While NBA All-Star weekend is usually one of the best times of the season, there is no denying that the slate of activities on Saturday night was highly disappointing.
The worst of it was the NBA’s dunk contest, which featured relatively low-level players performing some pretty basic dunks, some of which only landed after several failed attempts.
It was a great effort by the participants, but viewers couldn’t hide their disappointment. Even Shaquille O’Neal, who watched it live in person, slammed the event on Instagram. Here’s what he posted:
People will be talking about this for a while, and not in a good way.
As one of the league’s most highly anticipated events, the dunk contest has created some absolutely epic moments over the years… like the time Blake Griffin dunked over a car.
There’s also the 1988 dunk contest, which featured an epic duel between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins
We also can’t forget the battle in 2016 between Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon.
In the past, the dunk contest has always been loved and highly anticipated. But over the last few years, things have changed.
Whether it’s the dunks, the crowds, or the participants themselves, the contest these days fail to live up to its glory days.
Shaquille O’Neal shares the same feelings on it as many others do.
The real question now is, how will the NBA respond? No doubt, Adam Silver and the league have noticed the cold response to this year’s showing. We can probably expect some kind of reaction from them next year, in an effort to raise the excitement level.
We don’t know what to expect, but let’s hope there are better days ahead for the Slam Dunk competition.
