LeBron James ruined the dunk contest..but here's how I'd fix it 

When Aaron Gordon didn't win that 2020 Slam Dunk Contest, I understand why no good dunkers wanna participate anymore.

Lebron somehow is also responsible for my bank account getting hacked… Smh people will put your name in everything except a prayer

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest was ruined by one thing.......SOCIAL MEDIA!!!! Before Social Media, we did not see people's best dunks until the dunk contest! Now there are so many dunk contests that we are not amused when the dunk contest comes along!!! Also, we don't care about the dunk contest because media giants like Stephen A. Smith only care about championship rings and could care less about how many Dunk Contests you have won!!!!

If you pay attention to basketball you would know Mac mcclungs name from high school mix tapes and highlight dunks. Pronouncing his name in a dismissive tone doesn’t negate the fact that dude has elite vertical and prepared for the dunk contest, trying to bring creativity. He gave effort something the nba players that participated gave little of

The dumbest shit I heard to blame one person is RIDICULOUS 🤦🏾

Adam Silver would never do a National Dunk Contest because he doesn't want his players embarrassed more than Mac McClung already has.

Damn LeBron ain’t even involved in the competition history and he’s still somehow someone to blame LMFAOOOOOOOO 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

Those sleeves rolled up are hilarious lmao

That's legit a brilliant idea, gives the NBA an opportunity to give back to the game outside of the league, the competition would be at an extremely high level, there's no shortage of entrants and even those who don't win could build up reputation by competing year after year, let's not forget the innovation, the uniqueness would be great simply by the number of participants. If the league leans into the "street ball" aspect of it, the Dunk Contest will be must see tv for all demographics.

He’s just mad a no name white guy won the dunk contest….twice.

i don't know if the world just collectively forgot about this but Lebron announced during Dwight Howard's 2009 dunk contest that he would be joining next year. Only to not actually do it next year. So yeah...

This year is the first year i didn't watch any all star events. The players don't care so why should I!!

Things Lebron apparently started: •Super teams 🤦🏾‍♂️ • Stars not participating in the Dunk contest ( even though Shaq never entered one) • players switching teams

Stephen A is wrong. He forgot Kobe started that when Vince came in the league. Kobe was asked to participate and he said he didn’t want to be labeled as just a dunker. (excuse to not face Vince). Vince then followed suit saying the same thing when asked about competing again. Honest oversight Ramily

I love how non NBA players are even participating in the contest… shows how bad the NBA really is doing.

I stopped watching all star weekend...dunk contest has a bunch of no names winning

Gotta get Spud Webb his props. One of my favorite dunk contest winners of all time. The man was 5'7" tall

1997- Kobe won it 1998-..... There was no dunk contest 1999..... No dunk contest 2000- Vince Carter Everything doesn't have to be a knock at LeBron..... Salute to Kobe but after he won... The dunk contest was replaced.... Interesting huh.... And guess who was in high school when the dunk contest was "ruined"....

How do you hold another grown man accountable for other grown men not participating

When your house is on fire blame Lebron !when your in a argument with your girl blame Lebron !

The All-Star weekend is tired & boring Its not anyones fault its just boring Just cancel it for a few years then bring it back

I think this year's NBA All Star Game proved we need a Horse Contest. Players like Luka, Trey, and Jokic are beyond gifted and creative during shoot arounds. It would be very entertaining to watch.

LEBRON IS A GREAT FATHER 😂

Lebron is a power dunker like Jaylen Brown, he’s no Zack Lavine or Aaron Gordon. When stars ( Jaylen brown) compete and aren’t creative dunkers, yall complain. Yall going to blame bron for everything. Go look up Lebron dunk contest, shit was not entertaining.

I actually agree Stephen A. Push the issue. Make them hear you.

I agree with Stephen A. Also, why not do a National 2 on 2 (like they did on White Men Can't Jump). Top ten teams go to All Star Weekend (Might have to call it All Star Week) where they would battle it out. It is a good way to recruit talent in the NBA with some of the kids that could not go to University or other college, but can sure play some ball and get drafted. There are some playground players out there that could run circles around some of the NBA talent right now.

Its also LeBron’s fault that Stephen A’s hairline got pushed back!

Craig Minor i thought his name was Harold minor smh

And it was Harold minor

"If we have G-Leaguers in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, why not even lesser players?" IS THIS REAL LIFE?!??!? At thay point, what is an "NBA All Star"!?!?

If the In-Season-Tournament does bad next year y’all will blame LeBron. Y’all blame him for everything😂

stephen a. smith sounds real ridiculous right now for blaming lebron james for running the dunk contest, if lebron james decides not to be in the dunk he can do that. if lebron james decides to be in the dunk contest he can do that to if lebron james chooses too, stephen a.smith just needs to know his role and shut his mouth

There's no big money involve😂😂😂,why would your greatest player enter the dunk contest

Thats right Ja never been in one. And why blame Lebron for ANOTHER man decision. See thats what I dislike putting blame on a person for another person decision.

