The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has suffered from a serious lack of star power in recent years. Could an actual All-Star finally suit up for this year’s competition?
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown is reportedly “seriously considering” the idea of joining the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. According to a report Monday from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Brown has been “mulling over the possibility for several weeks.”
https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1754690308409872828
The NBA will be announcing the list of dunk contest participants later this week. Brown would be a welcome addition to an event that’s been devoid of big names throughout the past decade.
Last year’s competition was arguably the nadir of the contest in terms of player popularity. The biggest name was New Orleans Pelicans role player Trey Murphy III, followed by benchwarmers Jericho Sims and KJ Martin. All three ended up losing to G League veteran Mac McClung.
In all fairness to McClung, the 6’2″ guard did steal the show with an awesome performance (video here). But it’s hard to overlook the fact that the man has played in just four NBA games in his career.
The slam dunk contest hasn’t seen an All-Star participant (unless you count a washed Dwight Howard in 2020) take part since Victor Oladipo in 2018. Zach LaVine, Donovan Mitchell, and Giannis Antetokounmpo have all participated in the contest as well — but their appearances came years before any of them would make an All-Star team.
You’d have to go back a decade for the last star-studded slam dunk affair. The 2014 contest featured bona fide All-Stars John Wall, Damian Lillard, and Paul George. Wall and Lillard were in the midst of their first All-Star campaigns, while George received MVP votes that year as the top dog on a contending Indiana Pacers squad.
Brown isn’t the biggest star in the NBA. But the man is a 3-time All-Star with an All-NBA selection on his resume.
McClung, who’s participating again this year, could very well still win the competition. Watching him do it against Brown or any other surprise star participants would be a lot more fun though.
