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That's the sad thing. The NBA is a draw to people from all walks of life. It is especially a draw to celebrities, namely musicians. It didn't need to sell out but it really, really did.
I swear it's like MTV or ESPN was putting on this year's ASG and not the NBA.
When the ASG was at its best, it was the players who were the focus and who made it memorable. It was the dunk contests between the best dunkers of their generation, the three point contests between the best shooters of their generation, no "fan voting" or "teams" was around, and they weren't trying to hob-nob with narcissistic celebrities like they do these days.
That's the sad thing. The NBA is a draw to people from all walks of life. It is especially a draw to celebrities, namely musicians. It didn't need to sell out but it really, really did.
I swear it's like MTV or ESPN was putting on this year's ASG and not the NBA.
When the ASG was at its best, it was the players who were the focus and who made it memorable. It was the dunk contests between the best dunkers of their generation, the three point contests between the best shooters of their generation, no "fan voting" or "teams" was around, and they weren't trying to hob-nob with narcissistic celebrities like they do these days.
In the end, the NBA is a business. The thing about selling out in this case - is that they were selling, and people with big money are buying.
I think the 3 point contest has remained close to its origin. They haven't changed the rules at all. The rest - they have had to change rules to keep interest. To me it starts with the players. They lose interest in the dunk contest first and choose to sit out. So now you get second tier dunkers - and they can't make all of their dunks. So now you add a shot clock where they can miss a bunch of dunks before getting it right - and then leave it to the judges discretion. But people get mad at the judges - so now we have fan voting for the final round. It's all just a continuing evolution to make the dunk contest palatable. Doesn't work for me.
In the end, the NBA is a business. The thing about selling out in this case - is that they were selling, and people with big money are buying.
I think the 3 point contest has remained close to its origin. They haven't changed the rules at all. The rest - they have had to change rules to keep interest. To me it starts with the players. They lose interest in the dunk contest first and choose to sit out. So now you get second tier dunkers - and they can't make all of their dunks. So now you add a shot clock where they can miss a bunch of dunks before getting it right - and then leave it to the judges discretion. But people get mad at the judges - so now we have fan voting for the final round. It's all just a continuing evolution to make the dunk contest palatable. Doesn't work for me.
The problem is though that the NBA is the only sport where its selling out has really hurt the product... not just the presentation or the "purity" but the actual product. Guys miss open layups these days and still make the All-Star Game!
The judges became a joke in 2005. They gave the trophy to Nate when everybody knows Iguodala won it running away. They could've had a dunker like him in the contest but they screwed that up. Dwight Howard was in it and had some really impressive dunks. The year they had Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, etc, it was a great year. What ruined it was that the judges clearly just went for whoever would get better ratings if they won. There are no standards to the contest whatsoever anymore. It used to be legit at one point. Back when Jordan was going up against 'Nique, the dunk contest was a very big deal.
The three point contest is definitely the only thing I can stomach. Well that and the skills competition. Still, I don't think the best shooters are in it very often. That wasn't the case one year, when they had Ray Allen among others, but that was really the exception to the rule.
The NFL is a much bigger business than the NBA yet they never sold out. Everybody has to do everything on their terms, and that's what the NBA should be doing. Seriously, why on Earth is Diddy involved at all? It's a spectacle now... and not in a good way.
I definitely disagree with this. Every year there are innovative dunkers. Even Blake Griffin's dunks were actually innovative, just some of them were way overhyped. I think the last great individual showing was Iguodala when he got robbed by Nate Robinson.
The dunk contest is a joke because it takes guys so many attempts to do these dunks. Thats really the one big reason. If you think about it, if all of the dunks in this years contest were done on the first try everyone would be saying this years contest was pretty good. They need to make a rule where you only get 3 attempts per dunk, then maybe some guys wouldn't try some of this rediculous stuff.
Another idea would be to put the three point contest last so that that is the main event. The league hypes up the dunk contest so much that its set up to dissappoint. None of this will happen though, we'll soon forget about it and when next year rolls around we'll all be excited to see what Joe Shmo from the Bobcats can do.
The judges became a joke in 2005. They gave the trophy to Nate when everybody knows Iguodala won it running away. They could've had a dunker like him in the contest but they screwed that up. Dwight Howard was in it and had some really impressive dunks. The year they had Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, etc, it was a great year. What ruined it was that the judges clearly just went for whoever would get better ratings if they won. There are no standards to the contest whatsoever anymore. It used to be legit at one point. Back when Jordan was going up against 'Nique, the dunk contest was a very big deal.
I would take it a step further and say the fan vote has made the contest a joke, more than the judges.
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