Facts by Stephen A Smith! Born wasn't confident! He obviously had the capability with his in game dunks, to join the dunk contest, yet he had cold feet to participate in it. I'm also SICK of people saying Bron, cause of the stats and being the all time scoring leader, was more skilled or a better scorer than Kobe......HELL NAW!!!!!!!!! Kobe's feet work, free throws, shooting arsenal, and dunk creativity, had the ability to score anywhere on the court, could create his own shot, and nail that game winner in the clutch seconds of the game. That IT factor. That killer instinct. Other than Bron's go to dunks and usual attacking the rim for a layups committee, he can't buy a basket like yesterday durning the all star game! It looks awkward and ugly! I respect his longevity and him positioning himself as a top 5 player ever.....but let's keep it real! Stats don't tell it all.

There's only so many things one can do in the air for 2 or 3 seconds that have not already been executed....options are limited now after 40 yrs of dunking....we've seen everything

Who else remembers the year that Igudola was in the SD contest with Nate Robinson? He got undoubtedly robbed man. That was a phenomenal contest!!!!

Vince Carter is the 👑 of Dunks🔥

This Guy is so Ridiculous it's a Shame!!!! 🤣🤣🤣 he could'nt find nothing else to talk about.😭😭😭

I don't get it how can you ruin something you never been in 🤔🏀🤷🤣

Jalen Brown covering his eyes after the dunk is the craziest thing in dunk contest history😅

I don’t blame Lebron for the deterioration of the dunk contest at all. I blame Kenny Smith. As the voice of the dunk contest he used his platform to push players to deliver new dunks that have never been done before. This is not sustainable with NBA players who are not full time dunk specialists. They are volunteering their time to participate in what is supposed to be a fun event. I get that creativity is key to a dunk contest, but it is unreasonable at this point to expect these players to meet these super high expectations. Remember the gimmicky crap with Dwight Howard, Nate Robinson, and Blake Griffin? Those sorry excuses for a dunk contest are directly correlated to the pressure of coming up with new dunks. The bar being set so high creates a lot of unnecessary pressure on participants and deters players from wanting to participate. Add in the influence from social media and these creative amateur dunkers, it really exacerbates this problem because the casual fan will expect players to do these super athletic dunks. Lebron’s dunks are considered to be standard and unimpressive with today’s standard. Fans would most likely be disappointed with the lack of creativity. Maybe Lebron is smarter than all of us and realizes this. The tired argument about superstars like MJ and Dominique partaking in the dunk contest does not apply to the superstar of today. The windmill in the 80s is the equivalent to the East Bay in the late 90s. Those dunks got crazy scores for their era and are considered to be standard boring dunks today. You cannot compare the era of today’s NBA to the past because the difficulty of the dunks needed to create the same hype is nearly unattainable. In my opinion, the dunk contest is beyond repair at this point. Shaq’s reaction to Jalen Brown’s 360 windmill tells you everything you need to know. It was a decent dunk and Shaq had no reaction to it. It came off as condescending and was really sad to see. How are players expected to participate when their peers shit on them? Then you have to hear the aftermath from media and social media. It may be time to do away with NBA player involvement. SAS’s suggestion may be the only way to somewhat salvage the dunk contest to make it at least entertaining. All-Star Saturday night used to be a fun event to tune into. It seems like the NBA has gotten really lazy with the entire event.

I Love It Steven!! That might get some of these so called NBA “Skywalkers” to actually participate. Because the only massive grip I have is the lack their of participation from the so called NBA Stars! Add in the Three Point competition to this lack of participation!

I’ve been saying about the judges for a long time.Always older people or celebrities doing it. Just get more younger faces. If you want the crowd/fans to decide, have all participants do at their best 3 dunks and have the people decide who they like better.

So why not get streetballers to play the all star game so it's more competitive

I heard Mac McClung is going to be endorsed by Trump's new shoes.

It's getting exhausting and just lazy for pundits to just attach Bron's name to every argument. smh

Those judges need to be locked up in jail

if this idea comes to a fruition, people would look for jordan kilganon to participate in this dunk contest

Yo a National Slam Dunk Contest Would Be Dope

Lmaoooo wait players participating in the slam dunk contest is considered a risk to injury for the players the players they bring in are going to go all out because they don’t have to worry about an 82 game schedule. I’ve never seen anyone get hurt from the dunk contest

Lebron made covid

Harold Miner, NOT Craig Miner.

