Matas Buzelis: Sponsor's Ball Cost Me the Dunk Contest
Bulls forward Buzelis says an AT&T $10,000-per-dunk offer led him to use their ball, which he blames for missing his first Slam Dunk Contest attempt.
Matas Buzelis has revealed that a sponsor's ball cost him his first attempt at the 2025 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend.
The Chicago forward said AT&T representatives approached him the night before the contest with an offer: 10,000 dollars for every dunk completed with their blue ball. Buzelis decided to use it at every opportunity.
"Bro, the night before the day of the contest was a dinner with representatives from agencies, everybody. The AT&T guys came up to me and said, 'Listen, if you take our blue ball and dunk it, you get 10,000 dollars for every dunk.' So I thought, 'To hell with it, I'll take this ball every chance I get, I don't care.' But it didn't go to plan, bro. I go out there and do something terrible, even though I usually always land that dunk. And I'm like, 'No, I need to switch balls, forget this one. It doesn't even bounce right, it flies differently...' I walk off, and Mac McClung goes next. And he rolls out a car and jumps over it. And I'm thinking, 'Where's that blue ball? I'm taking it, this is it,'" the forward said.
Buzelis failed to complete his first attempt within the allotted time using the sponsor's ball and scored just 40 points. The Bulls forward did not advance, and Mac McClung went on to win the contest.
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