Dunking was once the most attractive part of basketball, as watching players glide through the skies to put a ball through a 10-foot hoop was mesmerizing to fans around the world.
Many NBA stars became superstars because of their dunking prowess. Julius Erving was one of the defining dunkers of his generation, and the NBA legend named three other players to name the four greatest dunkers the league has ever seen.
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“That ain’t hard. Vince Carter, Dominique [Wilkins], I’ll go with MJ [Michael Jordan]. But the list is more than four. I got a photograph in my house. That’s me, Dominique, Vince Carter, Kobe, Michael, and Clyde Drexler standing side by side in suits getting ready to judge the Slam Dunk Contest.”
Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, and Vince Carter would likely be the top three in dunking for a lot of people. Naturally, this isn’t a skill exclusive to superstars as we have seen the likes of Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon emerge as all-time dunkers out of the modern era.
Dunking legends are usually created in the All-Star Slam Dunk contest, a slowly dying event. The three-point contest generates more excitement nowadays as superstars have distanced themselves from the dunk contest. Modern dunking greats such as LeBron James never participated, setting a standard that many superstars have followed in the years since.
Julius Erving Thinks Modern NBA Stars Are Ducking The Dunk Contest
The lack of superstar participation in the dunk contest has been a long-standing complaint of the event. Even though the likes of Gordon and LaVine have created some memorable dunk contest moments in recent history, the superstars of the game have avoided the competition.
Julius Erving was extremely critical of the modern superstars for doing so.
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“The egos aren’t going to allow it, and that’s why, you know, you don’t get the greatest dunkers in the game in the dunk contest… It’s about the brand right now, they don’t want to do anything to diminish the brand.”
Shaquille O’Neal chimed in and said that the top NBA stars are afraid of competition.
“They’re afraid of competition… It’s a shame that our biggest stars are afraid of competition.”
Many have attributed the lack of stars in the dunk contest to LeBron James because he didn’t participate in the contest in his prime. Modern superstars who are also phenomenal dunkers such as Zion Williamson, Ja Morant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and more have avoided the contest as a result.
This year’s dunk contest will see the first All-Star participant in over a decade for the contest as Jaylen Brown will compete against rookies Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jacob Toppin, while 2023 champion Mac McClung returns to defend his crown. Without Brown, this would be an extremely poor field of participants that likely wouldn’t have caused any real excitement around the contest.
In comparison, the three-point contest will have four recent All-Stars such as Damian Lillard, Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Lauri Markkanen, along with Malik Beasley. The Dunk Contest is becoming a relic of the past, and the NBA needs to do something to save the historic event.
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