This is far from breaking news, but LeBron James' name was not included in the list of participants in this year's NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. In the video above, LeBron said he was "preliminary putting [his] name in the 2010 Dunk Contest." He also thought Dwight and Nate had "great charismatic" in last year's contest. That's some sound English, LeBron.
So why won't LeBron enter the Dunk Contest? Is he afraid losing would hurt his image/brand? Has last year's loss to the Magic in the Eastern Conference Championship made him so focused on winning a championship that he can't concern himself with fluff like the Slam Dunk Contest? Has Cavaliers brass talked him out of entering the contest to avoid injury? Is this all just a big hoax to make the crowd lose their collective minds when 'Bron steps from the sidelines and rips off his yellow cardigan to reveal a Cavs jersey, ready to compete? Probably not the latter, but here's to hoping. It would certainly breathe life into a contest that was once star-studded with names like Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, and Dominique Wilkins. To Dwight Howard's credit, he has done his part in reviving the contest the past two years.
The NBA needs to bring back big name superstars to the Slam Dunk Contest. They seem to forget that the lack of superstars is what killed the contest in the late 90s. Sure, it's good to get some up-and-comers in there, but bringing in superstars is what makes the contest appealing to those who aren't die-hard fans. During the 2000 All-Star Break, the Slam Dunk Contest returned after a two year hiatus, and it seemed the NBA was finally bringing it back the right way. The contest included stars like Vince Carter and his cousin Tracy McGrady (who were Raptors teammates at the time) and Vince Carter turned in what might be the contest's greatest performance of all time. Unfortunately, the contest quickly lost steam in the early 2000s, despite great performances by Jason Richardson and other non-household names. How can the NBA make this contest something NBA fans and non-NBA fans alike look forward to year after year?
Enter Shaquille O'Neal. According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Shaq has promised to talk LeBron into entering the contest but, as his manager (?), he will only allow him to enter if Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, and another big name comes back out. So how will Shaq convince LeBron and three other stars to come back to the contest? Shaq hopes he can get a big cash money prize (that shouldn't be a problem with his bloated contract), with half of the money going to relief efforts in Haiti and the other half going to the winner. Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. Let's hope Shaq can pull it off, for the good of the Dunk Contest and as another way to help ease the devastation in Haiti.
Those slated to actually participate in the Dunk Contest (unless Shaq gets his way) include Shannon Brown (it's official!), Gerald Wallace, and much to NBA fans' dismay, returning champion Nate Robinson. The fourth contestant will be the winner of the Slam Dunk-In between the Clippers' Eric Gordon and Raptors rookie DeMar Derozan. I've been hoping all season long to see Shannon Brown in the contest and Gerald Wallace was another player I had hoped to see, even though he was already in it back in 2003.
As for Nate, he's already won the Dunk Contest twice, and at 5'9", is there really anything else he can do that he hasn't already done? I hope he proves me wrong, but I just can't imagine a player under 6 feet ever topping 5'7" Spud Webb's legendary performance in 1986.
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