SAN FRANCISCO — Pretty much every year we see a variant of the same idea. Some NBA superstar is sitting in a hotel room or on a tropical island in the early days of the All-Star break, watching either a Dunk Contest for the ages or one more suited for a fast food dumpster. Afterward they get the itch and can’t resist putting out to millions of social media followers that they’re thinking about signing up for next year’s contest.
This time around it was high-flying Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant, clearly inspired — like the rest of us — by the third iteration of Mac McClung’s incomprehensible aerial majesty.
“Mac might make me decide to dunk,” he tweeted, made all the more intriguing by the fact that Morant had earlier this season decreed a self-imposed ban of dunking … which lasted about 72 hours.
Morant’s tweet received a notable reply from Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who said, “If you do it. I’ll do it with you,” followed by a “100” emoji.
The emoji selection is appropriate, since there’s a 100% chance that this is never going to happen.
The most famous “I’m gonna do the dunk contest!” guy is LeBron James, who teased participation on multiple occasions but has never pulled the trigger. NBA analysts and former players alike have blamed James’ lack of zest for the contest as part of the reason why it’s declined so steeply since the glory days of Michael Jordan and Vince Carter.
But those arguments are built upon a false premise: That fans want to see stars in the Dunk Contest. How do we know it’s a false premise? Look no further than McClung, the only three-peat winner in NBA history.
Now 26 years old, McClung has played in exactly five NBA games. He’s played as many NBA minutes (71) as points that Donovan Mitchell once scored in a single game. Not many outside the high school mixtape circuit, had even heard of McClung prior to his first Dunk Contest call-up three years ago.
The answer, folks, is right in front of our faces. It’s not the stars that will draw excitement. It’s the dunks. McClung has…
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