NBA champion Kevin Garnett, who won his title with the Boston Celtics back in the 2007-08 NBA season, is looking forward to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest as part of NBA All-Star Saturday at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif.
Now, if you asked Garnett who he wanted to see win the contest, then he might have trouble actually naming his favorite.
Kevin Garnett Couldn’t Remember His Pick for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest
Garnett was talking about the NBA Slam Dunk Contest on his podcast, “KG: Certified.” When he got around to naming his pick, though, Garnett managed to get his wires crossed.
“Keyshawn Johnson? That’s the kid from DC?” Garnett said. “No, no, no, he’s on the Heat…. Give me the kid from the Heat. If that’s the same kid I saw do something in the game, he did some crazy s**t in the game”.
Kevin Garnett is picking Keshad Johnson to win the Dunk Contest tonight (despite not knowing who he is) 💀
“Keyshawn Johnson? That’s the kid from DC? No, no, no, he’s on the Heat…. Give me the kid from the Heat. If that’s the same kid I saw do something in the game, he did some… pic.twitter.com/ARZY1dk3Dg
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) February 14, 2026
Garnett was joined on his podcast with his fellow former Celtics teammate Paul Pierce. After Pierce talked about who he’s looking to see win the contest, Garnett added some additional observations. Pierce selected Orlando Magic player Jase Richardson as the winner.
Jase is the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson, who won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in 2002 and 2003.
“So I’m going to analyze this like this,” Garnett said. “Yeah, that is your son but I’ve never seen or heard, up to this point, him in no dunk contests. Now, sudden, he’s being around in the dunk contest? I didn’t hear about him in college. I didn’t hear about him on the street. I ain’t seen no nothing, now he’s in the contest.
“If this is your son, can he handle the lights?” Garnett said. “Has he dunked in this type of atmosphere like this? Give me the kid from the Heat.” That “kid from the Heat” is none other than Keshad Johnson. And no, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson will not be participating.
Notably, Richardson has dunked only four times this season until now, which is the fewest among all the participants. In fact, the rookie himself was surprised when he got an invitation to take part in the contest.
“I think, for me, it kind of came as a shock because I feel like I’m the last person people would expect to be in it, but I always grew up watching it,” Richardson said.
With NBA All-Star Saturday just a few hours away from kicking off, let’s see if Garnett picked the winner. Pierce might have the winner himself. Garnett has seen plenty of guys do acrobatic dunks. Let’s see if either Garnett or Pierce correctly picked the winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
