How Can the Dunk Contest Be Fixed?

The 2024 NBA Dunk Contest was underwhelming yet again, with G-Leaguer Mac McClung winning his second straight contest over All-Star Jaylen Brown in the final round. Despite Mac displaying his extraordinary vertical and creativity, the Dunk Contest left much to be desired. Jaylen Brown seemingly showed little effort and essentially had no dunks prepared beforehand, while Jaime Jaquez Jr. and G-Leaguer Jacob Toppin weren’t able to impress the judges (or the crowd) at all. It’s time for a makeover to the NBA Dunk Contest, as the current event is a mockery of the legendary Dunk Contests over the years. Let’s explore how it can be done.

Step 1: Up The Incentives 

The current prize for winning the NBA Dunk Contest is slightly over $100,000. Definitely no chump change, but for players who are making tens of millions of dollars per year, the incentive should be raised to garner more interest from higher-caliber players. I would suggest $1 million as the total prize pool, with say $750,000 going to the winner and the remainder being split up by the other three contestants. With the success of the In-Season Tournament having the incentive be $500,000 to each player on the winning team, there’s already an indication that boosting incentives will get players to try harder.

Step 2: Revamp Judges/Points System

The judges this year looked like they had very little idea of how to gauge the scoring of each dunk in comparison to one another. Jaylen Brown cruising into the finals with judges giving him 48s and 49s was flat-out disheartening to watch, as it was clear he performed multiple dunks that players have done in-game (this season!). The judging panel should always include Julius Irving and Dominique Wilkins. After that, could we get some fresh faces in the mix that are under the age of 60? Additionally, the scoring should be reverted back to the original method, with each judge giving a score out of ten. The judges giving scores out of 50 and then averaging them was much more confusing and extra. Let’s get back to the days when the judges all hold up their ‘10’ cards, revealing a perfect 50 dunk. 

Step 3: Look For Verticals Early

One unique wrinkle to the Dunk Contest moving forward could be that the rookie with the highest vertical at the Draft Combine (who is selected in the first round) must compete. The narrative could be that it’s an honor to be the one rookie in the Dunk Contest, and they are representing the rookie class. It’s feeling like guys are setting new records at the Combine every year with their verticals, so there’d be some intriguing additions every year that fans would be excited to see perform at the event. For example, Chicago Bulls rookie Julian Phillips recorded the highest max vertical and standing vertical at the 2023 NBA Combine, so he would be automatically selected to compete once selected in the first round of the draft. 

Step 4: Recruit Stars

The most critical element to the Dunk Contest is having competitors that fans are genuinely anticipating seeing wow them with other-worldly dunks. Jaylen Brown being an All-Star and competing was progress, but if a star is going to commit to the event, they are expected to actually compete. Guys like Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and Anthony Edwards would be tremendous additions that would give the contest more anticipation and viewership. The fans wouldn’t mind seeing a guy like LeBron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo go at it one time either, just saying.