NBA Slam Dunk Contestants Announced, Jeremy Lin to “Assist” Iman Shumpert
NBA, Video February 16th. 2012, 12:08pmESPN has learned the lineup for the Slam Dunk contest on All-Star weekend: New York’s Iman Shumpert, Houston’s Chase Budinger, Indiana’s Paul George and Minnesota’s Derrick Williams will compete for Blake Griffin’s undefended title. Shumpert will be “assisted” by teammate/superduperstar Jeremy Lin.
Lin gets to throw alley-oops to Shumpert only because the NBA has added him to the Haier Shooting Stars competition. That’s right – the NBA couldn’t figure out a way to get Jeremy Lin into the Rookie/Sophomore Challenge (or whatever they’re calling it this year). Instead he’ll be shooting mid-range jumpers and layups with Allan Houston (?) and someone from the New York Liberty. If that doesn’t make you tune in on All-Star Saturday, what will? How about a new format for the dunk contest!?
Sources said that the annual dunk contest has a new format which will consist of only one round and in which the winner will be solely determined by fan vote.
All four competitors in the 2012 dunk field are first-timers and will be formally announced later Thursday, sources said. Each entrant will get three dunks, with fan voting to open after the foursome completes their first dunks.
NBA.com! Twitter! The Linternet! Why does the NBA have to keep changing all its stupid events? It’s amazing that they haven’t found a way to fiddle with the three-point contest. Blind folds, maybe? Everyone shoots the third rack lefty? Bigger basketballs? Come on, let’s get creative guys.
Previously: ESPN Reports that Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin Both Went 9-for-20 in Their 5th Start and Scored the Game-Winner
Previously: Jeremy Lin Does it Again: Game-Winning 3-Pointer vs. Toronto with Less Than One Second Left
Previously: MLB Players Who Could Be This Season’s Tim Tebow or Jeremy Lin
- Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn’t Get Thrown Out
- LeBron and Wade Will Do ____ For an Encore in Game 5
- Storage Wars’ Season 3 Trailer Features Barry Weiss and a Monkey Shooting a Gun
- Euro 2012 Group B Preview: Denmark
- Uh Oh! Stephen Ross Already Saying He Expects Journeyman Matt Moore To Start Over Ryan Tannehill Is A Bad Sign
- orly57 on Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn't Get Thrown Out
- Benjamin Franklin Rodriguez has the highest WAR evah! on Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn't Get Thrown Out
- orly57 on Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn't Get Thrown Out
- Dental Dam on Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn't Get Thrown Out
- orly57 on Udonis Haslem Clobbered Tyler Hansbrough, But Amazingly Didn't Get Thrown Out
64 Responses to “NBA Slam Dunk Contestants Announced, Jeremy Lin to “Assist” Iman Shumpert”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Teams with Large Payrolls are Struggling [bigleadsports.com]
New James Bond Skyfall Trailer [bigleadsports.com]
Eli Manning Was Reason for Winslow Trade [joebucsfan.com]
John McEnroe is a Hockey Guy? [bigleadsports.com]
TV Deals: Pac 12 Making More $ Than SEC [bigleadsports.com]
Agassi on Olympics & The State of Tennis [bigleadsports.com]
February 16th, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Just when I thought the NBA dunk contest couldn’t get any less interesting: shumpert, george, budinger, and williams….is that really the best the NBA could do?
How about Griffin, Lebron, Howard, and Durant and have it be a H-O-R-S-E style dunk contest
February 16th, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Contract the Dunk Contest!! No seriously, this is a joke. Something needs to be done to get this contest relevant again, this is just horseshit.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:14 PM
They had HORSE (or GEICO if memory serves) for a couple years but it was too entertaining so they abolished it…David Stern sucks
February 16th, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Start with a regular basketball, and have each successive ball be a medicine going in 2lb increments. Point values go up with weight.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:14 PM
worst lineup EVAR. just do away with it.
Paul fucking George? Paul fucking George? rather have Devin George, Boy George or George Michael.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Woof
February 16th, 2012 at 12:16 PM
Dwight Howard with a nice gesture to the Orlando fans by participating.
OH.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:17 PM
Um excuse me, that’s Chase Budinger, slam dunk contest runner-up.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:17 PM
More proof that the NBA doesn’t “suck.”
