2013 slam dunk contest: who participates?

[lilbeastnani]

Raptors have been campaigning for high flyer rookie Terrance Ross to get in and with good reason, I hope he gets asked for one of those 4 spots.

I heard that Russell Westbrook said he's contemplating going in but I don't know if it's one of those things where he's just blowing smoke.

James White who has done many dunk contests, but none on the NBA level was actually approached about doing the contest, I think he hasn't given an answer yet.

Aside from that, I guess others on the potential list are some guys who have done it before: Gerald Green, JR Smith, Blake Griffin. Who else you got?

[Bcogswell]

Don't really care who participates because as long as the winner is determined by online voting, the contest is going to suck.

[QuebecBaller]

Don't really care who participates because as long as the winner is determined by online voting, the contest is going to suck.

This

People online just vote for their favorite player and not for the best dunk

[Rake2204]

Don't really care who participates because as long as the winner is determined by online voting, the contest is going to suck.I agree. I'll need some confirmation that the contest will resemble something that's not completely insane before I get too excited about things this year.

[lilbeastnani]

I agree about the judging. But if Ross, Westbrook, James White + filler participate, it'd be a significant upgrade from Budinger, Evans, Paul George, and Derrick Williams.

[CeltsGarlic]

Good thing that even inside the nba "lol'' , like Kenny noticed that NBA dunk contest is done.

We need to change the judging.

[shallehalle]

I agree about the judging. But if Ross, Westbrook, James White + filler participate, it'd be a significant upgrade from Budinger, Evans, Paul George, and Derrick Williams.
Gerald Green

[DaHeezy]

I don't get why people are still on James White's nuts. That Ball Above All thing was over 10 years ago. The guy is 30 years old. Has anyone even seen him dunk in the last 3 years? Why not ask Jason Richardson while we're at it, they're the same age

[amdee]

Put in Terrence Ross, Gerald Green, James White, Westbrook and John Wall. Make the rules similar to 2000 with 3 dunks each in the first round. The 3 best advance to the finals.

Otherwise don't even bother doing another dunk contest. The current rules suck. Its like they don't want the thing to be entertaining.

[kurple]

McGee or Faried

[lilbeastnani]

I don't get why people are still on James White's nuts. That Ball Above All thing was over 10 years ago. The guy is 30 years old. Has anyone even seen him dunk in the last 3 years? Why not ask Jason Richardson while we're at it, they're the same age
Just because you only watched him that one year doesn't mean he lost his dunking ability. :facepalm http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2013/01/02/ross_terrence640_640.jpg

[Bcogswell]

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/4550/rossdunk1.gif

[DaHeezy]

Just because you only watched him that one year doesn't mean he lost his dunking ability. :facepalm http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2013/01/02/ross_terrence640_640.jpg

Way to make assumptions :facepalm
Have you seen him do anything significant in the last 2 years? Answer is he hasn't. You guys are living in the past
Yes he can still jump, but doesn't have that same explosiveness and flair

[lilbeastnani]

Way to make assumptions :facepalm
Have you seen him do anything significant in the last 2 years? Answer is he hasn't. You guys are living in the past
Yes he can still jump, but doesn't have that same explosiveness and flair
Obviously he doesn't have the exact same explosion at 30 as he did at 20, but as evidenced from that video which took place in 2012, he's still a better dunker than the vast majority of the league. I'd like to see J-Rich pull off a FT line dunk right now.

[pauk]

As long as James White is there its all good.

[Rake2204]

I don't get why people are still on James White's nuts. That Ball Above All thing was over 10 years ago. The guy is 30 years old. Has anyone even seen him dunk in the last 3 years? Why not ask Jason Richardson while we're at it, they're the same ageI've been thinking about this for the past few weeks. I know a lot of athletes are past their jumping peak at 30 so realistically, I think there's a good chance James White is too. However, I think there's also some folks who can sustain that leaping ability until 30 and above, though it's quite rare. I'm definitely interested to find out. If he's not at max leaping level, what will his dunks be then? I'm not really asking you that, I'm just wondering to myself. The most recent White contest I've seen came at the end of '10, about two years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyyludpdbpc


Put in Terrence Ross, Gerald Green, James White, Westbrook and John Wall. Make the rules similar to 2000 with 3 dunks each in the first round. The 3 best advance to the finals.

