The dunk contest needs to be seriously revamped. This thread is just about discussing some realistic ideas for improving it. Here are my ideas: Participant Selection I don't like the idea of the league selecting the participants without any input from fans. If they are so insistent on fans voting for the all-star starters, why not also get them involved on voting in participants on Saturday night? This is what I propose. Any player who is willing to participate in the dunk contest will let the league know within the first few months of the season. Then, once the voting for the all-star game opens up, there will also be a ballot selection for dunk contest participants out of those players. The top 8 selections will be the chosen field. Format I think some structure needs to be added to the format of the dunk contest. I don't like this twitter/text voting thing. There should be judges. Also, the contest has gotten more and more gimmicky. There should be some limits imposed on that. Finally, why allow a player to keep dunking indefinitely without penalty? Having a great dunk that is executed perfectly on the first try should be rewarded, IMO. Use judges. They should be past dunk contest winners and/or NBA legends. Guys who have enough credibility that they won't have their votes swayed by gimmicks or hype. If NBA wants to involve a fan, maybe pick a kid to be an honorary judge. So, 4 pro judges and 1 fan judge. Increase the field to 8 dunkers, 3 rounds, 2 dunks per round. 4 dunkers advance to 2nd round, 2 advance to 3rd round. A prop may optionally be used on *1 dunk* only in the first round An assistant may optionally be used on only *2 dunks total* in the first two rounds. So, final round the dunks have to be unassisted and no props. No limit on the number of attempts on a given dunk, however there will be an automatic 5 point deduction for each miss. Reward A popular suggestion has been adding prize money to get more big-name players to be involved. I think that will help, but I don't like the idea of bribing a player to be involved. We don't have to pay these guys to play in the all-star game, do we? Instead, I propose that each selected player will compete on behalf of a charity. It can be a charity of their choosing or one the league chooses for them. There will be a $500,000 pot, and it will be distributed to the participants' charities in this way: $200,000 to 1st place $100,000 to 2nd place $40,000 to 3th, 4th, and 5th place $20,000 to 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th place The charities that are being played for can be announced ahead of time, but the judges shouldn't know which player is doing which charity so they aren't influenced by it.
the problem is that the big names don't want to participate again in the dunk contest after they win it
Reward system is pretty good I think.... but 8 dunkers.... no time limitation.... it is impossible... they have a contract with TV..... schedule time.... I don't think they can extend to half an hour to an hour more... too much broadcasting time. You might not like it but the fan Twitter, Text, NBA page voting system is pretty straight forward because a guy like Budinger or Evans can win over more hyped players such as DWilliams or Paul George.
How long did the dunk contest used to take in the 80s? Yesterday, there were 12 dunks total. In what I'm proposing, there will be 28 dunks total. Good point ... probably need to cut that back or impose some time limits per dunk.
Part of the fun of the dunk contest is seeing a dunk and then seeing what the judges give it. Also, there needs to be a 1-on-1 dunk-off at the end where the stakes are raised.
The NBA should pay/convince Lebron and Rose to do the contest. Make it a 1 on 1 slam dunk contest for the ages. Start hyping early. Create buzz not seen since Jordan Vs Dominique. Run promos almost like a WWE/UFC style with each player talking trash. Let Sprite promote it like crazy with commercials and in the end we all win. Hype and excitement will be off the charts!
all contestants should have to perform certain required dunks (1 try only per): Windmill Tomahawk Free Throw Line Between the Leg Double Clutch Rock the Baby / Rock the Cradle Off the Backboard only the finalists may freestyle
Make the prize home-court advantage to the winner's conference in the Finals. That will get the big name players out. Jordan and Kobe would be there every year. As it is now, the Eastern Conf has an unfair advantage at winning home court, because it is the vastly weaker conference. So, there should be some contest to claim home court.
Honestly I think they should erase the dunk contest for a few years. When you think about it, almost every dunk has been done. There isn't really much of anything new dunkers can do nowadays. I think having them once every couple/few years would be good for the contest. That way there would be more prestige to it that gets everyone excited due to it being held every other year or more. Plus it gives players more preparation and pressure to perform due to the hype. None of the generic free throw line dunks, straight up windmill, self pass-windmill type of dunks. One other thing, get rid of the useless props. Cars... motorcycle... really? It's boring, unless you're jumping over a minivan or something. Also none of that useless costumes. Superman costumes? Green kryptonite costumes? Glow in the dark? wtf. This isn't halloween.
Good idea to go back to 1 on 1 showdown at the end about the 80s I think the NBA caters to the young demographics more today I guess it a Joker would be great given by the special jury if say two guys are close winning, within 3-5 percentage difference say Evans 29 Bud 28 one and one plus more votes from Twitter and other media If it is still close, special jury decides
The dunk contest has jumped the shark with Michael Jordan's participation. It should have stopped right then. I just don't like beauty contest type competition in basketball. Even the all star game itself has lost it's competitiveness since the Bird-Magic era. The only thing that is close to a real competition now is the 3-pt shooting.
Back in the day they had like 8 dunkers. They should go back to that. Also these guys need to stop putting up their practice dunks on Youtubes because it looks like those are their best dunks.
I think they could go a long way toward making the contest better by increasing the number of participants. Instead of trying to push events like the skills competition, take that time and add more players into the dunk contest. I would also suggest getting rid of the Shooting Stars competition, but I know that the league will never let that happen, as they want the chance to push the WNBA players. I say have at least eight guys dunk. That way, more fans get to see a player from their team compete and there is greater chance that we see something incredible. As long as you put a time limit on each dunk like they did last night, you would have plenty of time.
They don't even have to get ride of the Shooting Stars competition. Just get ride of the whack performances before the Dunk Contest.
Not too much related, but at least have a segment before the dunk contest starts where different players take turns kicking Justin Bleeper on the ground. It'll get everyone in the building hyped up. More adrenaline pumping during dunks.
