How to Fix the NBA Dunk Contest

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NBA all-star weekend is one of the most exciting weekends of the whole season and it just might be the best all star weekend of all four major sports in America. The dunk contest is the most exciting event of all-star weekend, but over the past few years the event has been quite disappointing. Here’s what I believe the NBA can do to fix the dunk contest.

1. No More Celebrity Judges

I have no clue why we have celebrities judging the dunk contest. Can someone please explain to me why Common and Chadwick Boseman were judging this year’s dunk contest? I think only previous dunk contest winners should be eligible to be the judges. Dominique Wilkins and Julius Erving have both won the dunk contest before, but they were both on the sidelines Saturday night. Why? Guys like Wilkins and Erving know what dunks are worth a fifty and which ones aren’t. We shouldn’t have celebrities judging this event, it’s stupid.

2. Better Grading System

Obviously the grading of the dunks is subjective, but for the past few years the judges have been way too lenient and inconsistent with their grades. For example, there is no way Dwight Howard’s second dunk this year was a 49. It was basic and only received such a high score because it was a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant. You’re crazy if you think that should’ve received a higher grade than Aaron Gordon and Derrick Jones Jr’s dunks in the final round. I also hate how every dunk gets a 45-50 even if a guy misses on his first five attempts. Guys should be punished for missing their dunks and it should be impossible to get a fifty if you don’t complete your dunk on your first attempt. I also think dunkers should be penalized for repeating dunks. Derrick Jones Jr. did the same kind of dunk multiple times and then Aaron Gordon literally copied one of DJJ’s dunks and got a 50. It’s freaking ridiculous. My biggest issue with the grading is the judges are giving out way too many fifties when only a handful of dunks are truly worthy of a perfect score. Getting new judges would be extremely helpful with these problems.

3. More Star Power

This isn’t 100% necessary, but it would be awesome to see some of the league’s biggest stars participate in the dunk contest. I don’t know exactly why superstars like Lebron James won’t join the dunk contest, but I assume it’s because of injury risk or maybe even the horrendous judging. Ja Morant tweeted that he would not participate in the dunk contest next year because of the controversial mishap by the judges this year. Just imagine how much fun it would be to see Lebron, Zion, and Ja face off next year in Indiana. Everyone would tune in to see LBJ and two of the best young talents in the NBA in a dunk fest. Obviously the NBA can’t do anything about the lack of star power, but it would be nice to see a superstar join the dunk contest next year.

I love the dunk contest and I hope the NBA works to make the event as good as possible. The event was amazing this year (probably the second best dunk contest ever), but it is way too inconsistent and would be a whole lot better if the NBA implements some of the fixes I proposed above.