All of the Lights

I am absolutely a sucker for the spectacle that surrounds sports. I love the flashing cameras during kickoff at the Super Bowl and the fun of the Home Run Derby. But neither compare to the Slam Dunk Contest. Celebrities in the stands, NBA All-Stars sitting next to them, NBA legends judging the contest, there is nothing in sports quite like it.

Sadly, it seems that most of the great dunks have already been done, Doc and Jordan from the free-throw line, windmills and 360's, Jason Richardson off the glass and through the legs and then every dunk that Vince Carter has ever thrown down. I don't think there are many new dunks out there. Dunks now are a just variations of dunks from the past.

So for the last few years, props have been added to the Slam Dunk Contest and I love it. When Dwight Howard went into the phone booth, came out in a cape, and then flew through the air, I was jumping up and down in my living room. I loved when JaVale McGee slam dunked in two goals at the same time. Guys have blown out candles in cupcakes sitting on the rim and Steve Nash once used his head to pass a basketball to Amar'e Stoudamire for a dunk.

The ultimate grandiose moment in the Slam Dunk contest was when Blake Griffin brought a car and a choir, singing I Believe I Can Fly, onto the court. I lost it. I couldn't believe what was happening. There was so much going on. The crowd was on its feet, the choir was singing, Kenny Smith was chirping on the microphone, the car, the lights, Baron Davis' head out of the sunroof, it was unlike any other sports moment I had ever witnessed. Griffin drives towards the basket, leaps over the car as Baron Davis throws him an alley from the car, Griffin grabs the ball and slams it home. The place went nuts. The dunk  isn't the best of all time and probably not even the best dunk of the night. But that dunk and the moment will be remembered for a long time. This night will be a very fun moment in, hopefully, a great career by Blake Griffin.

                 

                             I added this second picture just for Baron Davis' face.

But there will always be backlash and people complain about props in the Slam Dunk Contest. DeMar DeRozan, who competed in the 2010 and 2011 Dunk Contest, said that he would not compete again until props are taken out. I'm sorry DeMar but I hope props are here to stay. The lights, the music and the crowd on its feet that's what I want to see. If it takes jumping over a car or blowing out a candle on a cupcake, like Gerald Green did in 2008, to keep the excitement level high then that's what the NBA will do. We need to keep the marvelous moments in sports not decrease them, we don't get too many moments like that anywhere else.