LeBron James explains why he never participated in Dunk Contest: “I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish"
Throughout his illustrious 20-year career in the NBA, LeBron James has done just about everything a player can do. However, there is one thing he's stayed away from that many have begged him to change his mind on.
Dating back to his early days with the Cleveland Cavaliers, fans have always wanted to see LeBron James compete in the dunk contest. Despite all the constant talk about it, the LA Lakers star never changed his mind.
Recently, LeBron talked about the dunk contest in an interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson. He said the reason he never decided to partake is because it was something he never felt he wanted to accomplish:
“I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine and it never was coming into the NBA to be a part of the Dunk Contest, you know?
Making the NBA All-Star Team was, being the league MVP, winning Defensive Player of the Year, winning NBA Championships…? Those were some goals of mine. The NBA Dunk Contest was never a goal of mine so, it wasn’t something that I had too much passion for.”
LeBron James says he never wanted to participate in the slam dunk contest
“I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine and it never was coming into the NBA to be a part of the Dunk Contest, you know? Making the NBA All-Star Team… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/iF083Xf2Qj
Should LeBron James have competed in the dunk contest?
While it might not have been on his radar, LeBron James perhaps should have competed in the dunk contest at least once. Throughout NBA history, countless big-name stars have put on a show at the event. Some of the first names that come to mind include Michael Jordan and Vince Carter.
Part of why LeBron should have done so is to help bring more popularity back to the event. In recent years, the dunk contest has been lackluster. It's been so down that fans are starting to say that the 3-point contest is now the most exciting event of All-Star Saturday night.
LeBron's decision to shrug off the dunk contest could have also had a larger impact as well. One reason why the event has taken a hit is that superstars don't really partake in it anymore.
When someone as big as LeBron is always turning it down, it might be putting the wrong idea in other guys' heads around the league.
At this point in his career, it's safe to say that we'll never see LeBron compete in the dunk contest. That being said, it will always be a major "what-if" of All-Star weekend history.