NBA fans slammed the 2024 dunk contest judges for their favorable Jaylen Brown scoring

NBA fans were watching a different dunk contest than the judges.

Mac McClung was the rightful favorite to win the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk contest after putting on a good show to claim the title in 2023. He had -260 odds in his bid to repeat Saturday, going up against a field full of first-time contestants.

As expected, McClung did eventually win the contest, but it didn’t come without a little drama. The judges seemed to have a real bias for three-time All-Star Jaylen Brown, keeping the contest close with some questionable scoring. Brown’s dunks were fine but not earth-shattering, however, they received scores higher than fans at home would have given them — especially considering how hard the judges were on the other competitors.

Brown’s second-round dunk over an already short Kai Cenat sitting in a chair (where Brown covered his eyes AFTER THE DUNK) got a 47.6, which was somehow higher than Jaime Jaquez Jr. got for dunking over Shaquille O’Neal.

The crowd didn't like this Jaylen Brown dunk pic.twitter.com/ow1z7MKBG3

— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) February 18, 2024

And in the finals, Brown got a 48.6 for a simple one-handed 360, which was higher than Jacob Toppin got for a two-handed, through-the-legs 360, and higher than McClung got for this double-clutch beauty. Brown also got a 49.2 simply for dunking with a glove on his left hand.

Again, the dunks were fine. They just weren’t anything to write home about. Yet, McClung had to do a reverse dunk over Shaq to come away with the victory.

MAC MCCLUNG OVER SHAQ.

50-PIECE. pic.twitter.com/VHvcOZdRCI

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 18, 2024

Fans on social media let the judges have it.