You’ll have to go all the way back to LeBron James’ high school years if you want to witness him do his trademark slam dunk. LeBron James has been urged to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest by fans for years.
Nevertheless, the most famous NBA player in recent memory has never participated in the league’s most renowned exhibition showcase. He has provided us with an almost infinite highlight tape of fantastic in-game dunks, but we have never had the opportunity to see his combination of tremendous athleticism and original innovation in a dunk contest environment.
Certainly not in the NBA. In fact, LeBron has previously participated in a dunk competition. As part of the McDonald’s All-American Game, he took first place at the 2003 Powerade Jam Fest. You can view the entire thing since YouTube has digital archives.
Some future NBA stars, such as Chris Paul and Luol Deng, were part of this McDonald’s All-American team, but the dunk competition lacked LeBron’s level of star power. He took first place, followed by Von Wafer in second and Shannon Brown in third. While Brown played a supporting role in the NBA, he was a great dunker who represented the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 NBA Dunk Contest.
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Why didn’t LeBron James compete in the Slam Dunk Contest?
It would be somewhat of a miracle to see James enter the Slam Dunk Contest at this point, given he is in his 20th season in the NBA. Since it seems unbelievable that LeBron would have missed out on the once-prestigious event for his entire NBA career. It hasn’t prevented fans and commentators from talking about it.
James raised our aspirations for the 2010 edition of the competition back in 2009, but he never wavered. In 2010, James chose not to take part. However, more than ten years later, supporters’ dreams had all but been destroyed.
Why James never participated in the incident that was partially made famous by his professional hero, Jordan. It is one of the strangest mysteries in NBA history.
And it’s not like LeBron James has never participated in a dunk competition. He defeated future NBA star Shannon Brown to win the Powerade Jam Fest. It was at the McDonald’s All-American Game just months before entering the NBA.
Shannon Sharpe is of the opinion that LeBron James’ lifetime quest to become the best player in the history of the game was not dependent on him succeeding in a dunk competition. But he also highlighted a possible weakness in James’ ability to dunk.
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