Stephen A. Smith never holds back when he feels strongly about anything. Some people, including the ESPN NBA commentator, have voiced their displeasure at the NBA slam dunk contest. He expressed dissatisfaction with the 2024 NBA All-Star Game and the weekend without holding back. He felt let down by the Dunk Contest, though.
With the former prominence of the competition, it has gotten to the point where it is humiliating. Smith thought the NBA should seek outside the league for participants to find a solution. Smith said he would use his own money and seek help from others to fix the contest.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYvywwBNsM0
This is what Smith said:
I want you all to hear this in detail, and I’ll put some of my own money up if that’s what it takes. It is not gonna be me alone. I need help now. I ain’t got that much paper, and I’ve spoken to Adam Silver about it.
Stephen A Smith on NBA Dunk contest
Smith’s first suggestion to keep the slam dunk competition alive began with reaching out to professional dunkers nationwide. Smith said he took NBA Commissioner Adam Silver up on his suggestion, suggesting the league have real tryouts in several places.
Smith stated that the NBA should provide free travel for the best ten or five dunkers from each city to the All-Star weekend. Smith also suggested that Silver pay these players a million dollars for the win.
Stephen A Smith blames LeBron James for Dunk Contest getting ruined
Aside from participating in the yearly Slam Dunk competition, LeBron James has accomplished everything there is to do in the NBA. According to Stephen A. Smith, his inaction was the only reason the competition’s quality worsened over time. This past February 19, Smith and his co-hosts Shannon Sharpe and Kendrick Perkins talked about the issue on First Take.
Stephen A Smith (Credits: Fox News)Smith blasted James, saying that the NBA legend caused the issues. Although he believed James had an amazing career, he said there existed a negative mark on his professional record because, unlike other legends, he did not participate in the dunk contest.
“LeBron James is directly responsible for ruining the slam dunk contest… LeBron James refusing to participate… was the beginning and the spark plug of its demise. Period! There is no one who can dispute that.”
– Stephen A. Smith 🤔pic.twitter.com/zrmazKBqO5
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2024
Sharpe disagreed with Smith. However, Smith continued by highlighting that former athletes like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Dominique Wilkins participated in the competition and took first place. He went on to say that until LeBron declared he wouldn’t be participating, all the amazing in-game dunkers wanted to be in the dunk competition.
