In the history of the National Basketball Association, the All-Star Weekend is notorious for its Slam Dunk Contest. Whether it is Michael Jordan jumping from the free throw line, Vince carter doing a 720 or Dominique Wilkins throwing down his famous windmill, fans have looked forward to this event all season long. It is always compelling to tune in and see what different styles players have up their sleeve.
However, the fans have not had much to cheer about since the 2011 Slam Dunk Contest where Clippers’ Blake Griffin jumped over a car to earn himself the trophy.
The past two years have been filled with mediocre players who do not even start for their respective teams, while the NBA stars continue to sit on the sideline because they do not want to hurt their ego and fan reputation.
In 2014, the fans will finally get to see what they have been looking for the past few years. This year features three All-Stars and last years slam dunk contest champion, Terrence Ross. Ross is an electric player in the league, and earlier this season scored career high 51 points in a game.
The three All-Stars competing in the Slam Dunk Contest include Damian Lillard, Paul George and John Wall. These three players are the main reason why fans will want to tune in this weekend and watch.
The first All-Star is 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year, Damian Lillard. The second year player out of Weber State is averaging 20.8 points per game. I don’t think fans know what to expect from this 6’3” 195 pound point guard heading into the competition. Lillard’s size also brings another element of surprise to the dunk contest.
Next is first place Indiana Pacer Paul George, who averages 22.6 points per game. George has shown that he can fly above the rim in games this year, while also still scoring from distance as well.
John Wall is the last All-Star that will be competing in this years Slam Dunk Contest. Wall is a flashy fourth year player out of Kentucky, who helped lead the Washington Wizards to above .500 for the first time since 2009 this season. Wall brings some “swag”, so it will be interesting to see what Wall will bring to the table in this competition.
The last two slam dunk participants are West Coast players Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore. Both these players are under the radar heading into this contest, so we shall see if they have a chip on their shoulder heading into this weekend.
