The NBA solicits its star players to compete in All-Star weekend’s dunk contest on a regular basis, but most don’t want to be the biggest name associated with the event.
There’s no upside for someone like LeBron James to enter the dunk contest against a field of mostly lesser-known, non-star players. Win it, and that was what you were supposed to do; lose, and it becomes an unnecessary source of embarrassment.
That’s the situation that John Wall finds himself in as he mulls his invite to participate. There is also an injury concern, but that would seem to disappear rather quickly should other star players decide to enter the contest.
From J. Michael of CSN Washington:When John Wall was named an All-Star for the first time last week, he told CSN Washington that he was considering invitations from the NBA to participate in the dunk contest and skills competition. He’ll make up his mind Monday, but it appears he’s learning towards the latter because of injury concerns.
Wall is dealing with soreness on the heel of his feet and is worried about the extra pounding, though if the competition involves superstars maybe -- just maybe -- he could change his mind. ...
But make no mistake, the dunk contest is tempting. When Paul George of the Indiana Pacers threw down a 360-windmill dunk two weeks ago, in the locker room after the Wizards played, Wall got word of the feat. After seeing the video of it, Wall insisted that he could’ve done it better.
That’s a bold statement there, Mr. Wall, considering the Paul George dunk is a candidate for the best we’ve seen in a game all season.
Wall was dealing with back spasms earlier in the year, so that combined with the heel thing may in fact be a legitimate reason to not try to do too much. But since he may choose to participate based on who else decides to do the same, the injury concerns likely aren’t all that serious.
