Pacers' George says what many fans think about the Dunk Contest
It seems like every year NBA fans get excited for the All-Star Saturday night and look forward to the Slam Dunk Contest. And like every year, many 
are left feeling disappointed. This year's contest was no exception.
From participants jumping over people to participants making numerous attempts at a dunk, the contest just seems to fall flat.
One of this year's participants was Indiana Pacers' Paul George and while he provided some solid dunks (jumping over two of his teammates and a glow in the dark dunk), he voiced what many fans think about the contest -- it's a joke.
“(Not to) take nothing away from the dunk contest, (but) it was a joke,” George said. “I guess whoever had the biggest celebrity involved in their dunk was going to be the winner. I guess I should have tried to reach out to some people."
I totally agree George.
Props, celebrities making their way on the court (anyone else feel P-Diddy getting some face time was annoying?) and the feeling that every conceivable dunk has been done all adds up to an event that has lost steam in recent years.
Gone are the days of top-tier players trying their hand in the event such as Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, or Dominique Wilkins. Though there was some hope Blake Griffin might rescue the event but he sat out of the event this year and didn't defend his title. And of course there was LeBron James teasing the fans in 2010 saying he would participate but in the end he backed out of it. And it is this lack of star-quality players in the event is what George points to.
“I agree, you have to have the faces of the league come back and get involved in it,” George said. “That’s what really made it big back in the day when you had Jordan and Dominique going at it. That was the All Stars and the guys that were the men in the league. That’s what fans want to see.”
OK so how do we revive the dunk contest back to prominence? Here are a couple of ideas.
1. Have a cash prize. Find some sponsor willing to put up some big bucks which might entice marquee players to show that they got. Hey, money is a great motivator.
2. Create a D-League vs. NBA dunk off. What better way to get the competitive juices flowing than to have hungry D-League high-flyers ready to show up NBA players on national TV to prove they will provide the fans a better show. Don't believe me? Check out some of the best dunks from the 2012 D-League Dunk Contest. No celebrities to jump over, just pure rim-rocking dunks including a player using the shot-clock.
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Look these guys average nearly 7 feet tall......plus bouncy tennis shoes to boot.........raise the basket by 2 feet............years ago players were not that tall as today..................
Pdiddy is a asshole,no respect for him,95 people died in a file at one of his events because there was only 1 door to exit when a fire broke out. Wish only bad luck to him.
if paul george thinks that only marquis players should participate in the dunk contest, the HE wouldnt have been involved. I really like how it gives younger, developing players a chance to get their name out.
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Grandmamma!! Seriously though, that D-League contest looked much more entertaining than the NBA version I watched. The whole Saturday night event was pretty weak. I'm glad I DVR'd it, instead of sitting through the whole boring show. I only wasted about an hour, compared to the 2.5 hours of the live show.
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Jeremy Evans won because of that awesome two-balls dunk jumping over Hayward, not because of the celebrity thing. Yes, Kevin Hart was involved in the last dunk, but I guarantee you nobody outside the U.S. (I'm from Europe) even knows who Kevin Hart is..I even had to google him myself. And keep in mind millions of voters were from overseas..so yeah, the celebrity thing had NOTHING to do with the fact Evans won.
And btw, didn't Budinger lose even if he jumped over P. Diddy?
Bottom line, you guys are pathetic. One year you scream "the dunk contest is dead, it bottomed out", the next year you write "the dunk contest is back!!!!!!!!" then it is back to being "dead forever and nobody can rescue it" then it is "back and stronger than ever!!!!!!!!!11!!!11" and then it's "dead"
How about a little more consistency on your part, guys?
@jjkaralis @AndreaCavalli Andrea basically copied and paste these comments from some stuff he wrote on awful announcing. Dude (isn't andrea a girls name) clearly has a big erection for all star weekend. I have no idea why.
@james wong In Europe Andrea is a mostly male name..just think to Andrea Bargnani of the Toronto Raptors..he's a male and is named Andrea.
And maybe it's because I don't take this event as seriously as some of you do? I just see it as a light-hearted event in the middle of the season and I don't have too much expectations. Like I said, the dunk contest may have not been that good, but it still had a handful of nice dunks in there. And the all-star game itself was pretty good in the 4th quarter since it turned into a real game.
Gee whiz
