How Do You Solve a Problem Like the NBA Dunk Contest?
Despite being a highlight of the NBA's All-Star Weekend, the Slam Dunk Contest has been underwhelming of late. Is it time to consider scrapping the whole thing?
For years, the NBA’s Annual Slam Dunk Contest has been the star of their All-Star Weekend. Michael Jordan’s first appearance in the 1985 Dunk Contest catapulted it into stratospheric fame, and ever since, players have taken to the court to show off superhuman feats of athleticism and wow the fans. Unfortunately, as time goes on, the dunk contest has lost its shine, and players are increasingly hesitant to put themselves out there.
Most fans and analysts have their own ideas as to why players don’t want to participate anymore, each more absurd than the last. There was a brief time last year when Stephen A. Smith claimed that LeBron James’ unwillingness to participate in the competition was directly responsible for its downfall.
Just a couple days ago, Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe dismissed any rumors of his participation in the competition with a very curt, “Nah. I’m good.” For a beloved rookie to make such a bold statement brought up the entire conversation about the contest’s decline again, and people have been giving out their own opinion as to why the dunk contest just does not hold the same level of prestige anymore.
I’ve been watching the NBA for nearly 18 years, and been playing basketball for a little longer, so allow me to throw in my opinion too.
For starters, people being unable to let go of nostalgia plays a huge part in why the dunk contest isn’t as popular anymore. Anyone jumping from the free-throw line will always be compared to Michael Jordan, and the novelty of that dunk wore off a decade ago. We all remember the 2016 Dunk Contest, with Aaron Gordon and Zach Lavine going dunk for dunk in what has been dubbed the best dunk contest ever.
For those unaware as to why the Gordon-Lavine finale was the greatest ever, let me give you some background. There has been a total of 95 “perfect dunks” in the contest’s history (a “perfect dunk” is a dunk that earns a unanimous 50 score.) Lavine and Gordon, in that 2016 contest, had 8 combined (Lavine with 5 and Gordon with 3.) That’s almost a tenth of all 50s in a single contest. It’s undeniably the greatest dunk contest we probably will ever have. Why will new players want to take part in the competition if everything they do will inevitably get compared to something that happened a decade ago?
Secondly, the age of social media has made it incredibly difficult for players to escape ridicule and unwarranted criticism for any dunk that doesn’t come off the way they expected. I may have joined in on the trolling of Jaylen Brown a couple years ago when he performed an albeit creative dunk over a seated Kai Cenat (listed at 5 feet and 4 inches.)
Brown was the first “big name” to take part on the dunk for a very long time, and the reception he got, which was almost 99% mockery, made it clear that star players were not going to risk harming their egos for the possibility of losing such a prestigious contest.
That brings me to the third, and possibly the most important point. There are simply not enough ways to dunk a basketball into a hoop anymore. Yes, players work with dunk coaches and specialist trainers in the weeks leading up to the contest, but a fortnight is not nearly enough time to be able to learn and successfully pull off a dunk flashy enough to wow everyone.
Time constraints aside, players (importantly “star” players) cannot afford to set aside a few weeks exclusively to practice these dunks either, because their teams need them! Imagine Anthony Edwards just didn’t play for the Timberwolves for a couple of weeks because he was training for the dunk contest. He might win the competition and wow fans with his athleticism, but the Wolves would struggle without him for those two weeks and might be in a very tight situation in the playoff run by the time he comes back. In the current scene, with the Playoff race being as tight as it is, teams cannot afford to let big names practice for the contest that, in the grand scheme of things, means nothing to overall team success.
Then there’s the whole injury thing. The new 65 game minimum rule means players must manage their bodies very carefully, lest they avoid meeting the threshold and get disqualified from All-NBA honors. Not only do these honors mean significant contract boosts for the players, but they also solidify their personal legacy in the grand scheme of things.
With so many things stopping, or at the very least discouraging players from seriously considering taking part in the dunk contest, what can the NBA really do about it? Well, I have a few ideas about that too-
1. If it’s flashy dunks you want to see, get professional dunkers to participate. It’s not that weird an idea, given how the All-Star Weekend always kicks off with the Celebrity Game. Most of these professional dunkers would love to show off their skills to the NBA and would subsequently get a massive cash prize that has been going to the multimillionaires in the NBA so far.
2. If it’s player participation that matters, then let players participate, and don’t hold on for too much from star players who are important for team success. An All-Star hasn’t won the dunk contest for what seems like forever, and maybe that’s okay. Let role players like Obi Toppin or Derrick Jones Jr. participate, and you might get to see some pomp and show on display.
3. If it’s specifically star power that drives engagement, then let it. Just drop all expectations of seeing something new or groundbreaking. Of course, it’d be a bonus if something new did happen, but for the most part, All-Stars taking part in the dunk contest are not going to risk serious injury and time on the sidelines for a relatively meagre $100k.
4. Ultimately, if all else fails, just cancel the contest. There is precedent. The 1998 contest was cancelled after the 1997 iteration was lackluster. Bar Mac McClung’s theatrics in the last three years, the contest has been thoroughly underwhelming. Straight up deciding to not hold the contest wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for the players, giving them an extra evening’s rest.
The All-Star weekend is being steadily seen as a massive waste of everyone’s time over the past few years. Personally, I love the whole weekend long fest, mostly because it allows the players to be human, goof around with friends, and in general have a relaxing time while still playing the game that they love. But the NBA is a business at the end of the day, and if the whole weekend doesn’t bring in profits, there’s a high possibility that it will be canned. The Dunk Contest unfortunately could be the first to feel the effects of a steady phasing out of the entire weekend.