Last night was mid point of the National Basketball Association’s “All Star Weekend”, wherein the Association puts its best and brightest talent on display through a myriad of skills competitions, capping off tonight’s celebration with a 5 on 5 display of offensive prowess. There’s even a “Pro/Am” game that kicks off the weekend, drawing celebrity ballers and former NBA All Stars. Overall I’d say it’s the best of the four major sports in pay homage to their legends while showcasing what exactly makes their athletes the best in the world. There’s one except that has already spoiled this weekend for me: the Sprite Slam Dunk Competition.
The “Dunk Contest” is quite possibly one of the most amazing displays of athleticism and, in recent years, creativity that any of the sports skills competitions offers. The drama, the high-flying, the incredible feats coupled with judging by former prolific dunkers makes it somewhat of a pseudo Olympic event. Last night’s competition, which aired on TNT, was no exception. If you’ve ever watched the contest before you know that there’s only so much one can do to put a ball into a basket. Sure, the contest had its down years, but ever since Vinsanity reigned supreme in 2000 the level of creativity was upped forever:
Two years ago we saw some pretty amazing feats, in particular Dwight Howard winning it as a 7 footer. His “Superman” routine upped the pageantry and his dunks delivered against his new moniker.
This year the dunk contest featured four high flying pros and some amazing creativity. Dunking off of two backboards, a 7 footer throwing one down from behind the free throw line, and even a “remix” of Isaiah Rider’s between the legs dunk where it was thrown off of the backboard support by a teammate and jammed home. The finals, between hometown favorite LA Clipper Blake Griffin and Javale McGee from the Washington Wizards was pretty great although the outcome was weak. Aside from the two backboard dunk above (which has never been done before), McGee also threw home three balls in one dunk. Again, a first.
Griffin countered with a monster 360 dunk from just inside of the arch. It was impressive, but given his power and velocity he’s able to make mundane dunks seem monstrous. Here’s his final dunk, over a Kia Optima (great looking car, and wonderful product placement for Kia):
Now I’m not saying it wasn’t a good dunk. Ok, that’s exactly what I’m saying. Yes, having a choir and car on the court and Kenny Smith hyping up the dunk helped, but the fans, much like in the All Star voting with Yao Ming, are proving that they shouldn’t be deciding the winner. Griffin’s dunk difficultly was nearly zero, considering he routinely dunks from 4-5 feet away from the basket.
The bottom line is that McGee was more creative and made more difficult dunks than Griffin, even if he plays in a smaller market or is more of an unknown player. McGee was jobbed by the fans.
