NBA All Star Weekend: Time to End the Slam Dunk Contest

This is probably not something that some NBA Fans want to hear. It's definitely something that David Stern wouldn't want to hear either.

Can we just end this dunk contest please? 

The slam dunk contest is about as dated and antiquated as any exhibition in professional sports. Last night Utah's Jeremy Evans won the contest. Who cares? It's not that Evans didn't have some nice dunks but how exactly can we get too excited for a player who completed three uncontested dunks that would have been worth six points in a game? Especially when Evans averages only 1.7 points per game.  

The problems for the dunk contest are two fold. 

One is that the best players, actually forget the "best." Good players rarely even participate in the dunk contest. Why would they? The best players are on the 24-hour highlight showing networks for you to watch making a live in-game dunk any time you'd like. Why would they risk physical injury or even injury to their reputation by performing dunks that are in essence meaningless?  

In addition one can always head over to video sharing sights such as youtube and view any number of jaw-dropping slam dunks from both live NBA action and dunk contests past whenever you'd like. The vast majority of NBA fans have seen plenty of dunks. 

A dunk in and of itself is not that important a play. Other sports have somewhat comparable singular plays that showcase spectacular individual player attributes but those expressions also carry more literal importance. For instance in baseball a home run clears the bases. No one can be tagged out on a home run ( under all but the most unusual circumstances). A home run is also the only way for team to score four runs with one swing of the bat.  

Even within the NBA the three point shootout and the three point shot are more important and more of a compelling contest. First of all the three point shot is as noted by it's name worth "three points" that's fairly important in a sport in which the most points wins and in which every other scoring method available can net a player or team a maximum of only two points. The exception of course is the "and-one" circumstance when a player converts a two point basket and draws a foul that allows for a free throw attempt to turn the play into a three point play. 

That can't happen in a dunk contest because there's no defense. There's no actual head-to-head competition which is another major problem with the contest. We don't need judges to tell us who wins the three point shootout because it's a cut-and-dry case. You either make the shots or you don't. In baseball we don't need judges to figure out who wins the home run derby. The ball is either over-the-fence or it's not. 

The other major problem is that the dunks are all "been there-done that" exercises. No one is going to eclipse the dunks that are already legendary because they've already been done. The beauty of the dunk is a subjective measure but a certain percentage of it is a combination of the illusion of flight, the movement of a body in midair and the power of the actual throw down. 

The free throw launching exploits of Michael Jordan and Dr. J aren't going to be topped by anyone until some lucky player is granted a too this point not seen 60 inch vertical leap. The power and amazing body angles that Vince Carter and Dominique Wilkins displayed aren't going to be matched either. 

Finally the impressive act of dunking a basketball as an unusually small player is not going to be topped by any modern player either. Spud Webb at 5'7 and Dee Brown at 6'1 have insured that most smaller players will always have to measure up to on. 

Dunking is one of the most exciting plays in a basketball game. That's really the ultimate problem. The spontaneity of the dunk is lost in the contest. Also lost is the ability of the dunk to make an on court statement. Blake Griffin is one of the league's best dunkers. His dunks are always on highlight shows. One thing that sets his dunks apart is his ferocity and his ability to dunk on plays in which most fans don't expect a dunk to take place. In a contest all of that is lost. 

The Slam Dunk Contest has had a nice run. It provided memorable images and some lasting memories. It's best years are behind it though. The dunks are all played out. No one dunks with two balls in a game, never has a car driven onto an NBA court to stop a fast break causing the man to have jump over it to convert the dunk. Even on the rare occasions that a player actually dunks a ball while leaping over another player the best part is that it wasn't expected. When you see a contestant like Paul George line up with two teammates standing like statues in the path of the hoop you already know what's coming. 

The NBA should know what's coming also. An end to this now meaningless contest.