In a recent episode of the “BIG Podcast,” NBA legend Julius Erving gave his take on why today’s top players are so reluctant to participate in the dunk contest, and why even replacing the event with a 1-on-1 tournament would pose a serious problem in today’s NBA.
“You won’t get all the top players to be involved in it,” said Erving. “There’s a whole bunch who won’t do it, their egos are not going to allow it. And that’s why you don’t always get the greatest dunkers in the dunk contest, cause it’s about the brand right now. They don’t want to do anything to diminish the brand.”
It’s an interesting take by Erving, but Shaquille O’Neal was inclined to agree and went on to say that it’s a “shame” the game’s biggest stars are afraid of competition.
“They’re afraid of competition,” said O’Neal on modern players. “It’s a shame that our biggest stars are afraid of competition. I started watching the dunk contest because of this man (points to Erving). After he left, Dominique and Mike took over. My thing with that is, they don’t pay homage and show respect. I wouldn’t be able to make $40 million without him.”
Through the first 60+ years of the NBA, many of the NBA’s top superstars took turns putting on a show in the event. From Michael Jordan (a two-time slam dunk champion) to legends like Dr. J and Vince Carter, there was a long tradition of top stars participating at least once or twice in their careers. Somewhere around the early 2010s, however, that tradition ended and we saw a sharp decline in star participation. Perhaps the biggest example of this trend is LeBron James, who has yet to participate in the event after 20 years.
The LeBron James Dunk Contest Conspiracy
LeBron James is widely recognized as one of the greatest dunkers in modern NBA history. During his athletic peak, James was like a freight train coming to the rim and his signature tomahawk slam has become the stuff of legends. During his last year in High School, James participated in the McDonald’s All-American dunk contest, and he won relatively easily being in his home state of Ohio. He nearly agreed to sign up for the NBA’s contest during his rookie season but allegedly tapped out at the last minute after not making the All-Star team. Aside from then, and a brief moment in 2009, James has shown no interest in the contest and it’s looking like he’ll retire without having ever given it a try.
Over the years, fans and critics have used this fact against James as proof that he’s scared of losing or hurting his ego. According to James, however, the reason is much simpler than that. In a previous conversation on the topic, LeBron once admitted that winning the slam dunk contest has never been something he’s wanted to do during his illustrious career.
Sadly, the state of the dink contest itself has seen a sharp decline and it’s obvious to every fan that the show is a shell of what it used to be. Often serving as the judges for these contests, both Julius Erving and Shaquille O’Neal have been paying attention to who is showing up, and the results haven’t been pretty so far. If some more starts don’t breathe some life into this competition, it could seriously impede the success of All-Star weekend.
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