NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest: Why Jeremy Evans Won't Be Given a Fair Shot

When the original list of competitors was released for the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest, fans seemed confused. 

There was no Blake Griffin, no Dwight Howard, not even Nate Robinson. Instead, the fans found out that the most exciting player to take the court would be Jeremy Lin, who would be throwing a pass to Iman Shumpert.

Then, they were robbed of Shumpert (and Lin) too. Due to a knee injury, Shumpert will not compete in the contest. His spot will be filled by Utah's Jeremy Evans.

This sparked rage among the fans, as the contest favorite is now being replaced by a player whose name is being mentioned for the first time.

While the other competitors are playing for just a trophy, Evans is competing for something more. He will be using the contest to make a name for himself.

Unfortunately, the Utah role-player won't even be given a fair shot to make his name known.

Why? Because of fan voting.

This new feature, introduced in 2008, has ruined any chance of a competitive contest. The obvious winner will always be the player with the bigger name.

Last year, JaVale McGee was robbed of a title after displaying some of the greatest dunks the contest has ever seen.

Instead, the title went to Blake Griffin, who was the favorite from the start. Since fan voting was introduced, the winners have been: Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson (x2) and Blake Griffin.

All three were players whose names had appeared in various other events as well.

The year before, a lesser known player was crowned king. Gerald Green, who now is known by fans for his famous "cupcake" dunk, was in a similar situation as Jeremy Evans. Green was the player who used the contest to make a name for himself.

His first year in it, fan voting was not yet instated and Green took home the trophy after the judges decided he was the winner.

The next year, as the defending champion, Green lost to a much more famous opponent, Dwight Howard. The year fan voting decided the winner, Green walked away with just 22 percent of the votes.

This contest means more for Evans than anyone else, but no matter how creative, impressive and magnificent his dunks are, in the end, he will be forced to walk away empty-handed and watch the more famous player be crowned champion.