Why the NBA Dunk Contest Will Return to Awesomeness in 2015
The best part about NBA All-Star weekend used to be the Slam Dunk Contest. Remember those days?
In recent years, an event that once exhilarated fans around the world has for the most part been a painfully flat afterthought. Last season, the contest dipped about as low as it could.
Under a weird, unclear set of new team-based rules, John Wall somehow emerged as the fan-selected champion despite not competing in any sort of final round.
Credit the league for its creativity, but that idea needed to be scrapped. In order to reclaim its former position as one of the wildest events in sports, the Dunk Contest had to get back to its roots and focus on what matters most: the dunks.
This year, it will.
Throw all that team stuff out the window. In 2015, it’s every man for himself.
Four young, recognizable dunkers—Victor Oladipo, Mason Plumlee, Zach LaVine and Giannis Antetokounmpo—will take center stage at Barclays Center on Feb. 14.
And the show they put on should be the best fans have seen in a long time.
Old School Setup
The best dunker wins—it should be as simple as that, right? Now, it is.
Here’s the official word from the NBA on the decision to revert back to a simpler system:
"Returning to a classic format, the Sprite Slam Dunk will be a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players will have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges will score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be the champion.
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The absence of a time limit opens the door to all kinds of props and guest appearances. Each contestant will get four slams apiece, so creativity will be crucial. Getting that gasp factor is about doing something that fans have never seen before.
In reality, the actual dunks were superb last year. But the freestyle round, which was a glorified pregame layup line, took the life out of any and all slams that otherwise would’ve brought fans to their feet.
Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver delivered the cold truth about the event:
"How is it possible that a Dunk Contest’s format could leave fans feeling like they didn’t get to see enough from Wall, and [Paul] George and [Terrence] Ross and [Damian] Lillard and [Ben] McLemore? This wasn’t trimming the fat so much as throwing the entire piece of meat into the garbage can halfway through the appetizers course.
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The return of a final round is huge.
There was no closure last year, which left the basketball world thinking, "Wait. That’s it?"
This season, the two top performers will go head-to-head in a showdown to determine who gets the crown. The title will be earned.
Strong Cast
Oladipo, Plumlee, Antetokounmpo and LaVine are years away from stardom. While all four will compete in the revamped Rising Stars Challenge, this still isn’t what you’d call an A-List group of participants.
But guess what. The days of superstars entering the fray are over.
LeBron James, one of the most electrifying dunkers in recent history, has never entered. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and other elite players have never really shown much interest, either.
"It's been a challenge, a really big challenge, to get the audience involved, to get quality judges, to get the TV audience continuously interested," legendary dunker Julius Erving told Michael Wallace of ESPN.com after judging last year’s event. “You might never get back to the day when you've got the two best players in the league or the two best dunkers in the league facing off, like in the heyday.”
Forget about LeBron and Westbrook. We can wish they’d participate like Michael Jordan and Dr. J did, but it’s just not going to happen.
With that in mind, this class is actually pretty respectable. There’s not a ton of buzz surrounding them as Feb. 14 inches closer, but these young guys will not disappoint.
The best thing about this group is the diversity. Each dunker is totally different.
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 6'11" | 7'3" | N/A |
| Zach LaVine | 6'6" | 6'8" | 41.5 |
| Victor Oladipo | 6'4" | 6'9" | 42.0 |
| Mason Plumlee | 6'11" | 6'11" | 36.0 |
Oladipo is a little guy with big hops. The 6’4” Orlando Magic guard will have that Nate Robinson type of underdog advantage, though the former is six-to-eight inches taller than the latter. Still, fans have always held the shortest of the bunch in high esteem.
Would Plumlee have been selected if the contest weren’t in Brooklyn? Maybe not. But he’s going to hold his own. The second-year forward ranks sixth in the league with 82 dunks, per CBS Sports, and will impress fans with his tear-the-rim-off-the-glass power.
Plus, he's no stranger to dunk competitions:
Antetokounmpo has become a fixture on highlight reels all year. One of the league’s most impressive specimens, the Greek Freak has the advantage of length, power and scary athleticism.
It only takes him one bounce to get from the three-point line to the basket. He travels the length of the court in just three dribbles. Antetokounmpo runs the floor like a deer among kittens.
The second-year swingman also reportedly plans to involve his brother and Knicks D-League assignee, Thanasis.
"I am excited. I'm going to go have fun there," Antetokounmpo said, per Charles Gardner of the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. "We're going to see what we're going to do. I'm going to try to do something crazy, something fancy.”
What they lack in true star power, these three make up for in raw potential, youthful energy and through-the-roof athletic ability.
But LaVine, the headliner, has the power to do more than just take home the trophy. The 19-year-old rookie from UCLA might just bring the Dunk Contest back…for good.
LaVine’s Time to Shine
If you know who Zach LaVine is, it’s not because of his respectable—if quiet—rookie year for the Minnesota Timberwolves (8.2 points and 3.4 assists per game).
He’s far from reaching his ceiling as a player. But as a dunker? Let’s call a spade a spade: LaVine is the best this contest has seen since…Vince Carter, maybe?
His jaw-dropping jams have become viral sensations since the summer. He flushes from the free-throw line with ease, makes behind-the-back dunks look simple and can jump out of the gym.
"I have a couple dunks that are known ones that I do and just try to pull out a couple of other ones," LaVine said of his plan for Valentine’s Day, per Andy Greder of TwinCities.com.
LaVine is literally famous for his dunks. During his pre-draft workout with the Los Angeles Lakers, the rookie flexed an unreal 46-inch vertical.
With that combination of length and bounce, this kid has the potential to revolutionize the art of throwing down.
"He's going to try to bring back the old-school Dunk Contest," LaVine’s coach, Flip Saunders, told Greder. "You aren't going to see props. You are going to see what you saw in the old days as the dunkers came and showed off what they could do without props. That will probably be as exciting for me to watch as anything."
This contest is his to lose. If he comes out on top, the 19-year-old would be the second-youngest winner ever. Kobe Bryant was 18 when he won in 1997.
"I'm a cocky dude," LaVine told Complex Sports over the summer. "I think I can out-dunk anyone…When I get out there, I got some special stuff."
Antetokounmpo, Oladipo and Plumlee are good bets to put on a show.
But LaVine is the showstopper.
There have been some really entertaining dunkers in recent years, but none who were iconic.
LaVine is the first candidate in a long while who has the potential to permanently add to the lore of the storied event.
Think of the all-time great performers: Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Dr. J, VC, Nate-Rob and so on. The commonality was that they redefined what it meant to throw down a dunk, whether that meant jamming from the foul line or turning gravity on its head.
They did what's never been done before. And LaVine could do that, too. He's the kind of dunker we might be talking about 20 years from now, right along with the legends.
If the Dunk Contest is to reclaim its once-great status, the lanky teenager will be the one to make it happen.
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