There's a reason why the dunk off gets better ratings that the 3 point contest

[Bronbron23]

Even though lately the 3 point contest has more star power. It's because nobody wants to watch a 3 point contest. It dosnt matter how bad the dunk off is they'd rather watch dunks over threes. They'd rather watch anfernee simons vs Cassius stanley who are 2 nobody's over steph vs dame.
This is why ratings are down. It's not because of streaming. It's because nobody wants to see a thousand screens and threes a game.

[Foster5k]

I don't know if I entirely agree with this post.

However, I do somewhat agree. For some reason, the average joe believes he/she could do the same thing Curry can, shoot 3s. Now, to a point, they're right. Anyone can shoot a 3, but not everyone can shoot 3s as consistent or shoot them in an NBA setting. The problem is. The average joe doesn't take that last part into account. The average joe thinks because I can do A, then it's not worth watching. Anyone can do it.

The average man can't dunk. The average man can't do things that Jordan, Kobe, Lebron, Shaq, etc did. To a point, sports is more about doing athletic things that the average man can't. Yes, the average man can't shoot a 3 like Curry. However, because they can shoot a 3, they don't fully grasp the concept of what Curry is doing. They also don't understand all the fundamentals that go into becoming a Stephen Curry.

They just see him shoot 3s and say, "I can do that shit." In reality, they can't.

In the end, the general public will see and believe what they want. They see someone dunk, with insane athletic ability, and say, "Wow! Amazing! Freak of nature! Worth Watching!!!!" You could explain to them how dunking is actually easier than shooting like Curry, but the attention span isn't long enough nor is the desire to care. At a certain point, skill gets diminished by perception.

[FKAri]

It's true. High flying dunks especially those of MJ is what drove basketball past baseball in terms of national popularity*.
*You could argue it closed the gap and international popularity is what seperated the two in the coming decades

[Spain_]

For me, 1 on 1 post play will always be the most fun part of basketball, wether it's low post or high post.