By GEORGE HUNKELE
NBA Superstars have continually declined to take part in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest since Vince Carter participated in 2000.
Since then, only five NBA All Star players have even chosen to compete in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. This has caused an uproar among fans who are used to seeing participants such as Spud Webb, Kobe Bryant, and even the great Michael Jordan participate in the contest.
“It’s tough to want to sit there and watch these players who i haven’t heard of compete in the dunk contest, not that they aren’t good dunkers. It would just be much more interesting if I knew the players and their personalities,” said Ryan Armstrong, 24, avid NBA fan.
Last year’s Dunk Contest featured four players who combined only scored a total of 23 points per game. Just to put that into perspective, 20 different players scored more points per game last year individually then those four did combined.
[AUDIO: Listen to one fan’s comments]
“Just imagine if there was LeBron James versus Russell Westbrook in the finals, I mean the dunks they could come up with would be amazing.
Why Risk It?
The main reason that many superstars have avoided the dunk contest in recent years is because of injury risks. Top players make around 40 million dollars a year and a participant in the Dunk Contest makes just 50 thousand dollars. To NBA players, the potential risk of getting hurt and losing their 200 million dollars contract for 50 thousand dollars just doesn’t make sense.
Another reason that many players don’t want to compete in the Dunk Contest has to do with physical limitations on human abilities. The Dunk Contest has now taken place for 34 straight years and almost every dunk physically possible has been done.
“Every year the Dunk Contest gets more and more boring because it is the same dunks over and over every year,” said Mike D’Otavio, 22, Monmouth University student, and avid NBA fan.
Superstars participating in the Dunk Contest really ended when NBA great, LeBron James, continually refused to participate in the dunk contest.
From 2003 until 2010, James was asked to participate in the contest and never accepted an invitation. “Other NBA players see LeBron as an example of how they should act, so when a player of LeBron’s caliber refuses to participate in the Dunk Contest, other guys won’t either,” said Brandon Kurtzman, 22, Ramapo College student, and avid NBA fan.
The 2018 Dunk Contest will take place in the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday. The participants will feature Victor Oladipo, Dennis Smith, Larry Nance, and favorite Donovan Mitchell.
More: Past Dunk Contest History
More: Top 10 Dunk Contest Dunks Video
Very good story. I completely agree with Ryan. I personally do not want to sit on a saturday night infront of the screen to watch players i have never heard off do dunks that have been done for years. Your inlike links were very good, especially the ‘refused to participate’ one because of the story behind it. It gave us a more insight look how one particular player changed the dunk contest. I also liked the video clip you added, very enganging.