Heat’s Keshad ‘Showtime’ Johnson wins 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson lived up to his nickname.
Johnson, nicknamed “Showtime,” put on a show to win the NBA’s Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend on Saturday at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
“I just came out here to show the people who Showtime was,” Johnson said after accepting the Slam Dunk Contest trophy.
All four competitors got two dunks in the first round, and the two players with the highest composite score for their two dunks (maximum score of 100 and a minimum score of 80) advanced to the head-to-head final round. Those two players then also got two dunks in the championship round, and the one with the highest final round composite score for those final two dunks earned the Slam Dunk crown.
For Johnson’s first dunk of the first round, the Oakland native brought out well-known Bay Area rapper E-40 and jumped over E-40 to throw down a powerful dunk with one hand behind his head for an average score of 47.4 from a panel of judges that included dunking legends Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins. Johnson missed his first attempt at the dunk, but he completed it on his second try and celebrated with some dance moves.
After a few failed attempts at a more ambitious dunk, Johnson turned to an easier reverse dunk for his second and final attempt of the first round that received an average score of 45.4 from the judges.
Johnson finished with the second-best composite first-round score, which was enough to advance to face off against San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant in the championship round. But Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jase Richardson of the Orlando Magic were eliminated in the first round.
Johnson took that momentum into the championship round, bouncing a pass to himself and putting the ball between his legs before completing a reverse dunk for score from the judges of 49.6 on his first attempt of the final round.
But after Bryant received a perfect score of 50 on his first dunk of the championship round, the pressure was on Johnson to respond.
Johnson responded by throwing down a ferocious windmill dunk after taking off from just inside the free-throw line for his final dunk of the contest, receiving a score of 47.8 to put his composite score for the final round at 97.4.
Only needing a score of 47.5 or better on his final dunk to win the contest, Carter couldn’t deliver.
After missing a few attempts at his planned dunk, Carter ran out of time on his final throw-down of the competition. With each participant getting 90 seconds to complete each dunk, Carter settled for an underwhelming rushed dunk as time was running out on him and only received a score of 43.
“I think if I put that dunk down, I win it,” Carter said. “That’s probably the dunk I did the most out of all the dunks I did today in my life. I’ve been doing that dunk since I was 14 years old. Just the ball didn’t roll my way tonight. But it happens. It’s a part of life.”
That left the 24-year-old Johnson as the winner, becoming the third Heat player in franchise history to win the Slam Dunk Contest. That list also includes Harold Miner, who claimed the dunk crown in 1993 and 1995, and Derrick Jones Jr., who was the dunk champion in 2020.
Johnson is the fifth different Heat player in franchise history to take part in the Slam Dunk Contest, joining Billy Thompson (1990), Miner (1993 and 1995), Jones (2020) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (2024).
“Man, in the Bay, we do it a little different,” said Johnson, who was dancing around the court before and after each dunk on Saturday. “We got our own little swag. So I had to bring the legend E-40 out, and do my little things. And I’m also taking this back to the 305 in Miami, too.”
Johnson, who is listed at 6-foot-6 and 225 pounds, is known as a high-flyer. He produced an eye-opening 42-inch maximum vertical leap at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, and Saturday’s result only added to his resume.
But Johnson is still out to prove he’s more than just a standout dunker, as he has yet to earn a consistent role in the Heat’s rotation.
Johnson initially signed with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2024 after going undrafted out of Arizona. But he had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal in December 2024, playing a limited role in the NBA since.
While Johnson has averaged 21.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and two blocks per game in four G League appearances this season, he has logged just 159 minutes with the Heat in his second NBA season. He has averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in that limited playing time across 21 NBA appearances this season.
“Everybody’s journey is different,” Johnson said. “To all the kids out there, keep dreaming. Have crazy faith. Crazy faith. Not just regular faith, have crazy faith. Anything can happen, man.”
THREE-POINT CONTEST
While Heat guard Norman Powell will play in his first NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, he’ll need to wait at least one more year to advance past the first round of the NBA’s Three-Point Contest for the first time.
After being eliminated in the first round of the two-round, timed shooting competition during the last year’s All-Star Weekend in San Francisco, Powell was again ousted in the first round of Saturday’s Three-Point Contest at Intuit Dome.
With each participant having 70 seconds to shoot as many of the 27 balls as they can, Powell ran out of time and didn’t get off the 27th ball before time ran out on him.
“I just ran out of a little bit of time,” Powell said after the competition. “I slowed myself down a little too much, because last year I was sped up and going through the course too fast. So I kind of said I’m going to calm down, relax and take my time with my shots. But at the end, I ran out of a little bit of time.”
Instead, Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (first-round score of 30), Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard (27) and Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (27) were the three to move on to the championship round.
Lillard, who has yet to play this season as he recovers from an Achilles injury, ended up winning this year’s NBA Three-Point Contest. It marks the third Three-Point Contest that Lillard has won during his NBA career.
Powell was the 10th different Heat player in franchise history to take part in the Three-Point Contest, joining Jon Sundvold (1989 and 1990), Glen Rice (1991 and 1995), Jason Kapono (2007), Daequan Cook (2009 and 2010), James Jones (2011 and 2012), Mario Chalmers (2012), Wayne Ellington (2018), Duncan Robinson (2020) and Tyler Herro (2023 and 2025).
Five Heat players have won the Three-Point Contest in franchise history: Rice (1995), Kapono (2007), Cook (2009), Jones (2011) and Herro (2025). Even after Powell’s first-round exit on Saturday, the Heat still stands alone as the only NBA team with five Three-Point Contest trophies.
RISING STARS
The duo of second-year center Kel’el Ware and two-way contract guard Jahmir Young kicked off this year’s NBA All-Star Weekend for the Heat by taking part in the Rising Stars event on Friday night at Intuit Dome.
The Rising Stars showcase features select NBA rookies and sophomores, and NBA G League players competing in a four-team minitournament that includes three games. The 14 NBA players were drafted onto three seven-player teams. The seven NBA G League players, selected by the league office, make up the fourth team.
The 21-year-old Ware was drafted onto Team T-Mac, with Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady serving as the honorary coach.
The 25-year-old Young was on the G League team, with most of his minutes this season coming for the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
But both Ware and Young’s teams were eliminated in the first round of the Rising Stars tournament, with the first team to reach or surpass 40 points becoming the winner of each of those semifinal games.
Ware finished his only Rising Stars game on Friday with seven points on 3-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 shooting from three-point range, three rebounds and one block in 10 minutes.
Young closed his only Rising Stars game with three points on 1-of-4 shooting from the field and 1-of-3 shooting on threes and one steal in six minutes.
Ware and Young are the 13th and 14th different Heat players in franchise history to be selected for the Rising Stars event. That list includes Khalid Reeves (1995), Kurt Thomas (1996), Caron Butler (2003), Dwyane Wade (2004 and 2005), Udonis Haslem (2004 and 2005), Michael Beasley (2009 and 2010), Norris Cole (2012), Kendrick Nunn (2020), Herro (2020 and 2021), Precious Achiuwa (2021), Alondes Williams (2024), Jaquez (2024 and 2025), Ware (2026) and Young (2026).
Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe was named the Rising Stars MVP on Friday, leading Team Vince Carter to this year’s Rising Stars title.
UP NEXT
The Heat’s All-Star Weekend isn’t done yet.
On Sunday, Young will play in the G League Up Next Game at the L.A. Convention Center (2:30 p.m., NBA App) before Powell closes the weekend by representing the Heat in the NBA All-Star Game at Intuit Dome (5 p.m., NBC and Peacock).
This story was originally published February 14, 2026 at 7:58 PM.
