The NBA dunk contest has been in decline for years now, but former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin may have a solution. In an appearance on Club Shay Shay, the Hall of Famer explained how moving away from NBA athletes could bring life back to the event.
“Boy, that was great. I don’t know why they stopped doing that,” Irvin said regarding the 1992 dunk contest with Deion Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr., and Barry Bonds. “The way you can bring back the NBA Dunk Contest is, making it NFL players. I guarantee you, you let NFL players, you let a Myles Garrett get in that thing.”
The competition Irvin refers to wasn’t run by the NBA; it was organized and hosted by Foot Locker. It was a legendary moment that was so fun because it involved NFL and MLB stars breaking tradition to put on an event unrelated to their sports. We had never seen something like it, and the athletes got to show off their pure athleticism in ways they normally couldn’t.
In 1992 when there was a dunk contest for pro athletes not in the NBA. Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr., Barry Bonds, and Tim Brown⭐️ pic.twitter.com/J8R6F7ABRi
— Fastbreak Hoops (@FastbreakHoops5) September 4, 2025
It was a one-time thing that was never repeated on that scale, but Irvin says the NBA should bring it back as the new format for their dunk contest. They could even have an NBA player participate to have all of the major sports represented in one high-flying showdown.
On the surface, it’s a great idea by Irvin to revive a dying tradition, but it’s unlikely that NFL teams would let their players risk injury for an event that’s not even involved with their sport. Of course, that’s not to mention the fact that the NBA can’t even get its own stars to commit.
While legends like Michael Jordan and Vince Carter once headlined the NBA dunk contest, interest among the players has dwindled to an extent that some fans don’t even recognize the participants. Over the past three years, Mac McClung has been the star of the show, who is a G-League player for the Osceola Magic.
In fact, the All-Star weekend as a whole has been in decline, with waning interest in the three-point contest and even Sunday’s star-studded All-Star game. With overall effort and performance being a major issue, fans are turning away from the All-Star festivities at an alarming rate.
Ultimately, the NBA will have to take drastic measures to revive the dunk contest, and Irvin’s idea is certainly original. While NFL and MLB players may not have the same skills, they are certainly athletic enough to pull off some crazy dunks, and the novelty of having players from different sports might be enough to get them to take it seriously.
For the fans, all that matters is that the dunk contest includes high-quality slams from big-name players, and Irving’s suggestion certainly fits the bill. While it’s extremely unlikely to happen, the NBA could do something similar by having non-professional dunkers in the event. Or, they could have celebrities perform as a way to spice up the show.
Whatever they decide, something will have to change to save All-Star weekend, and the fact that adding NFL players to the mix has been suggested proves how far it has fallen.
