Knicks’ Jericho Sims has classic response to Slam Dunk haters

After Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe dropped out of the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, Jericho Sims accepted an invitation to join. The New York Knicks’ second-year center did two dunks before he was eliminated from advancing to the final round.

Mac McClung, who recently had his contract converted to a two-way with the Sixers, stole the show. He and Trey Murphy made it to the final round, but Murphy had no answer for McClung. The 24-year-old guard who spent time under Patrick Ewing at Georgetown breathed life back into the contest.

Sims undoubtedly had the highest vertical out of the four contestants, and he put that on display with his two dunks. In his first dunk, he did a two-handed slam and finished with his right arm inside of the rim. His second dunk was similar to his first, but there was an envelope clipped to the bottom of the net that he pulled out during his dunk. The envelope had a ’50’ printed on it, but Sims was given a score of 47.8 which ended his night.

Sims was clowned on social media for his lack of creativity and “cringeworthy” second dunk, but based on what he posted to his Instagram story on Monday, he doesn’t seem to care.

Knicks’ Jericho Sims responds to Slam Dunk Contest hate on Instagram

Jericho Sims had previously said that he planned to spend the entirety of the All-Star break on an island somewhere, but that trip was temporarily put on hold while he was in Salt Lake City representing the Knicks.

Sims is on an island somewhere now with no worries, though. While some think he should be embarrassed about his efforts in the Slam Dunk Contest, he isn’t bothered. Instead, he’s enjoying himself before he has to get back to New York to finish out the rest of the season.

His response goes to show that it’s never as serious for players as it is for fans. Could Sims have been more creative? Yes. But is it something that he’s lost sleep over? No. He said before the contest that being in it was something that he had dreamed about as a kid, and he got to live out that dream on Saturday night.

Knicks fans know how explosive Sims is. It’s no problem for him to casually hang above the rim when he goes up for a dunk. His priority wasn’t to win the contest, although it would’ve been nice to see a Knicks player win it for the second straight year. Looking ahead, there are far more important things for Sims to be focused on, like helping New York secure a playoff berth.

Enjoy your rest and relaxation, Jericho. See you on Friday night.

• Published on 02/21/2023 at 12:00 PM EDT
• Last updated on 02/21/2023 at 12:00 PM EDT