Been there. Done that.
Not sure that was the exact response of Paul George to the NBA league office, which requested his presence in the All-Star Saturday dunk contest, but he turned them down according to the Indy Star (hat tip Eye On Basketball).
And don’t bet on him showing up for anything else on All-Star Saturday night. He’s just doing the big show Sunday.On Saturday night, George said that he declined an invitation by the league to compete in this year’s Slam Dunk Contest in New Orleans.
Although George —who made his first All-Star appearance as a player last year — has not completely closed the door on the possibility, he confirmed that he likely will not participate in other All-Star weekend events such as the Skills Contest and will not make a return appearance to the 3-point Shootout.
George did compete in the 2012 dunk contest (he jumped over two people) but doesn’t want to play that game again.
It’s not yet official — voting ends Monday night, so you can still cast a ballot — but George will be voted in by the fans as one of the frontcourt starters in the Easter Conference (along with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, which basically pushes LeBron to the center spot against Dwight Howard).
Can’t say I blame the George for saying no, but it is our loss. Because he can dunk.
