The 2013 Slam Dunk contest is coming up on Saturday. The field is not overwhelming. (Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Green, Jeremy Evans, Terrence Ross, James White, and Kenneth Faried.) No All-Stars there, some D-Leaguers, but no All-Stars. I do like Bledsoe and Faried as players, but you get the point.
The Dunk Contest itself has come under a lot of criticism, and a lot of it is warranted. Jumping over hoods of Kia's? A million attempts. Costumes. Lame.
But one criticism that comes up time and time again is the watered down field. Where are the stars? The lack of mega-popular players is not a new thing. I want LeBron James in the competition as much as the next guy, but it's not going to happen. However, I do think there is some revisionist history as to how good or how much better it USED to be. Take a lot at some of the guys who were in Dunk contests in the 1980s and 1990s.
'80:
Darrell Griffith
Edgar Jones
Terrence Stansbury
Paul Pressley
Roy Hinson
Terry Tyler
Johnny Dawkins
Otis Smith
Shelton Jones
Kenny Walker (winner)
Tim Perry
Chris Morris
'90s:
Kenny Battle
Kenny Williams
Blue Edwards
Doug West
Harold Miner (2x winner, great dunker don't get me wrong, but 4 seasons in NBA)
David Benoit
Robert Pack
James Robinson
Jamie Watson
Tony Dumas
Antonio Harvey
Greg Minor
Darrell Armstrong
Bob Sura
Darvin Ham
Chris Carr
So not exactly a who's who. Everyone says that after 2000 great players stopped doing it. Well that's not true. Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin are pretty good. But in defense of the '80s and '90s, they did use more guys, hence some no-names. They always did a good job of making sure a Shawn Kemp or a Dominique Wilkins, Michael Jordan were in it.
It's hard to be original (see Horror movies), that is why the Dunk contest has suffered. But I still think it's worth while. Every once in a while a Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson, or Blake Griffin enter the thing and put on a hell of a show.
Rich Keefe - Pro Dunk Contest
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