The Los Angeles Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break was supposed to be a focused tune-up against the Dallas Mavericks. Instead, Jaxson Hayes turned a routine transition play into a viral catastrophe and given that he’s slated to participate in the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest this Saturday, the timing couldn’t have been worse.

During the opening minutes of Thursday’s matchup at Crypto.com Arena, Hayes found himself with a clear path to the rim in transition. Rather than taking the easy two points, he decided to preview his dunk contest repertoire and attempted an “East Bay” between-the-legs dunk. The result? A spectacular failure that immediately sparked jokes across social media.

The mishap came at a particularly unfortunate time for Hayes, who apparently couldn’t wait for the short commute from Downtown LA to Inglewood to showcase his aerial skills. With both teams missing key players, Luka Doncic for the Lakers and Kyrie Irving for the Mavericks, the game was already lacking star power. Hayes’ viral moment just added insult to injury.

The ball had other plans. It decided to go away from him right at the jump. In a result that was more meme-worthy than highlight reel content, Hayes lost the ball mid-air before he could make the pass under his leg.

He didn’t realise the split-second gaffe and went up to the rim empty-handed to dunk an invisible ball. Clearly, the slam dunk rehearsals haven’t kicked in yet.

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Apart from the Vince Carter antics, Hayes has played a quarter so far and scored 6 points on a 3-of-4 shooting while adding 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals to help the Lakers to a decent 10-point lead over the Mavs (64-54 in the second quarter).

Hayes should be grateful that Mac McClung has bowed out of this year’s Slam Dunk contest and that Shaquille O’Neal is not on Shaqtin a Fool duty. Because the Internet didn’t let this blooper pass.

Fans demand better decisions from Jaxson Hayes

Jaxson Hayes’ badly-timed decision to treat a regular-season game like a practice session backfired spectacularly. The digital fallout was immediate, and the failed highlight was so fast that Hayes will have to recalculate his Slam Dunk feats to wipe it out of our memory.

Many were less forgiving of the audacity, with one user noting, “lol a clown he did it once now he think he Vince Carter.” Yeah, he wasn’t possessed by ’05 Slam Dunk Contest Vince Carter, but really, there’s only one Air Canada. All dunkers need to steer away from that or get the Jaxson Hayes treatment.

Perhaps he was trying to set the bar low to really dazzle on Saturday or, “n—- thinks he’s in the dunk contest already.”

That goof-up is symbolic of the week he’s had. He had a ‘lapse in judgment’ when he shoved the Washington Wizards mascot and was suspended for one game. When he came back, he successfully pulled off the ‘East Bay’ dunk.

But that was quickly overshadowed by news that the mascot has lawyered up. So LakeShow’s opinion on his decision-making is very low.

Despite the mockery, a small contingent of the Lakers faithful tried to find the silver lining in the big man’s athleticism. “gotta respect the confidence… if he lands that the arena explodes.”

Their optimism wasn’t entirely unfounded—Hayes had executed a stunning between-the-legs dunk during a mid-game fast break against the Chicago Bulls on January 26, proving he’s capable of pulling off the spectacular when everything clicks.

However, the Lakers are in a tough position trying to keep their standings in a competitive West alive, and fans expect more from the role players till Luka Doncic recovers from a hamstring injury.

The optimism was quickly buried by those demanding more professional play from the rotation. “Get this mofo outta my lineup bro can do that in the dunk contest NOT IN THE BEGINNING OF THE GAMEEE,” shouted one frustrated viewer,

Another simply summarized the visual of the 7-footer fumbling the rock: “bro got overwhelmed 😭😭.”

With the Mavericks on an eight-game losing streak, LakeShow doesn’t want defensive lapses and blooper antics to botch it up for the Lakers.

In-game highlights were Vince Carter’s thing and best left to LeBron James. Hopefully, the early fan response sends Jaxson Hayes the message to prioritize the scoreboard.