Shaquille O’Neal shares harsh truth about lack of stars at NBA Slam…
Shaquille O’Neal sees a pair of major issues with the NBA’s slumping dunk contest these days.
Too many non-stars. And too many missed dunks.
“In the last 15 years, we haven’t had a real top guy like LeBron [James], Zion Williamson, participate in a dunk contest,” O’Neal said on Boardroom Cover Stories. “And then you’ve got guys missing three or four dunks.”
Former Los Angeles Lakers Hall of Fame heart Shaquille O’Neal criticized the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Erik Pendzich/Shutterstock
The NBA’s annual dunk contest, which takes place over All-Star Weekend and is now formally branded as AT&T Slam Dunk, has grown flat and stagnant following its historical past of stars both competing against each other (suppose Michael Jordan versus Dominique Wilkins) or being born in the dunk contest itself (suppose Dee Brown).
It’s also featured some iconic moments, including Vince Carter’s reverse 360 windmill dunk in 2000, Dwight Howard’s Superman slam in 2008 and Blake Griffin’s jam over a automotive in 2011.
But in the trendy period of basketball, the dunk contest has been steadily declining and criticized for the lack of stars taking part in it.
Consider that some of the winners over the last 15 years have included Keshad Johnson (2026), Mac McClung (the three earlier seasons), Hamidou Diallo (2019), Glenn Robinson III (2017) and Jeremy Evans (2012). Not precisely big names.
The winner of O’Neal’s DUNKMAN will obtain $500,000, the largest prize in skilled dunk historical past. O’Neal said on the podcast that the cash may enhance during the competitors, relying on how effectively the expertise does.
Utah Jazz heart and ahead Jaxson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA dunk contest. Getty Images
“If you look online, there are kids who are not good enough to be in the NBA, but they’re unbelievable dunkers, and they’ve got a lot of views [on social media],” O’Neal said. “They get a lot of eyes on them. I was like, maybe we need to put a league together and compensate these guys.”
O’Neal added that DUNKMAN shall be a diversified event, as it’ll feature athletes from England, China, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Ukraine and the United States.
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