That’s right folks. We’re mere hours away from crowning jewel of NBA All-Star Weekend — the Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Shootout, better known today as the Yawn Bore Snooze and the Change The Channel.
This year, it’s Dwight Howard, Gerald Green, Moon and Gay. Who were 1988’s dunkers? MJ, Wilkins, Webb and Clyde Drexler. The NBA should’ve just discontinued the event after that year.
When you get down to it, the Slam Dunk Contest is silly. If the NHL were to have a similar event in their skills competition, it’d be four guys skating up to an empty net and putting on crazy shake-and-bake moves to fake out no one before scoring. Dunking is super-easy if you’re in the NBA. And the 3-Point Shootout is just a glorified shootaround.
The NBA needs to spice these events up. My suggestion? Don’t let anyone above 6-feet into the dunk contest, and instead of a long-distance shootout, how about a four-man HORSE contest between the four-biggest vote getters that All-Star weekend? Now that I’m watching.
6:31 pm on February 16th, 2008
The D-League has a HORSE contest for its all star festivities, such as they are.
Be careful what you wish for about the “no one over six feet rule.” Nate Robinson subjected us to that mess two years ago.
1:14 am on February 17th, 2008
The contests of my youth may be more memorable but truth be told, I can’t imagine an NBA dunk contest from now until the end of time that matches the dunk contests from the two Slamball postseasons. There’s something about being able to do a somersault and drop a ball in the bucket as your feet descent past the plane of the hoop.