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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

The Step Back: The Dunk Contest blues

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By Michael Wu

Last weekend saw the 71st annual NBA All-Star Weekend come and go. A new and improved team-skills challenge, a 3-point contest that crowned the first center winner since 2012 and an electrifying All-Star Game made for a great overall weekend. However, one contest stood out clearly from the rest as particularly unexciting, boring and flat-out embarrassing.

In recent years, the Slam Dunk Contest has not been its usual self. Participants look uninspired, are too cautious or are just unable to complete any dunks period. Even NBA legend Dwyane Wade called this year's iteration “a solid 6” immediately following the contest. The lackluster performance that wrapped up All-Star Saturday Night was a true eyesore, and signals to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and future All-Star Weekends that it’s time for a change.

Stepping into the Commissioner’s shoes, the first step toward fixing the Slam Dunk Contest is to increase the incentive for players. Other major sports leagues, like the MLB with its Home Run Derby, already have a massive cash prize for the winner. This switch could automatically draw more high-flying star players like Ja Morant and Zion Williamson into the fold, making for a more watchable event overall.

I love a change proposed by none other than Stephen A. Smith of ESPN. Smith proposes that instead of NBA players’ participation in the contest, the NBA should conduct a national tournament that recruits the best streetball dunkers to play in the contest with NBA players acting as sponsors for each dunker.

An article by Ben Felderstein at Complex Sports suggests truly, and I mean truly, limiting dunk attempts. Last weekend saw Jalen Green attempt what felt like 500 dunks before finally making one. Green used a loophole in the rules by not actually “hitting the rim” to count some of his ‘attempts’ as true dunk attempts. By making the rules more strict, there’s an added sense of suspense, more pressure on the player to get it right and an all-around more exciting pace.

My own personal proposal would be to allow for an “in-game” style of choreography for each dunk. Utilizing the full court, getting multiple people involved and simulating an “in-game” pace leading up to the dunk could lead to the best outcomes. The number one thing I notice is that although players get running starts in these contests, their explosiveness is not as natural and fluid as it is off the dribble in an actual NBA game. By allowing for more liberal use of the entire court, and bringing in new elements such as trampolines into the contest, it could lead to a revived, Harlem Globetrotters-esque style of contest.

I wasn’t even alive then, but I miss the days of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins. I miss Dwight Howard taking flight as Superman, Nate Robinson jumping over Spud Webb and Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine battling it out to the bitter end. We all miss the true spirit of the Dunk Contest, and it’s up to Adam Silver and the NBA to bring it back.