Otherwise don't even bother doing another dunk contest. The current rules suck. Its like they don't want the thing to be entertaining.I feel you there. I thought the 2000 contest struck a pretty perfect balance. 6 dunkers, 3 first round slams, 3 finalists, two final dunks, real judges. That's 24 total dunks. How many dunks did we have last year? 8?

And yeah, I have no idea who the hell they were catering toward with that contest setup last year. What human in America watched Jeremy Evans' helmet cam dunk and said, "Whoa cool! The dunk contest is awesome now this year!"

The crowd goes wild!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnJu78VDYNM

[kaiteng]

Gerald Green
I believe Green is done with the NBA contest since he got screwed during Nate Robinson era.

Also, again, James White could stir up talks in either positive or negative way. White is a free throw line dunking specialist, right? Serg Ibaka dunked BEHIND the free throw line in the contest and ended up scoring 45 points with judges including Dr. J.

Online voting may change things though since it actually picked the right winner, in a somewhat weak competition no less, last year.

[KyrieTheFuture]

I've never understood why they don't allow D-Leaguers it's great exposure for both the player and the d league in general plus there are so many insane athletes with no skills in the d league so the dunk contest is perfect

[Rake2204]

I believe Green is done with the NBA contest since he got screwed during Nate Robinson era.

Also, again, James White could stir up talks in either positive or negative way. White is a free throw line dunking specialist, right? Serg Ibaka dunked BEHIND the free throw line in the contest and ended up scoring 45 points with judges including Dr. J.

Online voting may change things though since it actually picked the right winner, in a somewhat weak competition no less, last year.I think the Green thing has popped up here the past few weeks. I feel like he did the same dunk in the finals. On one he had someone throw the ball over the backboard then took it off the bounce and went between his legs. Then, on the next slam, he took his shoes off, signed them, placed them on the judges' table as a "gift" (at which point Darryl Dawkins swatted them off) then did another between the legs slam, this time in socks. I don't think he deserved to win that one. I acknowledge the difficulty of dunking in socks, but every other aspect of that slam (creativity, originality, proper confidence, honest showmanship) was not outstanding.

Regarding Ibaka, I thought his dunk was great in terms of the fact that I thought it was very cool to have someone leap from so far out in a contest. However, again, it was an ugly dunk. Dunking from the free throw line still needs a little style to earn universal acclaim. For instance, Scottie Pippen and Jonathan Bender are two other players who've jumped from the stripe in contest. However, their slams were so lanky, and plain jane that they don't really have a spot in free throw line dunking folklore. Even Brent Barry's free throw line slam looked pretty legit in comparison. James White's free throw line slams have that showman quality that Ibaka and Pippen's did not.

The online voting was correct, but folks were picking from a terrible field and it could have very easily swung in another direction. The final voting went 29% Evans, 28% Budinger, 24% George, 19% Williams. I cannot stand this type of scoring.


I've never understood why they don't allow D-Leaguers it's great exposure for both the player and the d league in general plus there are so many insane athletes with no skills in the d league so the dunk contest is perfectI'm not saying this to be a punk, but it's the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, not NBA/D-League Showdown. I'm not a guy who requires stars be in the NBA contest, but I do prefer they be NBA players. I also would not support bringing in one of the non-league dunk specialists to go up against NBA players because again, I like when it's exclusive to the NBA. The D-League has their own contest and so do the non-league guys.

It'd be like inviting minor league baseball players to the Home Run Derby. Maybe some would fit in, but it's taking the place of a major leaguer and it's a major league derby.

[AirFederer]

I believe Green is done with the NBA contest since he got screwed during Nate Robinson era.

Also, again, James White could stir up talks in either positive or negative way. White is a free throw line dunking specialist, right? Serg Ibaka dunked BEHIND the free throw line in the contest and ended up scoring 45 points with judges including Dr. J.

Online voting may change things though since it actually picked the right winner, in a somewhat weak competition no less, last year.

Ibaka just laid it in, no real thunder finish (pun intended) like White does (or did).

[Fudge]

LeBron...

Oh wait.

[Magic bird]

Jeremy Evans should be there to defend his title

[andremiller07]

Give Tyler Honeycutt a go imo

[Borat_Sagdyev]

DeQuan Jones

[Cherry Picker]

Rudy Gay

[It's A VC3!!!]

There isn't anything else that can be done. Just cancel the entire dunk contest. It's not even entertaining. NOT ONE BIT.

