6. Dennis Smith Jr., Dallas Mavericks
Last rank: 5th (↓1)
If ever there were a person who got robbed at NBA All-Star Weekend, look no further than Dallas Mavericks rookie Dennis Smith Jr.. Smith had a rather ho-hum night in the Slam Dunk Contest this past Saturday night, but he still had the best dunk of the night when it was all said and done.
🌪️ Dennis Smith Jr. goes through the legs and changes hands for the first 5⃣0⃣ of the evening!#VerizonDunk pic.twitter.com/DAJOx3ohL9
— #NBAAllStar (@NBAAllStar) February 18, 2018
The rookie out of NC State earned the first “50” of the night, which came on his second dunk attempt. Due to his first round score of 39 though, Smith was left out of the final round. No shade to Larry Nance Jr. or Donovan Mitchell, either. It was more due to bad judging than anything else that fans were left wanting more from Smith.
Outside of dunking, Smith continues to figure things out as the Mavericks’ floor general. He’s averaging 14.8 points, 4.9 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game this season through 50 games. It’s been a rough month for him defensively as is the case for the rest of the team as Dallas is 18-40 this season.