Fans roast Jase Richardson after 2026 NBA Dunk Contest fail

Los Angeles—The 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, once the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday Night, produced more groans than gasps when Orlando Magic rookie Jase Richardson’s lone appearance ended in a viral blooper and a hard fall that stopped the show inside Crypto.com Arena.

With two-time defending champion Mac McClung absent, the door opened for a new aerial act. Richardson, the 2025 first-round pick out of Michigan State who has averaged five points in limited minutes this season, seized the spotlight—but the rim, and the backboard, seized him back. On his opening attempt the 6-foot-4 guard rose from the right baseline, palmed the ball, and tried to cock it behind his head for a reverse finish. Instead, the ball slammed off the glass, ricocheted away, and Richardson crashed to the hardwood, landing flat on his back.

Television microphones captured the collective “ohhh” from the crowd before a hush settled over the building. Trainers sprinted out, yet Richardson—after a tense moment—stood up, waved them off, and jogged back to half-court to a sympathetic ovation. The botched try counted as a miss under contest rules, and the judges’ panel awarded him a cumulative score of 32, effectively ending his night.

Social media erupted within seconds. Clips of the rejection-by-backboard looped across every platform, spawning memes that superimposed everything from brick walls to the NBA logo itself in Richardson’s path. “Backboard better than Rudy Gobert,” one tweet cracked, referencing the league’s most decorated rim protector. Another fan spliced the footage with the sound of a cartoon anvil drop. By midnight Pacific, Richardson’s name trended worldwide above every All-Star participant except Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama.

The league now faces renewed scrutiny over the event’s direction. Commissioner Adam Silver has experimented with formats, scoring tweaks, and even celebrity judges, yet viewer fatigue persists. Saturday’s field—Richardson, Houston’s 19-year-old swingman Elijah Brooks, and Denver’s high-wire forward Marcus Holloway—failed to register a single perfect-50 dunk, the first time that’s happened since 2018. The contest concluded with Holloway claiming the trophy on a conservative windmill alley-oop, a moment that felt more like an exhibition lay-up line than the gravity-defying theater fans once expected.

Richardson, for his part, exited the tunnel without speaking to reporters, though Magic staffers said he cleared concussion protocol and was “in good spirits.” Orlando heads into the season’s second half clinging to the eighth playoff spot in the East; the franchise may need more than five points a night from its rookie if it intends to stay there.

Whether Richardson returns to All-Star Weekend remains an open question. What’s certain is that the internet has already cast its vote, and the highlight—or lowlight—of the 2026 Dunk Contest will live on every blooper reel the league hopes to forget.