Aaron Gordon, like the Orlando Magic, disappoints in 2017 Dunk Contest

The Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon was the overwhelming favorite to win this years’ dunk contest. But he failed to put on a show like did in 2016, disappointing like his team this season.

The stage was set. Aaron Gordon’s time had come.

Just about everyone who gathered inside the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans anticipated what Gordon was going to do in this years’ dunk contest. He suddenly found himself in a position to sketch his name in as an all-time dunk contest favorite in league history.

The anticipation was real. Some of the biggest NBA names to ever play the game were sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what the forward from Orlando was going to pull out of the bag. He was the prohibitive favorite.

This night was different, it was almost as if Gordon’s first dunk should have been a dunk that he uses to close out the contest. He was trying to set the tone for the night. It was almost like he was immediately trying to outdo his performance in last years contest in his first dunk attempt.

Even TNT’s commentator Kenny Smith said all Gordon had to do was a simple windmill to get him to the next round because of how creative his drone idea was.

Gordon’s drone idea was very creative, but it was a lack of executing the dunk which left Gordon on the outside looking in. Gordon never got to go into his bag of tricks — he told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel he had another dunk he would have done using a drone and his second dunk attempt was the final dunk he planned to use.

His dunk contest performance felt all too familiar for Orlando Magic fans excited to see something positive. All the expectations and hope they had for him — just like their team — fell flat on its face.

It has not been a good year for anyone wearing an Orlando Magic uniform.

The team’s Playoff ambitions quickly faded away, leaving the franchise asking big questions about which direction it goes next. The season has been an utter disappointment as it seems, for the first time in this five-year rebuild, the Magic will not improve on their winning mark.

If last year’s Dunk Contest showed the still limitless possibility for Gordon — and, to some extent, his team — this year’s Dunk Contest was a cold dose of reality.

This year it was like night and day for Gordon compared to what he accomplished last year. This loss has to sting more than last years. And he was clearly pretty disappointed.

When Gordon lost to Zach LaVine in last year’s dunk contest, most critics thought he won in a close matchup. To say Gordon was unimpressive in 2017 would be an understatement.

Gordon left each round with the lowest score of every contestant. Something that fortune tellers could not have seen coming.

This dunk contest’s results are similar to the struggling Magic team Gordon represents. The Magic’s season full of high hopes has instead occupied the bottom end of the Eastern Conference for the majority of the year.

The Magic’s promise to deliver a Playoff berth in 2017 has fallen completely flat.

It almost seemed as if everyone picked Gordon to win this dunk contest, the expectations where at an all-time high for the competition.

Gordon just could not deliver on his dunk attempts. He did not seem to have the bounce in his step that was so evident earlier in the year. He had some really good ideas for dunks but couldn’t follow through. There could be

He had some really good ideas for dunks but couldn’t follow through. There could be a number of reasons to why he was so blatantly disappointing. Some could speculate the injury Gordon suffered before the All-Star break was significant to him not being able to complete his dunk attempts.

Gordon missed two games with a foot injury but returned to Orlando’s starting lineup shortly after. The foot injury could have had a lingering effect on his bounce in his step or cut into his practice time.

The originality and completion on the first attempt from Glen Robinson III proved to be what would separate him from the competition and lead to his victory. By then, the buzz from the contest had dimmed completely. Gordon failed to match his gargantuan efforts from last year.

Now Gordon has to put this disappointing performance behind him and attempt to help the Magic win games without Serge Ibaka helping out on the defensive end.

For Magic fans hoping for some solace from a difficult and disappointing season, the Dunk Contest was meant to bring some salvation. That may be completely unfair for what is essentially a playful exhibition.

Next: Aaron Gordon eliminated in first round of Dunk Contest

Gordon failed to deliver. Instead, his disappointment only continues to remind of the disappointment of this season. And of expectations failed.