If the NBA wants to increase the star power in the Slam Dunk Contest, it needs to find a way to get Zion Williamson into the All-Star Game.
Speaking to reporters after the New Orleans Pelicans’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, Williamson was asked about the possibility of taking part in the dunk contest at some point in his career.
“If I’m in the All-Star Game, I’ll do the dunk contest,” he answered. “But if I’m not, I’m not doing it.”
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“If I’m in the All-Star game, I’ll do the dunk contest.” -Zion 😱🍿 pic.twitter.com/5kilIDHgCz
The obvious response would be to point out Williamson has been named to the All-Star team twice in his career, but he didn’t participate in the dunk contest either time.
One of those missed opportunities was bad luck. Williamson made the team during the 2022-23 season, but a hamstring injury suffered in January kept him out for the remainder of the year.
Williamson has frequently talked about doing the dunk contest, though he has yet to follow through on it. The 23-year-old told Riley Jones of COMPLEX in February 2023 he would “put heavy consideration” into participating in the event and “probably do it next year.”
The 2024 Slam Dunk Contest came and went without Williamson’s participation. He wasn’t named to the All-Star team this year amid heavy competition in the Western Conference frontcourt.
This year’s contest did feature an actual NBA All-Star for the first time since 2017 when DeAndre Jordan was a contestant. Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown participated in the event, though his performance didn’t exactly light the world on fire.
Mac McClung, who has spent almost the entirety of his professional career in the G League, has won the dunk contest in each of the past two years.
The last player to win the Slam Dunk Contest in the same season that he was on the All-Star team was John Wall in 2014.
Williamson is in the midst of his worst NBA season, at least among those that haven’t been disrupted by injuries. He’s still putting up solid numbers with 22.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game in 51 starts. His .611 true-shooting percentage is the worst of his career.
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