What Has Happened to the Slam-Dunk Contest?

I want to start this article off by saying that this years 2009 Slam Dunk Contest had way too much hype. Every basketball fan anticipated the contest to be a lot more eye-popping than what the four contestants had brought to the court last night.

The Dunk Contest

Let’s get straight to the chase. The Slam Dunk Contest is saved for last because obviously it is the most exciting event to watch.

Fans had to wait patiently through the Shooting Stars, Skills Challenge, and Three-Point Shootout before they got the opportunity to watch something that could have been possibly extraordinary.

Right after Daquean Cook won the Three-Point Shooting contest, fans had to watch singer Kevin Rudolf sing (Let it Rock) what looked like the worst live performance that a singer has ever sung in the history of sports events. Rudolf had absolutely no enthusiasm as well as a horrific singing voice. He obviously was not playing the electric guitar that was strapped around his shoulder because he put both hands up in the air with the guitar verse still continuing to play. To add to the performance, Rudolf had a friend on stage with him in a hoodie sweatshirt repeating nearly every word that came out of the stars mouth. (Who the heck was that guy anyway?)

After the disaster singing performance, the four contestants went to the court and began warm-ups. The first contestant to attempt a dunk was J.R. Smith of the Denver Nuggets. He is known for his high-flying ability to slam the ball through the hoop, but for some reason did not bring his utmost talent to the table.

Portland Trail Blazers Rudy Fernandez (the player voted in by the fans) could not crack a smile even once last night in front of hundreds of thousands of fans at the arena and on T.V. The dunks that he attempted looked as if they were never practiced even once. Fernandez looked more upset than happy to be in the contest and definitely did not pump the audience one bit.

Dwight Howard made it seem as if he had an amazing dunk up his sleeve, but ended up just bringing out another basketball hoop standing 12 inches high. Fans hoped for an acrobatic dunk that would be put down in the history of one of the best dunks EVER in the NBA, but were shut down when teammate Jameer Nelson simply threw the ball off the backboard, with Howard just catching the ball and dunking it.

The Dunk Contest has now become more of a creative contest than just a simple dunk contest. Players feel the need to have to dress up in all green and call themselves Krypto-Nate, instead of thinking of a dunk that would put fans in total awe.

I believe this contest was an absolute joke along with the terrible performance by Kevin Rudolf. Next year LeBron James better shock the world with a dunk or else the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest will be put to shame.