Saturday night, John Wall, the Washington Wizards point guard, took home the coveted prize of All-Star in Saturday’s dunk contest. On his first attempt, Wall effortlessly grabbed the ball from the outstretched hands of G-man, his team’s mascot, while leap-frogging over him to slam the ball into the hoop in a reverse dunk.
This dunk easily made him a clear winner in a night that was plagued by mixed reception of the event, from both fans and certain players alike. During a moment like Wall’s dunk, it’s easy to forget the backlash from fans over the NBA’s formatting choices for the contest. The crowd went wild, cheered, and yelled at the spectacle they had just seen. In hindsight, the dunk was a highlight in an otherwise lackluster night.
The NBA decided to include a team concept that grouped the dunkers by their conference. The team of East dunkers consisted of Wall, Indiana’s Paul George and Toronto’s Terrence Ross, who faced off against the West team, composed of Golden State’s Harrison Barnes, Sacramento’s Ben McLemore and Portland’s Damian Lillard. The East, led by Wall, ultimately won, and some fans were left feeling confused.
Some critics have compared the first part of team dunking to synchronized swimming. Others complained about the judging process that felt like it was copied from a reality show such as American Idol. A general census seems to be that the gimmicks imposed by the NBA detracted from the point of the contest, which is watching the best dunkers in the NBA square off.
Others felt the new format didn’t allow a buildup of tension and excitement toward an explosive finale like the old format allowed. The opening freelance segment lacked the excitement that it needed or should have had. While a couple dunks, such as the aforementioned one by Walls, elicited some reaction from the crowd, the event came off as lackluster and underwhelming.
While the NBA deciding to shake things up and change the format can certainly be appreciated, its overall efforts were seen as negative and detracted from what might have been an even more explosive night.
In retrospect, both the fans and the NBA seem to be chasing the ghost of the slam dunk contest of yesteryear. The NBA has employed several gimmicks over the years to try and recapture its former glory. Fans hold such events to the standards of their predecessor, and the whole event has fallen stagnant.
If the NBA wants to improve the event, it should strip the slam dunk contest back down to its purity and focus on the actual dunks like Wall’s Dunk of the Night.
