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Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat dances his way to dunk title
Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson (16) celebrates with the trophy and Pat Riley after winning the slam dunk competition during the 2026 NBA All Star Saturday Night at Intuit Dome. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat dances his way to dunk title

Even NBA fans don't always know Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat, who's played only 159 minutes this year. After he dunked, danced and defied gravity with a dunk over E-40, everyone will know him as the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest champion.

Johnson defeated Carter Bryant of the San Antonio Spurs in the final round, winning when Bryant couldn't land his final dunk. Bryant had higher scores, including a 50 in his second-to-last dunk, but his miss opened the door for Johnson, who won on a windmill jam.

Keshad Johnson represented Oakland at the L.A. All-Star Game

Johnson didn't just show off an arsenal of dunks Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles. He also brought in dance moves inspired by growing up in Oakland, Calif., even with All-Star Weekend taking place in Los Angeles.

That was clear as early as Johnson's entrance, when he entered with an East Bay legend, rapper E-40. E-40 is a familiar sight at big games for any sports teams from the San Francisco Bay Area. Johnson plays for the Heat, but grew up in Oakland before playing for San Diego State, where he reached the NCAA title game in 2023.

Still, coming out with E-40 is one thing. Dunking over the rapper is another.

Players don't officially get credit for post-dunk dancing, but it's clear that the judges were charmed by Johnson's post-dunk moves. Perhaps in a better-attended contest, that would have mattered less, but the Saturday afternoon led to a half-full arena and muted crowd reactions.

Carter Bryant lost the contest on his final dunk

As much as Johnson impressed an audience that may not have been familiar with a player who'd appeared in only 37 games and averaged 2.9 points in his career, Bryant had the contest in hand before his final dunk. His pass to himself followed by a windmill dunk got the highest score of the opening rounds, a 49.2.

Bryant notched a 50 in the final round, putting him in position to win if he could nail his final attempt.

The Spurs rookie seem destined to win. After all, his name contains two former dunk champions — Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant. The former got Bryant in trouble, talking to him before the final dunk attempt, which seemed to make the 20-year-old forward worry about running out of time. He couldn't complete the alley-oop to himself off the backboard which left Johnson's windmill the winner.

Johnson is still fighting for playing time and an NBA future with the Heat. But now he's joined Carter, Bryant and a legion of greats as an NBA Slam Dunk champion.

Sean Keane

Sean Keane is a sportswriter and a comedian based in Oakland, California, with experience covering the NBA, MLB, NFL and Ice Cube’s three-on-three basketball league, The Big 3. He’s written for Comedy Central’s “Another Period,” ESPN the Magazine, and Audible. com

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