[Rake2204]

There isn't anything else that can be done. Just cancel the entire dunk contest. It's not even entertaining. NOT ONE BIT.I disagree there's nothing else that can be done. There's been a lot of dunk innovation in the non-NBA dunking market and I think a lot of those slams open themselves up to better renditions and branches off those dunks into even newer dunks.

I gotta say, people have been saying every dunk has been done for years. Even prior to Vince Carter, I was actually kind of convinced myself. As I've probably said here, I was excited for VC's entry in 2000, but I just expected him to do cool versions of all the dunks I knew, like a powerful routine 360 and a bodacious reverse. I didn't think there was any new ground to be paved, but just when we think there's not, people prove us wrong.

[lilbeastnani]

I think just as important as the dunks being thrown down are the stage presence and charisma of the dunker themselves. A lot of the guys in recent years are solid dunkers but it's all about the dunk. Derozan being one of them. He pulled off good dunks but yet he himself wasn't exciting. Which almost leads back to the previous participation of all-stars/superstars.

[It's A VC3!!!]

I disagree there's nothing else that can be done. There's been a lot of dunk innovation in the non-NBA dunking market and I think a lot of those slams open themselves up to better renditions and branches off those dunks into even newer dunks.

I gotta say, people have been saying every dunk has been done for years. Even prior to Vince Carter, I was actually kind of convinced myself. As I've probably said here, I was excited for VC's entry in 2000, but I just expected him to do cool versions of all the dunks I knew, like a powerful routine 360 and a bodacious reverse. I didn't think there was any new ground to be paved, but just when we think there's not, people prove us wrong.
On a personal note, I have not been entertained by the slam dunk contest for years. you're mentioning vc but we're in a different era. now people use props to saturate their actual dunk. props, props, and more props are all i can remember since 2008 honestly.

[Rake2204]

On a personal note, I have not been entertained by the slam dunk contest for years. you're mentioning vc but we're in a different era. now people use props to saturate their actual dunk. props, props, and more props are all i can remember since 2008 honestly.I actually liked 2011's contest. And I'm pretty much 99.9% there with you in terms of props. The little .1% difference is in the fact that I believe there's some props out there that can actually work without being terribly obnoxious and/or retardiculous. McGee's two rim dunk was straddling the line that year, but I liked it anyway. A prop like that (another basketball hoop) would be in contrast to Serge Ibaka's children's toy fiasco. And I know it's been beaten into the ground, but Griffin's prop provided absolutely nothing to his dunk and we all know that. Where McGee's brought something difficult and basketball-related to the table, Griffin just finished a two-hand oop, but with something weird beneath him.

Anyway, aside from those Ibaka and Griffin dunks, I was entertained at least once by each of those competitors that year. McGee was channeling a little Larry Nance, Ibaka had the extra long free throw line dunk and actually, Griffin's original dunk attempts in the first two rounds were my favorite things of his from that contest. DeRozan had a great flush too. But I know what you're saying about the era and I agree. I'm just holding out for a return to basics, a re-implementation of normal rules and judges and players who want to revive the spirit of the dunk, not further bludgeon it into the ground with choirs, coaches, and small actors.

[KobeBaRyant]

Jeremy Evans should be there to defend his title
no way. he's the worst winner in the history of the dunk contest and should not be invited back

[Rake2204]

no way. he's the worst winner in the history of the dunk contest and should not be invited backYou know, I agree. No one deserves to return from the contest last year. Even Evans' best dunk ended up lame after he hung on the rim for 10 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uohl2cRobg

And again, that classic reverse flush, igniting the crowd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnJu78VDYNM

[InspiredLebowski]

No fan voting. No hundred and one tries at a dunk. NO PROPS. Then I'll watch.

OK, I'll watch anyway, but they should still do all that.

[DaHeezy]

I don't get why people are still on James White's nuts. That Ball Above All thing was over 10 years ago. The guy is 30 years old. Has anyone even seen him dunk in the last 3 years? Why not ask Jason Richardson while we're at it, they're the same age

Yup

[Myth]

No fan voting. No hundred and one tries at a dunk. NO PROPS. Then I'll watch.

OK, I'll watch anyway, but they should still do all that.

I thought bringing back 6 dunkers was a huge step and the most important thing to the contest. Fan voting is stupid though (Nick Cannon had the results in hand before the time to vote was up). I'm OK with props, but there should be a limit of 1 prop dunk per player and setting up the prop should count as part of their 1:30. Also, pausing the time for James White was stupid. What is the point of the timer if they pause it every 10 seconds? :facepalm