Dwyane Wade has received plenty of criticism for the way the 2020 NBA Dunk Contest concluded, but he insists he’s not the only one to blame for Aaron Gordon’s final score. In case you missed it, when Wade, Scottie Pippen and actor Chadwick Boseman all gave Gordon a ‘9’ for his final dunk over 7’5 center Tacko Fall, resulting in a win for Derrick Jones Jr.
Wade, who was clearly favoring his former Miami Heat teammate, was promptly bombarded with nasty messages from disgruntled fans who felt he personally robbed Gordon of his first Dunk Contest crown. Check out the video embedded below to listen to D-Wade’s thoughts about all of the hate he has received.
According to a report by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Malika Andrews, the five judges had agreed to give Gordon a total score of 48, which would have tied him with Derrick Jones Jr. in the dunk-off. However, it appears that someone (Wade) went rogue, and Gordon ended up with a 47 as a result.
“We thought it was going to be tied. We were like, ‘This is a tie!'” told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.”But somebody didn’t do it right. I don’t know who it is.”
Needless to say, Gordon was just as frustrated as the fans after he delivered five, perfect 50 dunks in a row only to go home empty handed. “I did four straight 50s — five straight 50s,” Gordon said afterward, per ESPN. “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?”