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I'm not going to read that. It's bull from the start.
Why LeBron Doesn’t Need the Dunk Contest
SportingNews
When the dunk contest participants were announced Monday, we couldn’t help but feel a void. Last All-Star weekend, LeBron James promised us he’d be there, jumping and dunking and giving us the most memorable contest moments since Vince Carter’s performance in 2000. Since that moment, his participation had seemed more unlikely with each passing day, but we still had hope. And then it was gone as fast as that speed artist could draw vaguely disturbing portraits of Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson, and Gerald Wallace.
I feel your pain. LeBron is an athlete unlike any we’ve ever seen, and if his in-game dunks are any indication, he would have shown us something magical. There was his McDonald’s All-America dunk contest win, plus dude once went through his legs in a high-school game. Maybe he’d dunk two balls through his legs at the same time, or do a flip. And we haven’t even considered the props yet. As with most things LeBron-related, we want him in the dunk contest because his performance threatened to expand the limits of our imagination. Whenever he takes the court, even in a goofy exhibition, we’re liable to see something we’ve never seen before.
There has been another type of outcry for his absence in the dunk contest. There’s an odd sense that, as the primetime superstar in the world, LeBron must compete in the contest as a rite of passage, to prove to us that he is worthy of our adoration—even though LeBron has never been about matching the accomplishments of icons that have come before him.
Let’s take a step back in time and remember Michael Jordan. His Airness famously competed in three dunk contests, the most famous of which was his 1988 showdown with Dominique Wilkins. Since then, all varieties of New Jordans have entered, including Kobe Bryant (the 1997 champion) and Vince Carter (the 2000 champion). For both players, winning the dunk contest thrust them into the national spotlight. Kobe became more than just a preps-to-pros headline-grabber, and VC turned into a legitimate superstar, someone who briefly seemed like he could take up the mantle of MJ.
In retrospect, these were silly conclusions to draw; Kobe proved that he was a true student of the game and not just a leaper, and Carter revealed himself to be a false idol more in line with any number of athletic, high-scoring shooting guards. But the fact remains that the dunk contest conferred legitimacy on their careers, even if not for the best reasons, and made them household names. That doesn’t happen for every player, of course—name me one kid with a Desmond Mason lunchbox—but for a certain kind of uber-talented youngster, the dunk contest can start you on the path to greatness.
That’s really only the case because Michael Jordan was once involved in it. In the post-Jordan era, with the league and fans desperately searching for a new savior, any shred of Jordan mimicry became a sign of forthcoming greatness. The dunk contest was just one of many possible ways to prove one’s self, but for a group of fans that grew up with posters of the free-throw line dunk on their walls, it was one of the most potent.
LeBron, though, has bypassed the typical paths to becoming an icon, even if we’ve occasionally tried to force him into the established model. His victory over Detroit in 2007 became like Jordan’s in 1991, his playoff explosion in that same Detroit series gets compared to Jordan’s scoring outburst against Boston in 1986. At every turn, there’s an attempt to make LBJ like the greats of yesteryear, to compare him to that which has come before. But a strong relationship to history has always been Kobe’s M.O., whereas LeBron charts a new course.
We all know that LeBron is a unique basketball player: his combination of size, strength, speed, and skill is something we’ve never seen before. But the public perception of LeBron is unprecedented, as well. In contrast to most stars, LeBron rarely receives criticism for his team’s failings, instead getting blamed for matters inconsequential to winning like not shaking hands after a loss. Attempts to criticize him have often felt unfair, such as when he was given for passing to open teammates in the closing seconds of games, exactly the kind of thing fans have been asking of supposedly greedy superstars for years. Through it all, LeBron appears above the fray, well on his way to unheard-of s om even as he hasn’t won a championship. He is so great that his reputation has become untouchable.
The last player to recast our conception of what a superstar can be was, well, Michael Jordan. And as we’ve hopefully learned after years of failure and disappointment with any number of would-be kings, the Next Jordan will be like Michael less in their basketball similarities than in his ability to reshape what it means to be the best player on Earth.
So complain about LeBron’s dunk contest absence if you like, but only because we’re being deprived of a spectacle. For all we know, after LeBron retires, maybe we’ll want all pretenders to the throne to sit out the dunk contest. After all, LeBron didn’t need it, so why should they?
I'm not going to read that. It's bull from the start.
Lebron > Jordan
NBA Dunk contest video tapes are harder to confiscate if things go awry.
I like lebron, but that he backed out is a pretty ty move. Its probably something economical behind this. If he is getting owned in the contest, his image as the allmighty will decrease, thus the incomes for his sponsors will also increase, they dont want that.
I mean, they even confiscated the tape of him being dunked on by a kid. That was something they couldnt prevent. But this they can, by him backing out.
Last edited by Bukefal; 01-19-2010 at 04:50 PM.
