part of. Getting four 50s and nothing lower than a 50 - that's tough. That's tough to swallow if you're not coming home with the trophy. 

"If I had to vote, I would have voted for Aaron. I would have tried to split the trophy in half and give each of them half a ball." 

When it comes to making another appearance, Connaughton is more than open to returning next year.

"We'll see," said Connaughton. "Maybe. We'll see if I get the invite back. I think it was hard enough to get the first invite, but with the showing I put on, the invites might come a little easier. Maybe they aren't sent by carrier pigeon and maybe they might be sent overnight. 

"Maybe I'll post a little footage of the other two dunks that I had in store."