The Knicks came up empty on All-Star Saturday night.
Jericho Sims and Julius Randle were eliminated in the first rounds of the Slam Dunk and 3-point contests, respectively. Sims, the soaring center, completed two similar dunks and couldn’t beat the two finalists, Mac McClung and Trey Murphy III.
McClung, the first-ever G Leaguer in the contest, won the title and stole the show with three perfect 50s.
“Mac McClung has saved the dunk contest,” TNT analyst Reggie Miller said on the broadcast.
With his first dunk, Sims threw an alley–oop off the backboard and jumped so high that half of both his arms went into the rim. Sims held himself up at the basket by his elbows. He scored 47.6, which was the second-highest score of the first round of dunks. His next attempt was again hanging off the rim by his elbow, this time opening a letter attached to the net that read ‘50.’ The judges gave it a 47.8.
McClung, the former Georgetown Hoya and first G Leaguer ever in the event, set the tone with a 50 with his first dunk. The guard grabbed the ball off the head of a prop participant — who was sitting on the shoulders of another prop participant — and touched it off the backboard before the jam.
Sims was trying to be the first center to win the contest since Dwight Howard in 2008.
The five-person judge panel included Karl Malone, the former Jazz star who has largely been absent from the public eye after retirement. Malone has been followed by allegations that he once fathered a son with a 13-year-old girl, which made his Saturday appearance controversial.
Sims was a late addition, like his teammate Randle in the 3-point contest performance, after Portland’s Shaedon Sharpe pulled out. Sims was defending the Knicks’ title after Obi Toppin’s victory last year in a forgettable competition. (Toppin was invited again this year but declined appearing in a third straight dunk contest).
Sims, 24, a second-round pick in 2021, has been the Knicks starting center since a fractured thumb sidelined MItchell Robinson.
At 6-foot-10 inches, Sims recorded the third-highest vertical in the history of the NBA combine. He said his entire head can clear the rim when he jumps. Sims’ candidacy picked up steam after he was endorsed by Ja Morant, the high-flying guard who has refused to enter the contest.
In the 3-point contest, Randle couldn’t rise above the low expectations and was eliminated in the first round with just 13 points, the second-worst in the eight-man field.
Damian Lillard won the title in his third attempt at the 3-point contest.
Randle was the longshot in the contest as an injury replacement for Portland’s Anfernee Simons, who sprained his ankle. He entered with the worst 3-point percentage of the field this season and very little practice off the racks.
“I didn’t find out [I was in the contest] until after the Atlanta game [on Wednesday],” Randle said. “They asked me, I said, why not? Have fun with it. I practiced once. I practiced one time [Friday]. And we’ll see how it goes.”
It didn’t go well. Randle missed badly on a couple and ran out of time before the final shot, leaving his son Kyden distraught in the stands.
The Knicks have never had a 3-point champion despite nine entries dating back to Trent Tucker in the first contest in 1986. In fact, no Knick has finished above fourth.
They’ve had more success in the dunk contest with five champions [Nate Robinson three times], Kenny Walker and Toppin.
