The dunk contest at the All-Star Game is no longer popular

If in the past the weekend ofAll-Star Game represented a significant and iconic moment of the NBA season today the charm of the traditional mid-February appointment seems to have vanished. A decadence, this, concerning all the events that make up the program, but one in particular: lo Slam Dunk Contestthe historic flagship of Saturday evenings, which is going through a phase of (irreversible?) decline.

With the 72nd edition, soon to be staged in Salt Lake City, the basketball entertainment weekend par excellence is now perceived as a halftime show. A show, that is, which has the sole purpose of entertaining the public during the off days of the seasonand which seems to have bored not only the nostalgics of times gone by, but also the new generations.

Despite the league’s efforts to save the All-Star Game, the loss of meaning of the Sunday game – the result of the inevitable unwillingness of the players to approach it competitively – transformed the entire weekend into a redundant kermesse, in which everything seems Already seen. And above all the Dunk Contest, which has systematically disappointed the public in recent editions and now lives on memories, at least in the collective imagination.

It seems like forever since the event was able to attract some of the best players around, especially the most talented young players eager to make a name for themselves. In the late 1980s, it was Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Clyde Drexler; at the turn of the new millennium, however, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. And today? Kenyon Martin Jr, Mac McClung, Trey Murphy and Jericho Sims: a number of names you may not even have heard. Nothing new, if we think that in 2022 the competitors were Toppin, Toscano-Anderson, Green and Anthony, and in general that stars have not been seen for some time. The lack of media impact players, however, is not the only reason for the decline.

After all these years, in fact, it’s hard to think of anything really surprising. The wow-effect of each acrobatic evolution has been drastically reduced, athletic standards are increasingly high and the imagination of the participants is put to the test. And so, the “outline” of the dunk – disguises, appearances, elements of real fiction – has assumed an almost predominant role. A clearly underappreciated direction.

Some tricks, perhaps, would help. The voting criteria and the format could be revised, and surely one should try to contain the number of failed attempts, which break the rhythm of the show. However, all this will hardly be enough to return the Slam Dunk Contest to its golden age. For that, there’s YouTube: Jordan’s iconic flight in 1987, Carter’s exploit in 2000, the challenge between LaVine and Gordon in 2016… it’s quick, faced with today’s dunk contest, to become nostalgic.