My Opinion On The Slam Dunk Contest

So this weekend was the NBA All-Star weekend and just like every year I like everyone else was looking forward to the Slam Dunk Contest and once again, the contest in my eyes was lack luster.  For the past few years, the once highly anticipated Slam Dunk Contest has lost the Shine it once had those many years ago and honestly I believe that the Slam Dunk Contest needs a complete makeover.  First of all, I don't like how the contestants went from the top stars that everyone knows to players that only fans of that team know.  I remember when Slam Dunk contests had people like Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Josh Smith, Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Dr. J and Michael Jordan just to name a few.  Now the contestants are like the 9th player off the bench or guys who don't really get that much play time on the floor.  I believe they need to get back to the Stars of the NBA getting together to throw down and come up with creative dunks instead of having them on the sidelines speculating the event like Lebron James.  Lebron has been in the league for a while and has always teased that he will participate in the contest but then he always backs down and honestly I for one would like to see him actually have fun and just throw down.

The second thing that I don't like about the slam dunk contest these past few years is the unlimited attempts that each contestant gets when it comes to completely a dunk.  I remember when it was one and done where you only get one chance and if you miss it you get one replacement dunk and then that was it for you. This year, the participants had so many times to try to attempt the dunk that at one point I zoned out on the dunk contest and was laughing at the jokes that Charles Barkley and Shaq were making at the expense of everyone that came to their mind.  I believe if they went back to the One and Done rule then it would make the contestants take more time in preparing their dunks before the contest even begins.

The third thing that I don't like is the use of too many props and flare that the contestants have been using the last few years.  These last few years it seems like the contestants have been using too many props and flare that now people don't talk about the dunk but everything else around the dunk.  For example the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest when Blake Griffin won he had a car, a 20-30 piece church choir and Kenny Smith as his Hype Man.  He had all of that just so he could jump over the hood of a car in what most consider the most overrated dunk in the history of the contest because everyone was hyping up the fact that he jumped over the hood and thought that that was the most amazing thing they saw.  Where as I on the other hand, was not impressed at all at the whole thing that year because he didn't jump over the car he jumped over the hood.  If he would've jumped over the roof of the car I would've been impressed because honestly anybody that got hops can jump over the hood of a car so there's nothing special about that.  Now there are moments where props are alright like back in 2009, Dwight Howard brought out another basketball hoop and raised it to 12 feet to show that he could jump higher to get to the rim to dunk the ball and I was alright with that.

Now I understand that some people will always ask well what else is left for someone to do in a Dunk Contest that hasn't been done before and I honestly do understand that some people are skeptical when it comes to the contest and they like to see props but the over saturation of props in this contest is doing too much for me which is why I liked this year when Terrence Ross told Gerald Green no props when it came down to those two in the finals of this years Contest.  Now the dunks weren't amazingly awesome because now we are in the age where we can play NBA 2K13 and perform dunks that are more creative than what the real world players perform.  I even heard one person say that the only way the Slam Dunk Contest will be amazing again will be if someone jumps over a bus.

Well here's my opinion on the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and hopefully next years contest in New Orleans will be better than the last few years.  We are in an age where older fans grew up where they saw Vince Carter stick his elbow into the rim as he dunks the ball, Michael Jordan jumps from the foul line,  Spud Webb showed the world that you don't have to be 6 foot to dunk a ball, Dee Brown performing the Blind Dunk and Kenny Smith's under the leg off the backboard reverse two handed dunk.  We the older generation of NBA fans that believe we have seen it all, are looking for the one dunk contest that we will all enjoy. 

alright guys that's all the time I have to today... what do you guys think? do you believe that the Dunk Contest can be revived and restored?