Not just dunk contest. Had Bron won against dirk... European basketball would NOT be dominating today...😮

We got a taste if what that would look like with Brown this weekend. Yes, Lebron is better, but what's been most impressive about his dunks was the amount of bodies he can go through and how much he could disassemble defenses that seem impenetrable. We don't call him a skywalker or a magic or something like that... he's a freightrain. That means he's not ellegant but gets it done. For his dunk to be inpressive he needs someone to put up a resistance, not an open court. Leave him on his own and there are no tricks. Sure maybe a windmill, or something like that, but nothing we haven't seen. Only more of the similar, but stronger. And sure, that would be impressive for anyone else, but Lebron is either going to put on a best show or he's a bust. So he doesn't do it at all because absence creates mystique.

Lebron to blame for everything right…. Cmon

Only The Best Player Wants to Proof they are The Best! LeBron was Afraid of Losing! "MJ The GOAT"

What's wrong with the G-League / WNBA / NBA Dunk Contest? They are being inclusive. I just dont understand why they still call it the NBA Dunk Contest or why it is called NBA All-Star Weekend. I feel bad for the regular people who paid hard-earned money to watch in person.

The dunk contest ruined itself. It’s boring as hell. Every dunk is 70% the same.

Bro this is bad take. Bro lebron is not a dunk freestyler he just a in game dunker

How is there not a place for Mac McClung? Two-time dunk contest winner. And before you say it, I've seen him play plenty. He's a basketball player, he's not a one trick pony.

I don't like Stephen As idea tbh. I want to see stars in the dunk contest. And actually... all of them. Forget this 4 contestants shit. Have the top 10 dunkers in the league all in it, find a way to force them. And maybe have like a "jump over a guy" round, but just one, and then you can't do it again. Perhaps also a dunk from the free throw line round. A windmill round, self alley round, etc etc. I think this would remove the "cringe" which is overwhelming at this point, and probably why stars don't want to do it. It is just like "he chose to do THAT? What a dork". Take the choice away from them and I think it would be different.

Maybe we could use that same process of finding guys from around the county to play in the all star game too. It would probably be more entertaining than what we saw Sunday night.

Shiiiiiiiiiit if this idea comes into play, ima hit the gym ASAP 😭😭😭🤣🤣🤣 I got a small bag of dunks but for a million dollars, it’s vertical programs I don’t mind paying for

Stephen A doesnt even realize the claim he is making saying Lebron ruined it. You're admitting he actually has more pull and sway than MJ if this is true. This means players are thinking "I dont care that MJ and Kobe did the contest and won. Bron aint never do it so im straight too". That's what players are thinking 20 years later?? Wow salute GOAT James!! ✊🏾💪🏾

Better idea. Have all participants attenpt over Steven A Smiths gargantuan forehead. So hes only played in 4 games. Thats 4 more than you scrub

"Handled himself with pristine class" is some of the funniest sh*t I've heard Stephen A say in a long time.

Yeah they should get rid of the slam dunk , because the Judges determine the outcome. Just like Figure skating, bodybuilding, beauty contests etc. If a couple of the Judges are Michael Jordan fans, most likely he's going to win the slam dunk. Did KD ever enter the 3 point shoutout, and Kawahi , I would watch those two.

Stephen A...is there a rule that superstar or skywalker that you must participate in the Dunk contest ?..However I think a national dunk concept is genius idea. That will make the contest worth watching.

You said everything man that's a very nice initiative keep up Stephen A 🤝✅

Lebrons in game dunks arent crazy like Vince's dunks used to be. Bron is 39, SAS needs to leave him alone. We have seen every single dunk.

I don’t wanna see randoms dunking. It’s the NBA All-Star weekend. I want to see NBA All-Stars dunking. If it ain’t that, then just get rid of it.

Aaron Gordon was cheated, and will never participate in a dunk contest again. That 9 out a 10 score played a part in it too.

Stephen A Smiths classic, let me celebrate you before I destroy your character routine 😂😂😂😂Why don’t you explain your college career buddy. Talk about that.

The slam dunk contest is no longer the thing to watch, we have seen it all. Boring.

It is time for Mr. Silver to step down before NBA gets destroyed to an unsalvageable point.

The best dunkers are not playing in the NBA. Things have changed. There are pro dunkers that make the living only with dunks. They elevating the dunk to a new level. I understand that NBA players don't reach that level and don't want to make a boring show. So to me that's not on LeBron.

Imagine the home run derby, having all triple A players competing, or maybe people from the streets from each state and a major leaguer all ⭐️ will sponsored him? lol this is where we are as fans, might as well go to your local park and watch people play cause it seems that the pros don’t want to compete.

