Last weekend's NBA All-Star festivities in Phoenix provided the high level of entertainment that basketball fans have come to expect over the years. The league maintained a similar format from years past with different skill competitions, followed by the game. The game was disappointing at best, as the West blew out the East by a score of 145-119.
Although the league has little control over the game itself, improvements should be made to other parts of the weekend, especially one of the fans' most coveted events: the Slam Dunk Contest.
Without a doubt, this unique weekend is all about providing entertainment for the fans and recognizing the talents of players from around the league. But there is a fine line between entertainment and theatrics.
I thought that some of the behavior on display during the contest was downright embarrassing and took away from the competition as a whole.
The antics that bothered me most dealt with props. Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard set a new standard last year by wearing a Superman costume before completing a high-flying dunk. This time, he took it a step further by stepping into a fake phone booth off the court before re-entering in costume.
New York Knicks guard Nate Robinson got in on the act as well, switching to a green uniform to create his own \Krypto-Nate"" alter ego. Whatever happened to just letting the creativity of the dunks speak for itself?
To prove my point, let me take you back to some of the more memorable dunk contests in NBA history. The first NBA dunk contest took place in 1984, and that decade held many unforgettable moments. There were the innovations of Julius Erving, who many would say is the real pioneer of the dunk and helped make it what it has become today. There was the excitement of watching 5'7"" Spud Webb fly through the air for a victory in 1986. And, perhaps most memorably, there was the ongoing rivalry between Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan, who combined for four Slam Dunk titles in seven years.
All of these dunkers competed with immense style and flashiness, but at the same time maintained a sense of class and professionalism. Particularly with Jordan and Wilkins - the two always looked to dazzle the crowd.
But they also had tremendous respect for each other, enjoyed the spirit of competition and took their performances very seriously. They didn't need props - Jordan and Wilkins knew that their dunking alone was enough to make a strong statement about their exceptional level of talent.
Even in 2000, after a two-year hiatus from the Slam Dunk Contest, Vince Carter put together one of the most electrifying performances in the contest's history. When it came to staging the dunks themselves, Carter was all business.
Today it seems that participants have completely neglected the standard set by past participants and are much more interested in showcasing their acting skills than their athletic ability. Of course, this fault should not be solely placed on the participants, but the league that allows it to continue.
For starters, the league needs to be more careful when selecting judges. This year, the NBA brought in former Phoenix Suns players. While some of them are credible evaluators on the art of the dunk, others seemed clueless and were even sneaking peeks at the other judges' scores in order to make their own decisions. How can the participants and the fans take the contest seriously if the judges aren't even treating the event as a legitimate competition?
Now there are rumors that Cleveland Cavaliers guard LeBron James has a desire to participate in next year's contest. His reasons for wanting to participate are obvious, as he has already achieved so much in first few years in the league, and many of the best players in the league's history have made their mark through the dunk contest.
But before LeBron accepts this challenge, he might want to think about the perception of the contest in recent years. Does he want to be remembered as a true professional with exceptional skills, or a self-absorbed circus act looking for attention? The NBA doesn't have the right to tell its players how to behave, and I'm not saying they shouldn't be enjoying themselves. But discouraging some of the theatrics in recent years could go a long way toward restoring the contest back to its glory days.
Think that the dunk contest should be even more ridiculous? Tell Matt at mfox2@wisc.edu.
