A look back at the 2018 Powerade Jam Fest headlined by players like Zion Williamson and Darius Garland

The Powerade Jam Fest featured future NBA stars back in 2018 like Zion Williamson and Darius Garland

Mar 28, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; McDonalds All-American East forward Zion Williamson (12) dunks against the West in the second half of the McDonalds High School All American Game at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The McDonalds All American events are just underway featuring some of the best players in all of high school basketball. With a chance to showcase their skills against the top players in the world the candidates do not take it lightly.

The event brings fans together nationally to watch the best of the best put on a show in some of the best high school events of the year. Since 1985 the slam dunk contest has been apart of the games and will be again this year.

It just so happened in 2018 we saw a stacked roster turnout for the Powerade Jam Fest dunk contest, with players that would go on to thrive at the next level.

Some of the top people participating in the dunk contest as freak athlete Zion Williamson and star point guard for the Cavaliers Darius Garland.

Zion was one of the top recruits in the world at Spartanburg High School in South Carolina. He took the world by storm with his freak athleticism and crazy in-game dunks. Garland attended Brentwood Academy in Nashville, Tennessee and was highly recruited for his flashy handle. In the 2019 NBA draft the two ended up being taken first and fifth.

Also participating in the even was WNBA star Olivia Nelson-Ododa. The Winder-Barrow graduate had the whole gym shaking when she convincingly threw down a dunk in the contest, holding her own against some of the top boys in the country.

Former NBA players that also participated in the contest was Nassir Little, Quentin Grimes, and Keldon Johnson. Little who played at Orlando Christian Prep, Grimes attended Woodlands College Park, and Johnson went to the legendary Oak Hill Academy.

Little was drafted 25th and Johnson 29th, while Grimes went on to be drafted 25th in the 2021 NBA draft.

In the final round of the contest, it was Williamson, Nelson-Ododa, and Grimes going dunk for dunk with each other. In the end Zion pulled it out finishing with 198/200 points in the final round and 394/300 points in total.

In 2018 it seemed like a normal contest filled with some of the best high school basketball players in the world having fun. Now in 2025 we can look back and realize what a stacked roster this was.