Bring in professional dunkers since NBA players don’t want to participate would be my suggestion at least they put on a show

Oop, SAS about to get a phone call from Rich Paul 😂

I’d rather just start fining players for not participating in stuff like the dunk contest if selected and for poor effort in the all star game. And not flat fines, the fines should be a percentage of their yearly salary, something like 10%. I’m tired of beyond rich professional athletes acting like they’re above having to go to work like everyday people. There’s plenty of jobs where people risk injury daily, and those people haven’t already made tens of millions of dollars like these players have. There job isn’t to win championships, or else players on every team but one wouldn’t get paid. Their job is to entertain the fans, something they’ve clearly forgotten

Lebron competed in the DREW league so that isn’t a higher chance of injury

He also ruined competitiveness and killer mentality's. He wanna play with stars instead of beat them. 🤷🤷🤷🤦🤦🤦

Lebron never kept to his word about doing the dunk contest nor did he getting all them championships in Miami lol

Why would he compete in the dunk contest? Flashy dunks aren't his thing. He's 6'9 260. Dunk contests are for guards.

I AGREE 100 PERCENT .KUMINGA WOULD IT DONE A BETTER JOB NBA PLAYERS BEING BEAT BY A G LEAGUE PLAYER FOR 2 YEARS IN A ROLE .WHOS IDEA WAS THAT OR WAS IT PLAN ALREADY FOR HIM TO WIN

MJ doesn’t need excuses made to make his case. Keep on propping up LeQueen…bunch of clowns.

Who's Craig miner SAS? You mean Harold Miner. Don't throw more money at it, winner gets a guaranteed g league contract.

GREAT IDEA SLAM DUNK CONTEST!!!!!!❤❤😊

This Mac dudes dunks are sick Stop playing Smitty 😂

Lebron is like damn near 40 cmon now he ain’t trying to hurt him self

This is the DUMBEST statement ever 😂

Thankyou Stephen A Smith 🔥🇨🇦🇺🇸

Brother, I'm not trolling you but didn't you say on First Take after that one Slam Dunk Fiasco in 2020 I think, that you were gonna showcase a street dunker on the show? The best guy won, and he deserved it. He don't miss dunks, and need 50 chances to do it.

Here's a greater idea : Keenan Ivory Wayne's was a great idealist,,,,what he realized was the rating went almost down to nothing during the Superbowl half time back in the 90's when they did have the half time show as they do today. people turn away becuz all they had was talking , no brothahs, blacks , performing, etc ,,So Keenan put on a TV show ' called the Superbowl halftime special in living color comedy show for 30 minutes " ,,,, everyone turn the TV to Keenans show during halftime ,,,, since then the super bowl probably got jealous and said gotta ," up our game ,,,so they starting having real entertainment, Michael Jackson , Whitney, rappers, , concerts, Usher, etc ,,, my point ? Brothah that are crazy awesome dunkers need a Keenan leader to put in a " NBA same time show on another channel, show , live presentation , hold the kind of slam dunk that Steve is talking about ( if the NBA doesn't do ) -- be like Keenan and put it on independently of the NBA while the NBA slam dunk weekend or hour is happening , and watch the NBA ratings go down as people turn away to watch the other show that far more awesome and entertaining with crazy dunkers that we have seen in the hood ,,,,, i bet Adam silver would then use Steve's idea to get the rating backs ,,,, Adam would sponsor the show to bring those dunking outsider to the NBA the same was Skip Bayless lost Shannon and brought Lil Wayne, Michael , Richard, Keenan,,, ( all black entertainers trying to win again in rating,,, look at the Shannon show in the side ,,,,has the hottest ratings, and most shows from the street on the side where people went out and got real entertainers, team stuff , ,,it took over internet..now the mainstream, major platform TV network are copying or trying to copy the " Streets" ,,why because people go to where thing are more entertaining,,,,,,I didn't didnt watch the NBA slam dunk contest or the game , nor the full highlights ,,I only watch the Steph Curry 3 point thing.....so someone out there should be like Keenan and just do it,,forget the NBA ,,, be like these independ podcast ( Shannon / Cameron / Cory Holcoms/ Tasha K , etc)... They drew people's attention away from these mainstream networks and then they followed trying to save their ratings,,,, shoot ,,,I might just put it in myself from the street , and air it at the same time as next years NBA All Star weekend and dunk hour ,,and watch where the viewers go ...anyone using this idea ( from Keenan Ivory Wayne's concept , will most likely succeed that weekend and start a thing,,,, that's how boring the NBA All Star weekend is getting ..peace !

We can't forget after Dr J Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter , Griffin, Gordon ! I think Gordon is still , Mad about that Dunk Contest, His Ring has proved his experience . He got angry with Lebron about it ? 😮 He should relax now and be proud of his accomplishments?

Wade, Melo and LeBron never participated in the dunk contest

Lebron is 6’8 230lbs he is a in game dunker, he is not a zach lavine or Aaron Gordon. Blame Lebron for everything, just because someone is a top player in the league doesn’t mean he’s a type to do the dunk contest.

Lebron is not to blame Adam Sliver is...

Stephen A. just hating on Irish people, Everyone wants to be Irish but nobody wants to be Irish in America.