Onerous to consider that you simply simply learn that headline, isn’t it?
NBA All-Star Weekend is only one month away, with the dunk contest—the third occasion of the festivities—scheduled for Feb. 15.
It’s now been 9 years since Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon gave us one of the memorable dunk contests of the century, and nothing has ever actually in contrast since then.
G Leaguer Mac McClung is the two-time defending champion of the occasion, with Donovan Mitchell, the 2018 winner; Anfernee Simons, who prevailed in 2021; and 2022 victor Obi Toppin being the one related names to go all the way in which since LaVine topped Gordon in 2016.
No offense to Glenn Robinson III (2017 winner), Hamidou Diallo (2019) and Derrick Jones Jr. (2020), however over the higher a part of the previous decade, we’ve needed to sit dwelling on a Saturday evening and watch at the very least two or three gamers who can’t even crack a 75 total on 2K throw down dunks that almost all of us did some variation of throughout recess in center faculty.
We did get to see Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown take part in final yr’s dunk contest, however for that, we had been punished with the presence of Jacob Toppin. Everybody’s favourite New York Knick, proper?
Brown didn’t actually even placed on a present, leaving followers disenchanted with the dunk contest for an eighth straight yr.
Let’s combine issues up.
The primary dunk contest went down means again in 1984, so it’s actually no shock that 40 years of dunking has began to really feel repetitive. Pair that with the truth that the NBA is ceaselessly getting position gamers—and never the nice ones—to be those attempting to get artistic with some high-flying antics, and it’s exhausting to seek out the will to tune in.
Give us something aside from what we at present have for the dunk contest. How a couple of celeb dunk contest? Yeah, the hoops would have to be lowered (for positive), however at the very least we’d be extra entertained. Maybe you even have gamers’ children begin throwing dunks down. Possibly eliminate the occasion fully and exchange it with a brand new one. We simply want change. Badly.
The league has had completely no downside being revolutionary in the case of the All-Star Recreation, evident by this yr’s format. There’ll now be a mini-tournament that includes 4 groups and three video games, with the winners of Video games 1 and a couple of (the semifinals) squaring off within the championship, the place the primary squad to 40 factors wins.
Eight gamers will make up every staff. Three groups can have eight NBA All-Stars, and the fourth will merely be the successful staff of the Rising Stars sport.
Certainly there will likely be combined critiques of the brand new All-Star Recreation, or what ought to now be thought of the All-Star Event, however at the very least the NBA went out on a limb and bought artistic. It gave us one thing new to sit up for, a sense we haven’t had with the dunk contest.
As exhausting as change is, it’s time for it.