February 16th, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Should be Jimmer, Hayward, Lin and Reddick.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:19 PM
Hmm well I’m not sure how that happened. This one should work.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Who brung the volleyball playa?
February 16th, 2012 at 12:23 PM
This list is a fucking joke. Can we just end this charade? All of the dunks have been done.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:25 PM
I’d rather see a contest of select owners dunking on 8 foot rims. Maybe Dolan would tear something.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Those 4 guys are all very nasty dunkers. The contest will be fine.
Sucks that Jeremy Evans didn’t get a look, though.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:29 PM
What exactly is Ron Jaworski doing in his pic at the top of the page? He looks like he might be drunk dancing.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:29 PM
There’s a white guy in there.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:32 PM
honest question here. is the idea of the slam dunk contest to attract non-nba fans (like myself) into watching? Williams is the only guy of these 4 I’ve heard of and that is because of his college career. why do they not invite some “name” players to try to attract non-nba fans? or did they all say no already?
February 16th, 2012 at 12:32 PM
http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2012/2/16/2802341/jeremy-lin-racism-yellow-asian
Jon Bois with the pimp slap.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:32 PM
It looks like he’s watching a putt go in, with the putter raised in his right hand. That looks like a mini scoreboard being carried behind him.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:34 PM
Yet they keep the Shooting Stars event because Stern has to pimp out WNBA players.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:35 PM
Not a superstar list but Derrick Williams can jump out of the gym. He should be fun to watch
February 16th, 2012 at 12:35 PM
I like my interpretation better
February 16th, 2012 at 12:36 PM
Yet they keep the Shooting Stars event because Stern has to pimp out WNBA players.
Dear god. How did the lockout not wipe out the WNBA? Enough is enough.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:36 PM
why do they not invite some “name” players to try to attract non-nba fans
The name players wont do it, they are scared. Every year Lebron says he may do it and then backs off
February 16th, 2012 at 12:37 PM
The name players wont do it, they are scared.
they’re not scared.. there’s just 0 incentive/upside for them to do it.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:39 PM
I think he meant scared of getting hurt, hence the 0 upside.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:40 PM
To really make it interesting they should have Lebron stand under the rim and let people dunk on him, kind of like the dunk tank at the old fairs. They could haveall the players pay to just fucking dunk all over him….that would be must-watch tv.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:41 PM
they’re not scared.. there’s just 0 incentive/upside for them to do it.
I agree, thats why I say they are scared. If Lebron enters and wins everyone says he was supposed to. If he loses then everyone jumps on him for not winning and possibly losing to Chase Budinger. Hes scared to participate.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:41 PM
worst lineup EVAR. just do away with it.
the 3pt contest will be a snoozefest too. the NBA all star events are the second worst in pro sports to the NFL.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
Paul George. I can’t stress that enough.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
I think he meant scared of getting hurt, hence the 0 upside
I just think a lot of “superstars” would be scared to lose. Its like getting dunked on, makes you look like shit
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
I think they’re scared of looking stupid. I mean, what left is there to do?
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
If NBA ratings had tanked after the lockout, do you think there would be a little more pressure applied to say, LBJ or Blake or maybe even Dwight again to participate in the dunk contest? Cause God knows, Budinger, George, Shumpert and the other DWill aren’t bringing fans to the table.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
I really do blame LeBron for this, though. About every year, the best young players in the league did the dunk contest. LeBron not doing it pretty much made it the uncool thing to do for young really good NBA players. I’m actually happy Derrick Williams is doing it this year.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:42 PM
The all-star slam dunk competition is not consistent with the way we determine the regular season slam dunk champion – therefore it is terrible.
\spencer’d
February 16th, 2012 at 12:43 PM
I’d let him pimp Sue Bird out to me.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:44 PM
Jon Bois with the pimp slap.
i’m talkin bout pimpin, since been pimpin, since been pimpin, since been pimpinnnnnn
February 16th, 2012 at 12:44 PM
If Lebron enters, there is no way he loses. Fan vote is what has killed the dunk contest, even though it’s still a good time.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:44 PM
His awesomeness? Yeah, I agree.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:45 PM
Yeah, if you believed TBL, Kendrick Perkins should be run out of the league. And TBL is an NBA guy.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:45 PM
So the whole dunk contest snubbery is kind of getting old. The disproportionate hate for the dunk contest only rivals the mass hysteria about whatever national championship game is picked by the BCS or whoever is selected to perform at the super bowl.
