Miami Heat swingman Keshad Johnson hopes that bigger things will come his way after he won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend on Saturday night at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
Johnson is the third player in Miami Heat history to win the Slam Dunk Contest, alongside Harold Miner (1993) and Derrick Jones Jr. (2020). During a recent interview with the Miami Herald, the second-year pro shared his whirlwind week that led him to where he is now.
“I’d say about five days notice, but I had two G League games and two days of actual practice,” Johnson detailed. “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.”
“Man, I’ve been watching the NBA all my life,” he added. “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, the 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.”
Miami Heat News: Erik Spoelstra praises Keshad Johnson’s development as a player
Keshad Johnson has been with the Miami Heat since 2024, but has yet to earn a consistent role in the rotation. Nonetheless, head coach Erik Spoelstra praised Johnson for his growth, saying he’s not surprised to see the 24-year-old win the Dunk Contest.
“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,” Spoelstra said of Johnson. “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.”
“He hasn’t gotten as many opportunities as some of the other guys, but we are just as excited about his improvement. 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,” he ended.
