With NBA All-Star weekend right around the corner, fans all across the association are looking ahead to the exciting few days of events.
In particular, Saturday’s slam dunk contest is going to be interesting to watch, if not for the high-flying dunks than simply to judge whether or not it was a success.
For some reason, the slam dunk contest hasn’t been quite as good in recent years, and fans have noticed a dip in quality and overall excitement level for what used to be one of the league’s most anticipated moments.
The problem, according to Nets superstar Kevin Durant, is the lack of star participants. Speaking on ‘the ETCs,’ the NBA star revealed his thoughts on the Slam Dunk contest and what the NBA should do to revive the struggling tradition.
“I think the stars need to come back,” he said on the ETCs podcast (11:20 mark) “… It felt like it was stars every year when I was a kid.”
The Brooklyn Nets star listed Ja Morant and Zion Williamson as players he would love to see participate this year.
Naturally, there are always risks associated with participating in the slam dunk contest, and a lot of players hesitate before risking an injury for an activity that has no impact on the standings.
Still, the dunk contest is a fan service that is very important to the NBA, and they should do whatever they can to ensure it stays as exciting as possible.
NBA Players Should Take The Dunk Contest More Seriously
NBA All-Star weekend is more than just a weekend of fan service. It’s a chance for star players to showcase their skills and generate excitement for the league as a whole.
For the dunk contest, it means adding more well-known players who can pull off more impressive dunks.
“Do you know why I’m mad? I’m gonna tell you why I’m mad,” said Shaquille O’Neal after last year’s dunk contest. “Dr. J started. He passed to Magic. Then Magic and Bird. Then Mike took it, then Shaq took it. Shaq and Kobe took it. Kobe took it by himself. Shaq and D Wade took it. You guys, gonna miss the money if you don’t perform. You see how good the money is? People pay a lot of money to the All-Star game. If you gonna enter the contest, bring it. You have to make the first dunk. You have to.”
The past few years, fans have been greatly disappointed with NBA ALl-Styar Saturday. The NBA needs to respond by mixing things up and making sure the players bring maximum effort to the events.
Next season, it won’t hurt to recruit some bigger names to the fold as well.
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