Kill the Dunk Contest

If the NBA was smart it would do the right thing and cancel the Slam Dunk Contest. Immediately. The league just announced the contestants and format for this year's event and I don't think it could be more underwhelming. If you're looking for LeBron James, Blake Griffin or Dwight Howard's names to be on the list you're going to be extremely disappointed. Don't worry, though, in their place are — you ready for this? — Iman Shumpert, Paul George, Derrick Williams and Chase Budinger. The dunk contest became stale long ago, even though the high-flying acrobatics of Griffin and Howard in recent seasons have drawn at least some positive hype. But those moments are rare and don't register much of a blip on the excitement scale. It's time to eliminate the contest altogether. The days of 5-foot-6 Spud Webb showing incredible athleticism by flushing the ball, or Michael Jordan defying gravity with leaps from the free throw line, were certainly fresh and exciting. But 1988 just called to remind us all that was more than 20 years ago. The NBA is trying to throw life support to the event by allowing the winner to be voted on by fans. Don't forget to log on to nba.com or Twitter to vote. If anyone is watching at all, that is.