All-Star Weekend 2017

[Andrew]

I have to admit that I do kind of enjoy the cheesiness of the Ceballos dunk, but yeah, at the same time it was also pretty dumb. He had much better dunks in that same contest, though.

[Dee4Three]

I have to admit that I do kind of enjoy the cheesiness of the Ceballos dunk, but yeah, at the same time it was also pretty dumb. He had much better dunks in that same contest, though.

Agreed.

[Lean]

Blake's car dunk was... meh. Was that the one with the choir and Kenny Smith are singing "I Believe I Can Fly"?

Maybe the Dunk Contest is now at a point that all the dunks a human being can possibly do have been done already? I'd still put last year's contest as one of the best in recent memory, along with the ones from 2003 and 2004.

[Andrew]

I thought the car dunk was OK, but the best dunk Griffin did was the honey dip off the backboard. It's kind of underrated, because everyone focuses on the car dunk, for better or worse.

The dunk contest usually has at least a few dunks that are entertaining year to year, but some contests are better than others. That's just the way it goes. There are plenty of dunks that haven't been done though, or at least variations on existing ones that are creative and would be spectacular. Some years, the field just disappoints.

[debiler]

Now, about that dunk contest: I think Kenny Smith had his part in where we are today. When Jason Richardson did his spectacular final dunk way back then, Kenny was like: "I've seen something I've never seen before!" And players think this is what they have to do - present a dunk nobody has ever seen before. Which is really impossible, because youtube. I don't like Kenny on "Open Court", he talks a lot of nonsense and is basically just Barkley's annoying sidekick. But in the dunk contest, I love the guy. He is hilarious at times, although he repeats himself quite a lot to make sure everybody got his latest one-liner.

But am I the only one who cares about execution and style more than about innovation? Some examples:

- Vince Carter's first dunk in 2000 (still one of my all-time favorites). I'm sure there are lots of players able to do that. But it was so perfect and flawless. It looked like one fluid motion and combined power and grace.
- Desmond Mason's between the legs dunk in 2003. Utter perfection. Everything about that dunk was beautiful. You can't do a between the legs better than he did. Josh Smith might disagree, but my statement stands.
- Jordan's freethrow line dunk. He made people believe he could fly. The fact that he pumped the ball in mid-flight and that he still had all the time in the world to throw it down makes this one so special. It looked so unbelievably easy. Ibaka's FT line dunk was from farther away, but it had no style whatsoever. You could practically see him stretch, stretch, streeeeetch just to reach the rim. It wasn't pretty imo.
- Dwight Howard's "tap-it-with-the-left-throw-down-with-the-right" dunk. It was spectacular. It was fresh. It made Kenny laugh in disbelief. Wonderful. Add to that Dwight's nonchalant demeanor and you have the perfect combination of fun, excitement and "I don't believe what I just saw!"

EDIT: Also, some of those dorky, gimmicky dunks can be fun, too. Dwight's sticker dunk! I nearly wet myself when I saw his face grinng down from the edge of the backboard, Green's cupcake, Ceballos' blindfold, Dee Brown's no-look dunk - they were all hilarious and that's why they worked. But what's funny or special about a drone? What with the choir? And Jesus H. Christ, Michael Finley - practice a cartwheel before you try it in a dunk contest next time!

[debiler]

Blake's car dunk was... meh. Was that the one with the choir and Kenny Smith are singing "I Believe I Can Fly"?

I think it was "Flight" White, wasn't it?

[Andrew]

I get the appeal of the sticker dunk, though I disagree with people who thought Howard was robbed on it. He's 6'11", of course he can place a sticker higher up on the backboard. Apart from that, it was a regular dunk with a backboard top. It didn't get a 50, and it shouldn't have received a 50. The tap dunk you mentioned, though? Very underrated, and a good example of innovation, variation on an existing theme, and an impressive display of athleticism and coordination. I think that's the best dunk that Howard ever did in a contest.

Execution and style absolutely matter. When it looks stylish, fluid, and the dunk is clean, it definitely looks impressive. Innovation is important, but a perfectly executed classic - or variation on a classic - probably deserves more credit than it gets these days. Your point about MJ's free throw line dunk is a good one. Dr J had already done it, but MJ added the pump, and also quite significantly, he dribbled. A lot of players who have made the leap from the free throw line (or near enough) haven't dribbled, or start travelling on the last few steps. MJ, and other players who have dribbled the ball before taking off from there, stand apart because of that.

[debiler]

I get the appeal of the sticker dunk, though I disagree with people who thought Howard was robbed on it. He's 6'11", of course he can place a sticker higher up on the backboard. Apart from that, it was a regular dunk with a backboard top. It didn't get a 50, and it shouldn't have received a 50. The tap dunk you mentioned, though? Very underrated, and a good example of innovation, variation on an existing theme, and an impressive display of athleticism and coordination. I think that's the best dunk that Howard ever did in a contest.

Execution and style absolutely matter. When it looks stylish, fluid, and the dunk is clean, it definitely looks impressive. Innovation is important, but a perfectly executed classic - or variation on a classic - probably deserves more credit than it gets these days. Your point about MJ's free throw line dunk is a good one. Dr J had already done it, but MJ added the pump, and also quite significantly, he dribbled. A lot of players who have made the leap from the free throw line (or near enough) haven't dribbled, or start travelling on the last few steps. MJ, and other players who have dribbled the ball before taking off from there, stand apart because of that.

I didn't say the sticker dunk deserved a 50, that would be ridiculous. But it was a funny idea, executed properly and it entertained the hell out of the crowd. To me, anything that makes ol' Mutombo crack up is good enough. It's certainly better than the n-th iteration of "jump over a guy", impressive as it may be. Dwight was this funny-man persona back then, and this dunk played perfectly off that image.

I'm with you on the tap-dunk. It was awesome. Especially Kenny's reaction during the replays.

[Andrew]

I know you didn't, but a lot of people seemed to think it wasn't judged fairly. I personally thought the score was about right for what it was, and feel it was a bit overhyped.

[Jackal]

Aaron Gordon's dunk over the mascot is the best dunk I can remember from recent times. That motherfucker basically took an in air seat over a mascot and dunked after. What.

[Andrew]

Yeah, can't fault last year's contest at all, it was awesome.

[Andrew]

Here's hoping.

[big-shot-ROB]

I will agree with you guys that making a dunk clean and fluid is probably the most important thing. That'ss like comedians, they have to do funny jokes, but the style of talking, expressing with their face, walking, moving, can set them apart from the rest. You have to have that spark. Dunks are the same.

The dunk contest was pretty bad overall, but if you can extract Jones Jr's between the legs off-the-backboard dunk and Robinson's first dunk from the overall boredoom and tiredness the dunk contest made you feel this year, they're at least decent.

[Andrew]

Those dunks definitely were nice. It's a rare dunk contest that offers up absolutely nothing entertaining, but some are sadly more fun to watch highlights of, rather than in real time.