There are some situations where I just ignore the noise because its less about the actual event and more about the fact that we are pre-programmed to dislike it because I guess its cool.
The fact YOU haven’t heard of the participants doesn’t mean they’re not great dunkers. There isn’t a good co-relation between ability to do fancy dunks and playing well in the NBA for the players already good enough to be in the NBA.
Our expectations and standards for the dunk contests is just so unreasonably high and I think its part of the reason the players don’t like to participate. We’re just all watching to find something to hate about it.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:45 PM
I can’t help but look at the years that Kobe and Vince won the slam dunk contests and ask why we can’t get that out of LBJ, Derrick Rose and others these days. Like Rose’s injury notwithstanding, I’d love to see him do some filthy things to the rim. Could you imagine Russell Westbrook and his violent style in a dunk contest. I need to stop thinking about this…
February 16th, 2012 at 12:45 PM
Kevin Love is in 3 point contest?
February 16th, 2012 at 12:49 PM
What? No Shannon Brown? He has nothing better to do. Let him jump out of the gym. Its the only thing he is good at.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Correlation, you were looking for correlation.
/that guy’d
February 16th, 2012 at 12:52 PM
And fyi, pretty sure everyone in here HAS heard of these guys. We’re more upset that the guys that should be in there are constantly avoiding it, leaving it to these 2nd and 3rd tier dunkers to enter.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:52 PM
Yeah, if you believed TBL, Kendrick Perkins should be run out of the league.
Yeah I think this thought process is total BS. If anything he deserves more credit for not taking the easy way out. At least he tried to block it
/and it wasnt a dunk
February 16th, 2012 at 12:53 PM
What? No Shannon Brown?
Would love to see Shannon Brown, was kind of disappointed he left the Lakers. Dude can jump a mile
February 16th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
I don’t think these guys are 2nd or 3rd tier ‘dunkers’ but only so many dunks can be done. As a fan, I’d much rather see LeBron, Blake, etc. do those dunks instead of these 2nd and 3rd tier players.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
me too.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:54 PM
He was in it one year and gave one of the worst performances ever.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:55 PM
We’re just all watching to find something to hate about it.
Speak for yourself, I think most people just want to see their favorite athletes get creative in ways they cant in a regular game.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:56 PM
Ha. don’t remember that at all. He is pretty horrible in all ways.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:56 PM
me too.
ha. Hes certainly regressed since his rookie or second year. Cant remember which one he had kind of a breakout 2/3 of the season and tailed off. Hasnt been the same since.
/Hes no Jeremy Lin
February 16th, 2012 at 12:56 PM
JR Smith to the Knicks, apparently. Just to add to the madness.
February 16th, 2012 at 12:57 PM
He was in it one year and gave one of the worst performances ever.
Yeah he was pretty bad, I think he had a lot of trouble even finishing dunks if I remember correctly
February 16th, 2012 at 12:59 PM
Again I’m not necessarily sure great in-game dunkers always make great dunk contest dunkers. Also as I alluded to one of the reasons the super stars don’t do it is because its a lose-lose proposal. The reaction to most dunks is “… ok wake me up when someone does a windmill from the 3pt line”. MJs dunk contest dunks back in the day will draw yawn today.
I’m just not sure how we became such dunk snubs.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:02 PM
That’s an easy one… because we grew up watching the best dunkers compete against each other. Now that it doesn’t happen anymore, it leaves us wanting more and it leaves us feeling disappointed.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:03 PM
That’s an easy one… because we grew up watching the best dunkers compete against each other. Now that it doesn’t happen anymore, it leaves us wanting more and it leaves us feeling disappointed.
Case closed.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:08 PM
see #18.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:16 PM
H-O-R-S-E style dunk contest
Uh … could take 18 hours to complete.
Of course shooting in general is so bad in the NBA, any form of H-O-R-S-E could take days.
February 16th, 2012 at 1:25 PM
I know right?
League average 3pt% is 34.5%.
20 years ago it was 33.1%.
25 years ago it was 30.1%.
/narrative
February 16th, 2012 at 1:30 PM
He’s never recovered from being robbed in All-American dunk contest thanks to LeBron and the “celebrity panel.” Also, Bob Sura is the answer for worst dunk contest effort ever.