Could Zion Williamson be the one player that has the only chance to save the NBA's Slam Dunk Contest?
When the NBA All-Star Weekend was done and over with, there was one big storyline that continued to dominate the festivities - and it revolved around the dying NBA Slam Dunk Contest. It's hard to see where the NBA goes from here after it failed once again. The League has to be asking themselves, is there a player that could help salvage it before it completely goes away?
Theoretically, there may be one player that can save the NBA Dunk Contest. And that's Zion Williamson. Interestingly enough, Zion is not completely opposed to participating in the dunk contest. However, there's one small scenario that must play out before Zion agrees to take part in the All-Star Weekend event, and it's that he must make an All-Star Game first. In other words, if Zion is an All-Star and is slated to be in the mix on All-Star Sunday, he's willing to make his presence felt on All-Star Saturday.
Can Zion Williamson save the NBA Slam Dunk Contest?
Quite frankly, this should be an encouraging sign for the NBA and salvaging the Slam Dunk Contest. If there's one star that could help resurrect the intrigue surrounding All-Star Saturday and more specifically the dunk contest, it's likely Zion. And Zion making an All-Star team is not that outlandish. Even though he had somewhat of a down year this season, he's dominant enough that he could theoretically get to the point where he is voted into the All-Star team.
In what is labeled as a "down" season for Zion, he's still averaging 22 points, six rebounds, and five assists per game on 58 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range. If he can take another step forward in his game, which would not be that outlandish considering the level of player he already is at this point in his career, he could absolutely make an All-Star Game sooner rather than later.
In fact, it should be something many fans around the league should be campaigning for heading into next season. Quietly, behind closed doors, if the NBA does care about the Slam Dunk Contest, perhaps they should be pushing for it too.
Either way, it's interesting to hear that Zion hasn't entirely put the idea of participating in the Slam Dunk Contest to bed. Especially considering how dynamic his dunk highlights were coming out of high school. At the very least, it would be intriguing to see if Zion could save the dunk contest.