He said that he'd participate because he wanted the attention. But in the long run, it would cost his ego more if he were to participate and not win versus not participating at all.
He's just playing it safe.
He never intended on participating. He saw Dwight in the spotlight and hated it, so he had the TV camera come over so he could spew bull and get attention.
This is exactly why LeBron would be an idiot to participate in the dunk contest- and why he was an idiot to say he would in the first place.
lebron trying to be like Mayweather and chicken out.
Although it appears to be a punk move, I have to agree.
LeBron would gain some credibility by winning the dunk contest but stands to lose a ton more if he joins and loses.
Since he already has pretty high credibility, it's not really worth the heavy possible damage for little gain.
He'd be a lock to win it, and he's pussing out. Lame.
Maybe he's saving it for when he's on the Knicks.
What makes you think that? There are a load of guys in the NBA who can punch it and a load of other guys outside the NBA who can as well. I don't see where LeBron has any special edge in the dunking department.
Who's in it this year?
Plus if Nate and Dwight can make it to the final round last year after the fact that they probably should've have been in the finals in the first place, LeBron would just get 50's for showing up.
not gonna read that bull
lebron
Lebron > Jordan
Yet another reason for him not to participate.
Other than the fact that he said he would, I haven't heard anything close to a good reason for him to take part.
Most non-Cavaliers fans despise LeBron and want him to fail. That's just a fact. Why should he dance in a dog-and-pony show for people who can't stand him anyway?
It's not that we despise LeBron for what he has done per se...but the whole "King" thing is ultra hilarious when he hasn't won anything worth that le. I like LeBron as a player and what he does on the court is amazing. It's his antics like dancing and not giving props after getting eliminated that kinda irks me. Again, he's a public figure and in no way should disparaging him become an obsession like so many posters in here have made it for LeBron or any other player.
With that being said, he really shouldn't have made that bold statement that he'd participate in this year's Slam Dunk Contest. To back out, makes him look a little soft and not a man of his principle. Now how many kids are going to be disappointed when they watch the Slam Dunk contest and no #23 isn't participating? I'm sure it'll still be exciting no matter what happens.
If it is about his image and the fact he doesn't want to come up short or doesn't have the cajones to attempt to be memorable, then that's sad for his sake. Man the up and do the thing. It isn't like you're going to be dissed because you lost the contest.
why in the f-u-c-k are we talking about Lebronze not needing the dunk contest because he has too much to loose when this mutha a hasn't won a championship....the ing dunk contest should be the last of his worries...as usual Lebronze is showing just how made he really is...I mean really he's a ing soap opera queen if I've ever seen one...and if you look at his high school dunk contest tape this mutha er can only do power dunks...in the contest he did the same ing basic power dunks that he does in games that's the real reason why his punk ass won't participate.
LOL @ Laker fan above me talking about how Lebron is a "soap opera queen"..how fitting..
Updated.
Jim Brown wants LeBron to remain in Cleveland
By Tom Withers
The most famous football player in Cleveland history hopes the city’s most celebrated basketball star stays put.
Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown said Tuesday night that he hopes LeBron James remains with the Cavaliers.
James, the NBA’s reigning MVP, can leave Cleveland as a free agent after this season. He has never indicated he will sign elsewhere, but speculation has centered on him signing in a new, long-term contract in a larger market.
Brown, who played his entire NFL career in Cleveland, would like to see James do the same.
“Looking at the fact that it is a business, I put that first,” Brown said. “But having said that, I would love to see him be here. I think it’s a terrific marriage. He does so much for this city and I think he has an owner (Dan Gilbert) that tries to do everything he can. When you have an owner who is trying to do the best he can do and a player, it’s a terrific set of cir stances. But the business is the business.”
James and Brown met with the media before Tuesday night’s game against the Toronto Raptors. They were brought together as part of the Cavaliers’ celebration of black heritage month. Brown was honored during halftime ceremonies along with former Ohio State football star Cris Carter, Buckeyes basketball great Jim Jackson and former Cleveland Indians pitcher Jim “Mudcat” Grant.
James seemed genuinely awed to be in Brown’s company.
“Anytime you can be mentioned with a great and be able to continue the legacy he built here in Cleveland, is humbling for me,” James said. “We both know how much the fans love sports and I have had to learn to keep the momentum going after he passed the torch.”
Brown praised James for helping give opportunities to others and for making the most of the chances he has received.
“What Dr. King worked for was to give young men like him an opportunity and when you get an opportunity you can’t squander that,” Brown said. “You see that so much in the league now, young men that have great opportunities to make a lot of money and they squander it. But this young man hasn’t done that.
“Although he’s a young man, he’s way beyond his age.”
Last edited by duncan228; 01-19-2010 at 08:34 PM.
He doesnt need it b/c of all the rings, mvps and career playoff wins he's won....oh wait. off LeCrab Nothing.
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U mad?