Miami Heat president Pat Riley and Keshad Johnson #16 of the Miami Heat hug after the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest during 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome on February 14, 2026 in Inglewood, California. Ronald Martinez Getty Images
Miami Heat second-year forward Keshad Johnson’s week began with a two-game stint in the G League. The week ended with Johnson winning this season’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Johnson, nicknamed “Showtime,” won this season’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend on Saturday night at Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, with Heat president Pat Riley among those in attendance at the Los Angeles Clippers’ home arena to watch All-Star Saturday.
Johnson became the third Heat player in franchise history to win the Slam Dunk Contest. That list also includes Harold Miner, who claimed the dunk crown in 1993 and 1995, and Derrick Jones Jr., who was the dunk champion in 2020.
“My journey getting here, I can’t thank the Lord enough,” Johnson, 24, said Saturday after winning this year’s NBA Slam Dunk Crown. “I beat the odds. I beat the odds. I made it. I made it into the NBA. I dreamed of every year — I was watching the NBA Dunk Contest. I dreamed of being out there, putting on a show for everybody. I learned from all the people that came before me, paying homage to them, and now I’m here.”
But less than a week before winning the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Los Angeles, Johnson was in Oklahoma City playing for the Heat’s G League affiliate. Just hours after receiving the invite to take part in the dunk competition, Johnson totaled 29 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in the Sioux Falls Skyforce’s G League loss to the Oklahoma City Blue on Monday and then 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block in the Skyforce’s G League loss to the Blue on Tuesday.
Following those two G League games, Johnson only had time to get a few practices in for Saturday’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest after receiving an invite to the competition on short notice.
“I’d say about five days notice, but I had two G League games and two days of actual practice,” Johnson said. “Just stuck to the plan. My [dunk] coach Chuck, he told me stick to the plan. I wanted to change it so bad. My blood was boiling a little bit. Stick to the plan, and look what happened.”
Keshad Johnson #16 of the Miami Heat dunks during the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest during 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome on February 14, 2026 in Inglewood, California. Ronald Martinez Getty Images
How did Johnson win the contest?
All four competitors got two dunks in the first round, and the two players with the highest composite score for their two dunks (maximum score of 100 and a minimum score of 80) advanced to the head-to-head final round. Those two players then also got two dunks in the championship round, and the one with the highest final round composite score for those final two dunks earned the Slam Dunk crown.
For Johnson’s first dunk of the first round, the Oakland native brought out well-known Bay Area rapper E-40 and jumped over E-40 to throw down a powerful dunk with one hand behind his head for an average score of 47.4 from a panel of judges that included dunking legends Julius Erving and Dominique Wilkins.
“E-40 was a part of the plan,” Johnson said. “My big bro Ethan, he made a call to E-40 and we got Unc on board and he was ready. He was ready. The love and respect that he gave me just to take time out of his day to be involved in this, I can’t ask for nothing better.
“I thank Unc for coming out here. He’s a pioneer for the Bay Area. We’re also putting on for L.A., SoCal, too, so the whole West Coast won with this one.”
After a few failed attempts at a more ambitious dunk, Johnson turned to an easier reverse dunk for his second and final attempt of the first round that received an average score of 45.4 from the judges.
Johnson finished with the second-best composite first-round score, which was enough to advance to face off against San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant in the championship round. But Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers and Jase Richardson of the Orlando Magic were eliminated in the first round.
Johnson took that momentum into the championship round, bouncing a pass to himself and putting the ball between his legs before completing a reverse dunk for score from the judges of 49.6 on his first attempt of the final round.
But after Bryant received a perfect score of 50 on his first dunk of the championship round, the pressure was on Johnson to respond.
Johnson responded by throwing down a windmill dunk after taking off from just inside the free-throw line for his final dunk of the contest, receiving a score of 47.8 to put his composite score for the final round at 97.4.
Only needing a score of 47.5 or better on his final dunk to win the contest, Bryant couldn’t deliver.
After missing a few attempts at his planned dunk, Bryant ran out of time on his final throw-down of the competition. With each participant getting 90 seconds to complete each dunk, Bryant settled for an underwhelming rushed dunk as time was running out on him and only received a score of 43.
“Man, I really wanted him to finish that dunk,” said Johnson, who attended the University of Arizona like Bryant. “Me and him being the finalists, both coming from University of Arizona, I wanted him to put on a show, which he did. We both were finalists. Wanted him to flush it, too.”
But Bryant couldn’t complete his planned dunk on his final attempt of the championship round, making Johnson the slam dunk champion.
“I have to have crazy faith to be here and be in this position,” Johnson said, “and just glorify the name of the Lord just for having Keshad ‘Showtime’ Johnson to be out here in the NBA Dunk Contest and coming home with the championship.”
Johnson enjoyed himself while winning the dunk contest, too, dancing around the court before and after each of his dunks.
“I’m just so grateful to be here. I consider this home,” Johnson said of winning the dunk competition in his home state of California. “I’m from the West Coast, from Oakland, California. This is home to me. This is the West Coast. We’ve got a swag. We’ve got a flavor. I felt like I was at home, so when I saw everybody, saw the fans, it is like what I dreamed of.
“Once you’re in a dream, you control your dream, you can do anything in your dream. I felt like the fans were with me. I just did what I did, put my best foot forward, did what I could do.”
Johnson was already known as a high-flyer. He produced an eye-opening 42-inch maximum vertical leap at the 2024 NBA Draft Combine, and Saturday’s result only added to his resume.
But Johnson is still out to prove he’s more than just a standout dunker, as he has yet to earn a consistent role in the Heat’s rotation.
Johnson initially signed with the Heat on a two-way contract in 2024 after going undrafted out of Arizona. He had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal in December 2024, but he has played a limited role in the NBA.
While Johnson has averaged 21.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals and two blocks per game in four G League appearances this season, he has logged just 159 minutes with the Heat in his second NBA season. He has averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds per game in that limited playing time across 21 NBA appearances this season.
“He’s really starting to figure out how to weaponize that athleticism and show it more in the game of basketball, where it’s not just a dunk contest,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Johnson days before the dunk contest. “He has a 40-plus inch vertical. And then as a young player, sometimes you need to learn how to utilize it, which he’s been doing a great job of.”
Johnson has played only 256 minutes in the NBA in his first two seasons.
“He hasn’t gotten as many opportunities as some of the other guys, but we are just as excited about his improvement,” Spoelstra continued on Johnson. “He really has grown a lot in a year and a half. He’s becoming way more reliable as that three-and-D guy that can give you athleticism, can guard a lot of different positions. He’s been steady in his development in our defense. His offense is improving. His shooting is really improving.”
But Saturday was about Johnson’s impressive athleticism and dunking ability. It was also about Johnson announcing himself to the NBA world after a quiet start to his professional career.
“Man, I’ve been watching the NBA all my life,” Johnson said. “Being around all these legends. I promise you it’s literally a dream. I can’t put it to words. It’s a dream being front and center stage with Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins, able to shake their hands, Vince Carter, list goes on and on. Just being able to show everybody who I am. I know who they are, but now they know who I am.”