LeBron James revealed why he never wanted to participate in the NBA’s Slam Dunk contest despite his remarkable athleticism.
Per Bally Sports’ Brandon Robinson. “I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine, and it never was coming into the NBA to be a part of the Dunk Contest, you know? Making the NBA All-Star Team was, being the league MVP, winning Defensive Player of the Year, and winning NBA Championships…? Those were some goals of mine. The NBA Dunk Contest was never a goal of mine so, it wasn’t something that I had too much passion for,” James said.
LeBron James told @BallySports why he never wanted to participate in the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest:
FULL QUOTE:
"I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine and it never was coming into the NBA to be a part of the Dunk Contest, you… pic.twitter.com/dFJDKoPEsh
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) June 12, 2023
James has had a stellar 20-season run in the league. The 38-year-old was still at the top of his game with 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 6.8 assists in 55 regular season games this time and while at it, he made history by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record for most points scored in NBA history.
Just to lend more perspective, James has pretty much ticked off most of the objectives he outlined in the interview. He is a four-time NBA champion and four-time Finals, made the All-NBA team, All-Defensive team, and league MVP. Now, he has one more goal to check and that is to win another couple of championships, assuming his body holds up for the grueling schedule.
LeBron James Had Announced He Would Be Taking Part In The 2010 Slam Dunk Contest
James made a lot of fans happy when he announced that he would be taking part in the 2010 Slam Dunk contest. “LeBron James is in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest”, he announced boldly.
But in the end, it became a statement that the now-Lakers star made when he was pretty much under the hype of the whole competition. Later, in an interview with Fox Sports Florida in 2012 (via Cleveland.com), James, who was still with the Miami Heat, explained why he never made the Slam Dunk contest a goal.
“It’s over with. I’m getting too old for that,” James said. “There were times when I wanted to do it. But I came into All-Star Weekend a few times banged up and I didn’t want to risk further injury.”
He further added: “When I first came into the league, I expected that I would do it,” he told reporters. “I did. I did for sure. But it just never happened. I don’t know why. There were times when I wanted to do it and didn’t do it and there were times when I just didn’t really care about it too much. But it definitely would have been pretty cool to do.”
At 38, there is practically zero chance of seeing James dunk in the competition. Not because he can’t, but he would rather conserve his energy, and minimize an injury risk to give himself a better shot at winning another title.
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