Jackson Hayes drops a truth bomb on the NBA slam dunk contest

LOS ANGELES – For the first time since 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers have a participant for NBA All-Star Weekend slam dunk contest in big man Jackson Hayes. Dwight Howard, in his only season with the Lakers, was the last to participate in the contest. Howard didn’t make the final round that season, and Derrick Jones Jr. took home the hardware.

Jackson Hayes is the eighth Lakers player to be selected for the dunk contest, but only Kobe Bryant has ever won the NBA All-Star Game on Saturday night. Hayes is now trying to become just the second player in franchise history to bring home the trophy.

Over the past few seasons, the dunk contest has come under scrutiny from fans, media and players, and the event has lost some of its luster from years past. But for Hayes, he’s just trying to go out and have fun, and try to bring some excitement back to the competition.

“I just want to bring as much joy and life back to this competition as possible,” Hayes said during his media availability session. “Me and the guys talked about it, we just want to make it a show. Just try to bring back the dunk contest the best way we can, just everybody come out and have fun and make it enjoyable for the people watching.”

Hayes wowed fans this season with some impressive dunks in the game. He is good for lob from Luka Dončić almost every game. But the one that stands out the most this season was he threw his dunk in Eastbay during the Lakers’ win against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 26.

That drive for that dunk materialized when Hayes’ Lakers teammates mocked him for throwing down an unexciting fast-break dunk.

“My teammates were making fun of me earlier in the game. I had a fast break and I just did a simple two-handed dunk … I wasn’t hanging on the rim or anything, I just put it in,” Hayes said. “Everybody was booing me, everybody was making fun of me. I got a steal later in the game and I just remembered guys booing and making fun of me earlier, so I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to do something.’

As for Hayes’ production for the Lakers, he has been among the team’s most consistent players this season with his energy and effort. He appeared in 45 games, including seven starts, logging just over 17 minutes per game. He is averaging 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists while shooting 77.2 percent from the field.