Bad IHOP and trash-talking Wade: The story of Derrick Jones Jr.’s first NBA Dunk Contest
Derrick Jones Jr. was a virtual unknown the previous time he competed in the Slam Dunk Contest in 2017. The Miami Heat forward was an undrafted rookie for the Phoenix Suns and had played just 11 minutes at the time he accepted his invitation to the competition. He was spending most of his time playing in the NBA Development League, now the NBA G League.
He was, effectively, a novelty act with amazing athleticism that the Suns hoped would make him a viable NBA player. For one night, he was a star, though. He opened the Dunk Contest by trying to jump over four players, but he missed. Once he landed, he happened to lock eyes with Dwyane Wade.
“He just shook his head,” Jones said Monday.
Wade, who was playing for the Chicago Bulls at the time, was there to root for Glenn Robinson III, who, like Wade, had a sponsorship deal with Chinese shoe company Li-Ning. Any time he made a dunk the rest of the night, Jones made sure to seek out Wade, whom he had never met before.
It will be different for Jones this year. The 22-year-old is going back to NBA All-Star Weekend to compete in the Dunk Contest on Feb. 15 at the United Center in Chicago, and now he’s more than a novelty. Jones has started two games for the Heat (34-15) this season, and is averaging 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 24.1 minutes per game for one of the best teams in the league. Miami kicks off a five-game trip on Wednesday at 10 p.m. against the Los Angeles Clippers (35-15). The trip out West will take Miami into the All-Star break.
The NBA officially announced Jones will be participating in the Dunk Contest on Tuesday. The league also announced that All-Star post player Bam Adebayo will compete in the NBA All-Star Weekend Skills Competition and sharpshooting swingman Duncan Robinson will be in the Three-Point Contest. With those three competing Feb. 15, the Heat will have at least one player competing in all five events throughout All-Star Weekend in Chicago.
“It just shows the beauty of winning,” Adebayo said Tuesday. “I don’t think if we had a below-.500 record we would have six guys going to All-Star, including myself.”
While Wade technically got the last laugh in 2017 because Glenn Robinson III won the contest, Jones stole the show. First, he finished the dunk that he missed once, although he placed his right hand on the shoulder of one of the four teammates he jumped over and only scored 45 out of 50.
“He was like, ‘You pushed off, ’” Jones said. “I’m like, ‘All right, I got you. I’m going to show you something else.’ ”
His next dunk was the highlight of the competition. He started from the left corner, behind the basket, and Devin Booker threw a pass off the left side of the backboard. Jones snatched the pass with his right hand, threaded it between his legs, and finished a left-handed slam. The dunk netted him a perfect 50.
“I looked over at him, I’m like, ‘Yeah, he ain’t got that.’ He was like, ‘You right,’ ” Jones said. “That was just one of those moments like, Yeah, I got the respect of D-Wade.”
The next season, Phoenix waived Jones and Miami signed him. A few months later, the Heat traded with the Cleveland Cavaliers to bring Wade back to Miami. The future Hall of Famer and the relative unknown could bond over their unlikely collision in New Orleans a year earlier.
Jones wasn’t beaten up about losing to Robinson. His family came out to Louisiana to watch him, and they celebrated being together with a borderline disastrous trip to IHOP. His mother’s cheesesteak was cold. His girlfriend’s was missing cheese. He ordered a basket of chicken tenders and about half the chicken was missing. They still sat in the restaurant for about three or four hours.
“We just sat there and just enjoyed time with each other. Even though the food was terrible, we got to spend time with each other,” Jones said. “We were just having a whole lot of fun. We weren’t just worried about the win or the loss. The experience was great and I was out there with the people that I wanted to spend the time with the most. I’m grateful for it.”
Jones said he didn’t do any sort of specific preparation for the dunk contest last time, and he doesn’t plan to this year. He also said he’s a worse dunker — “10 times,” he said — compared to three years ago.
It’s a sacrifice that he’s happy to make. Jones had one career in-game dunk last time he was in the contest. Now, he has one highlight-reel dunk basically every other game, plus a critical role manning the wings in the Heat’s 2-3 zone defense. While athleticism is still the foundation of his skill set, he now knows he can be more than just the guy who can jump really high and dunk anytime he gets near the hoop.
“When I was younger, I knew I was an athlete, so I was going to do whatever I’ve got to do to get to the bucket and finish,” Jones said. “Now that my overall game is being put to use now, I’m not just like, ‘Oh, I’ll be athletic.’ ”
This story was originally published February 4, 2020 at 10:40 AM.
