NBA Slam Dunk Contest revived giving fans more to look forward to

(Photo Courtesy of Bleacher Report)

For a while now, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest seemed to be just a formality at All-Star Weekend.

It just felt like a few guys just put it together just to say they were in it and it was televised to fill time. That was not the case this past weekend.



I'm not particularly talking about all of the participants in this year's contest and that's no slight to Detroit Pistons star Andre Drummond or Denver Nuggets swingman Will Barton. However, defending champion Zach LaVine from the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Orlando Magic's Aaron Gordon put on a show.


We always talk about seeing things we've never seen before in dunk contests. We want to see the contestants' ability to be creative and blow our minds. And I believe the two finalists were able to do that this past weekend. Taking certain dunks and adding their own twists to them made the final round that much more fun to watch.

(Photo Courtesy of WorldStarHipHop.com)

Since we're discussing it, I will say this. I really thought Aaron Gordon should have won. Again, I'm not knocking LaVine's effort because he, too, jumped out of the Air Canada Centre. But when a guy jumps over a mascot...I mean completely over...I don't know how you top that. I just don't know how you top that without maybe being shot out of a cannon or something.

Kudos to both of those young men for their efforts. Maybe next year, they'll raise the bar when they come to Charlotte.