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Michael Jordan at the 1987 Slam Dunk Contest

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Andy Hayt/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

It was the summer of 2001 and I was eight years old. I held a copy of Bravo Sport in my hands and, with my mouth open, I sank into an article about the Los Angeles Lakers, who had just managed to defend their NBA title. I was hardly interested in what was written there; I was more amazed at the photos that showed Shaquille O'Neal dunking.

This man had dimensions that were unimaginable for me: 2.16 meters and around 150 kilos. In the pictures you could see the center towering over his opponents and smashing the ball into the basket with all his might. I was enchanted.

O'Neal ended up in the same box in my childhood mind as Bud Spencer, King Kong and Bhima (a burly guy with a club from Indian mythology). These figures were my heroes and when I saw “Shaq” dunk, I immediately knew: I want to be able to do that too.

Today I am fully grown and not even 1.85 meters tall. I crossed the idea of ​​being like O'Neal or King Kong one day from my list of life goals relatively early on. But my fascination with the dunk has remained, even though I have never managed one to date. Not even remotely. This experience remains just a fantasy for me, as it does for the majority of basketball fans around the world who have probably dreamed the dream of flying as often as I have.

From ban to marketing

But we, imperfect people, have a small consolation, because there are other people who dunk fabulously and whom we can watch. There are particularly many of them in the NBA, the strongest league in the world. There, the "Slam Dunk", as it was originally called, is celebrated every year in a separate competition as part of the Allstar weekend, the "Slam Dunk Contest".

This spectacle was only introduced in 1984, because before that the dunk had been frowned upon for a long time. In the mid-20th century, in the early days of commercial basketball, a dunk was viewed by opposing defenders as a personal affront and was viewed by many spectators and officials as unsportsmanlike and unnecessarily humiliating. At lower levels, the slam dunk was even banned for a while.

Luckily for the NBA, league bosses eventually realized that the dunk should not only be allowed, but should also be celebrated. For decades, especially during the 1990s and 2000s when the sport became global, an athlete flying through the air was the clear symbol of basketball - and the "Slam Dunk Contest" was one of the big highlights in the NBA calendar.

This time is over.

Everything was better before

Every year fewer and fewer people care about the Slam Dunk Contest. Competition in three-point throws is now much more important. Today, kids prefer players like Stephen Curry to Shaquille O'Neal, because anyone can practice shooting threes - you can't grow up to be two meters tall. The dream of flying has been replaced by a dream that is actually worth dreaming.

But it doesn't matter to me, I don't want to go to the open court alone and work on my three-point shot. I'm 30 years old, the train has left. What I want is a spectacle of creative and athletically unimaginable dunks performed by the best basketball players in the world. But that doesn't exist anymore. Because the “Slam Dunk Contest” is just a poor imitation of previous editions. Not

everything

was better in the past, but the “Slam Dunk Contest” definitely was.

As a member of the YouTube generation, I became familiar with previous competitions as a teenager. In 1988, for example, Michael Jordan won against Dominique Wilkins - with this iconic dunk from the free throw line with his legs spread. Then in 2000, this perfect elegance from Vince Carter in what was probably the most beautiful performance that the “Slam Dunk Contest” has ever seen. Or the years when the players started with the props and performed with Superman capes, blew out a birthday candle while dunking in the air (both 2008) or jumped over a car (2011).

No fun without stars

There are still beautiful dunks to be seen, but the event used to be particularly attractive because there were real superstars in the field of participants. Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Julius Erving, Wilkins, Carter, Dwight Howard – the list is long. They all dared.

Where are Zion Williamson, Ja Morant or Anthony Edwards today? Where were LeBron James and Russell Westbrook in the 1900s?

Great dunks alone are not enough. I can also watch viral videos from some amateur dunkers from Berlin-Neukölln. No, I want to see the best basketball players in the world compete in this most spectacular discipline in their sport.

With all due respect, who cares about Mac McClung? Have you never heard the name? No wonder. This time he is only allowed to take part to defend his title, because a year ago he still had a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Then he was sorted out. The man isn't even an NBA player anymore.

His competition last season: Trey Murphy III, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Jericho Sims. I know exactly what you're thinking right now.

To be honest, I don't do that to myself anymore. My dream of flying died. Luckily there is YouTube.