The Upcoming NBA Dunk Contest Could Be One of the Worst Ever

The upcoming 2009 NBA dunk contest in which previous participants Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, and Nate Robinson will compete along with a 4th dunker to be voted in by fans could be the worst one we’ve seen since Kobe Bryant’s victory in the awful 1997 contest.

There are many reasons why this is a likely scenario starting with the fact that David Stern refuses to pick the best dunkers in the NBA to compete.

No I’m not talking about LeBron James or Vince Carter because most superstars won’t compete anyway, but I’m talking about those low profile bench players like the Timberwolves’ Rodney Carney, the Hawks’ Mario West, and many other great dunkers that would love to compete.

If you’ve ever seen the NCAA dunk contest, it is often better than the NBA dunk contest. One main reason for this besides the bigger pool of people to choose from is that players from schools all over the country compete in the contest no matter how small their school is.

The 2006 NCAA contest is the greatest dunk contest I’ve ever seen and you should watch it if you don’t believe me. I remember three years ago when rookie James “Flight” White was on the Spurs and I was hoping he would be picked for the 2007 NBA dunk contest.

He is probably the best contest dunker ever, but he was a bench player for the Spurs, and David Stern didn’t pick him. It’s obvious to me that Stern uses the contest as a way to promote his rising stars and make them even more popular.

If you look at the three players that have been chosen this year, they are all young players who have averaged at least 30 minutes a game this year. If James White had been able to compete three years ago, then I would have no doubt that his performance would have been legendary.

The man can do a between the legs and windmill dunk from behind the free throw line as well as many others incredible dunks (James White now plays in Europe).

David Stern just doesn’t understand that the NBA dunk contest should not be a popularity contest, but rather be a contest between the best dunkers in the NBA.

In fact, this year David Stern has allowed the fans to vote for the 4th dunker, literally making it a popularity contest. Fans can vote for either the Bucks’ Joe Alexander, the Thunders’ Russell Westbrook, or the Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez.

David Stern thinks that more people will watch the contest if star players are competing in it, when in reality most people just want to see some incredible dunks.

My other problem this year is that all three of the guys chosen have already competed in the dunk contest before. If you can even remember Rudy Gay's performance last year, you would recall how unexciting he was.

Nate Robinson and Dwight Howard have competed twice already and we have pretty much seen all of their tricks. Nate Robinson’s second appearance in the 2007 dunk contest was awful as he clearly had no new tricks to use.

Dwight Howard on the other hand did have some new tricks in his second appearance, but of course he had an early exit in his first contest so that wasn’t really surprising.

This year fans should be ready to expect a lot of props. When dunkers get desperate for dunks, the props start coming out. This year’s dunk contest is going to be more of a prop contest than an actual dunk contest.

I would rather see a contest between the three dunkers we have to vote for then see the same dunkers trying to use their “imagination” even more than they already have if that’s possible.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you, but when the Dunk Contest comes around this February, be prepared to see Nate Robinson attempting to make the same unusual dunk he just missed over and over again, Howard pulling out his Aqua Man outfit, and Rudy Gay doing dunks that were considered original in the '80s.