Anthony Edwards spoke ahead of the 2025 NBA All-Star game about the NBA Dunk Contest. He noted that Giannis Antetokounmpo might not be a good fit for the dunk contest as he is more of an in-game dunker than a player who can show off their skills with a series of flashy and over-the-top dunks.
“Giannis is an in-game dunker. I don’t feel like he’s a dunk contest type of guy.”
This comes off the back of Mac McClung’s third consecutive NBA Dunk Contest win last night. McClung became the first player to ever three-peat as dunk champion. His win prompted Ja Morant and Giannis Antetokounmpo to hint at their future participation in the dunk contest.
However, Antetokounmpo later walked back his comments about participating, claiming that his children hacked his phone and made those comments using his social media.
“I got hacked. My kids tweeted that… They came next to my nightstand, took my phone out of my charger, went to their room, tweeted, and I found out this morning.”
So it appears that fans were unreasonably optimistic about seeing Giannis Antetokounmpo take part in the NBA Dunk Contest, as the former NBA champion doesn’t want to participate in the event anytime soon. Of course, Antetokounmpo could change his mind between now and the 2026 NBA All-Star weekend, but fans shouldn’t hold out hope for that happening.
However, Antetokounmpo is open to seeing the NBA incorporate another event in the All-Star schedule: a 1-on-1 contest. He noted that the NBA All-Star Game having a 1-on-1 tournament would be a great addition to what is already one of the most anticipated events of the NBA calendar. Giannis added that he would love to take part in any such future tournament.
“If I had a chance to play 1-on-1 with anybody, I would love to do it. And then anything that could make the weekend more exciting, more fun for the viewers, for the fans, and for the players, I would love to participate.”
“If there’s a 1-on-1 competition, I would love to participate I think sometimes you forget [that] to be a good 1-on-1 player, you do need to play both ways. You’ve got to get a stop to get the ball.”
“If you’re not getting a stop, you’re not getting the ball. So it’s kind of hard, like if Kyrie Irving is going against Wemby. You got to get a stop. But it would be fun. I would love to participate if next year has a 1-on-1 tournament.”
Draymond Green was the first to hint at a 1-on-1 tournament during All-Star weekend, even boldly claiming that LeBron James would be the winner should any such tournament take place in the years to come. Given James’ age, that is a little difficult to believe, but LeBron is one of the greatest players of all time, and even at his age, he cannot be ruled out.
We broke down what a possible 1-on-1 NBA All-Star weekend tournament could look like and gave our predictions for who would win among the current batch of NBA All-Stars. Hopefully, this idea can become a reality this time next year.
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