Rethinking the Slam Dunk Contest

For many years the slam dunk competition has been one of the most anticipated events of all star weekend. From Dr. J starting it all to Michael Jordan dunking from the free throw line to Air Canada (Vince Carter) putting on a show the dunk contest has lived up to the hype many times in years past. Now fast forward to all-star weekend 2015. For quite a few years now the superstars of the NBA have not participated. What would the ideal slam dunk lineup look like right now? It would probably be something like Lebron James, Blake Griffin, Demar Derozan, and maybe this year's winner Zach Lavine gets in. One out of four guys on that list actually competed this year. Gone are the days when the Vince Carters and Michael Jordans of the league compete. The slam dunk contest has turned into a competition for rookies and rising stars. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing- Lavine and Oladipo showed they can put on a show- it can also lead to parts of the contest being rather boring. Let's use this year as an example. Giannis Antetokounmpo showed some promise in what he was attempting, but failed in execution, so while he could have put on a show, he just didn't live up to what he might be capable of. I also found Mason Plumlee to be a complete snore fest. This is a guy who was just picked to please the hometown crowd when he isn't even ranked as a top 12 dunker this season. Plumlee wasn't a promising dunk prospect, and didn't really perform well either, he had one decent dunk, and one other dunk get the lowest possible score of 36. This year, and the last few past years beg multiple important questions. Do we want stars in the dunk contest? Can we get stars back into the dunk contest to make it more interesting?  And finally, what should the format of the slam dunk contest look like?

The first question is probably the most important one as the answer depends on the answer to the next questions and the overall format of what the contest. I think we can all agree that we want to see at least some of the stars. Who wouldn't want to see Blake vs. Lebron? Or to see what Andrew Wiggins could potentially do? Not to mention guys like Deandre Jordan or Demar Derozan as well as others. It's easy to see the attraction of having these players in the contest, however, I don't think many people see the disadvantages. Right now the dunk contest is mostly rookies and rising stars. It's a chance for these young players to show what they're capable of. If we make the contest just for the best dunkers these young players would rarely- if ever- get a chance to show why they're considered rising stars. Lebron and company are in the spot light often enough. Do they really need to be in it again for yet another event? The bigger question is could they even be convinced to re-join the slam dunk contest?

I think there are ways to get the stars back in the slam dunk contest. Maybe they need extra incentive such as an extra pay check for participating. While it could work a lot of people would have a problem with stars earning yet more money and I don't believe it's necessary. Another option would be for the NBA to start handing down fines or suspensions from skipping All-Star events. However, I'm not a huge fan of this idea either. I don't believe the league would like it either as it would make it seem that they have to force players to come to the all-star game. This would not be a good image for the league to have. I do believe that there is a way to both bring the stars back and keep the excitement of having rising stars, but doing so would mean completely revamping the slam dunk contest.

What would the slam dunk contest now look like you might ask? Well picture this. First we would need to expand the number of competitors from four to either six or eight. Right now it's just too short, would be more exciting with a few more competitors. However, the six or eight contestants wouldn't be just any players. Half of them would be ranging from rookies up to 4 years in the league. The other half would be guys who've been in the league for 5+ years. This would add a veterans vs. rising stars element to the dunk contest, as well as potentially bringing back some of the better high fliers due to the added competition. Granted there's no guarantee this brings in Blake Griffin or Lebron James, however it would have a good chance of bringing back some of the better dunkers in the league and still being more entertaining than it is now. Of course if not even decent dunkers are interested then it wouldn't work, but I don't think that would happen. As soon as some good dunkers go in, it could attract others from around the league and revive the competition. I believe there is a genuine opportunity in a format like this to see some young fresh talent against some veteran high fliers. This is what I believe could turn the dunk contest around.

The slam dunk contest definitely isn't what it once was. The lack of star high fliers is definitely noticeable and sometimes the young kids just can't live up to the hype of the slam dunk contest. However, maybe we can bring back the veterans and keep the young stars in it. This would go a long ways in restoring the Slam Dunk Contest to its former glory.


-Darren


-What do you think of redoing the Slam Dunk Contest? Let me know by either commenting below or find me on twitter @thewildman111


-photo taken from espn.go.com