NBA: The Slam Dunk Contest Was Never Gone, But It’s Definitely Back Now

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest, contrary to popular belief was never gone. Though, if it did, it’s definitely back after what happened this past weekend

Basketball fans love putting things and people in early retirement on a year-to-year basis. The NBA Slam Dunk Competition is a prime example of that, with fans and media personnel saying the contest “is back” or “is dead,” every year if the competition is either underwhelming or mind-blowing. It’s become the way of life for the NBA’s aerial aces whenever they enter the Competition.

The dunk contest has become so futile, according to some, that the three-point contest should be the main event during All-Star Saturday night, which kind of makes sense, since shooting has become more entertaining with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson as the leaders. Marksmen may become entertaining, but a jump shot is repetition and fun to see when a player catches fire – or if there’s an impromptu shootout between a celebrity and All-Star with Kevin Hart tying Draymond Green with twelve three-pointers in their duel.

Jump shooting is a beautiful art form because everyone’s formation is different just like their fingerprints. Nothing though, will get a basketball fan out of their seat than a dunk. A dunk will have a person question what they just witnessed, and ask how the heck did the performer do that.

Valentine’s Day Eve 2016 was the culmination of historical greatness, with creativity and supreme athletic ability on full display for the masses. Zach LaVine of the T’Wolves and Aaron Gordon of Orlando went one-on-on for awhile getting straight 50’s sending the contest into a dunk-off. The dunks both men pulled off were Grade-A Hall of Famers, and enter the realm of “Were those the best dunks in contest history?”

That’s an opinion question only you can answer, but don’t surprised if many people, including Earth’s veterans, to say what they was the best of All-Time.

The battle between the two was epic with both young players asking their NBA peers what dunks they should perform next. It was something fans haven’t seen before, and an experience both young-men weren’t prepared for. Their rim-rattlers brought their confidants to the ground, some running to the them for congratulations, and others running away in disbelief. LaVine eventually won going between the legs from the free-throw line, courtesy of the idea being pitched to him from Nuggets guard Will Barton, who was eliminated in the first round along with Pistons center Andre Drummond.

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What made their battle so interesting is that Gordon lost, but his underneath the legs dunk of the Magic’s mascot on a hoverboard is being talked about the most. Maybe it’s because he was sitting in the air before becoming an Internet sensation. To make things even better for Gordon, he lost and didn’t even become the Michael Jordan crying meme. That right there shows everyone just how good he was.

The question is this: will he return next year in Charlotte?

The dunk contest isn’t back ladies and gentlemen, it’s always been here. What made LaVine vs. Gordon special was them completing their dunks on mostly the first attempts, not using any props, and just keeping it simple by dunking with power, creativity and ease, along with having a little bit of swagger at the end.

Will people continue to put the dunk contest in basketball purgatory in the future? Yes. Will it have down years? Probably. The contest blows minds and creates reputations. The notoriety of Gordon this year and LaVine will increase exponentially. It’s people like those two, along with other participants such as Gerald Green, Vince Carter, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, Jason Richardson, etc. to do the ingenious impossible, and make the difficult look simple.

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Underwhelming competitions make great ones like this worth it. So, fans and media might as well keep putting the competition in purgatory for it to return with a bang and vengeance when we don’t expect it. The element of surprise, shock and trendiness is why the dunk competition will never really die, but only only take a sabbatical.

2017 Dunk Contest participant prediction: Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon, Larry Nance Jr. (knee kept him out in 2016), and Ben Simmons.