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1988: the best dunk contest ever. —1988: the best dunk contest ever.

Why the NBA Should Crowdfund the Next Dunk Contest

It’s a new season. Let’s reinvent the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

We miss great dunks. Underwhelming talent over the last 10 years leaves fans nostalgic for the likes of Doctor J, Spud Webb and Michael Jordan.

We took a look at the advanced metrics dating back to the Dunk Contest’s original inception to confirm our suspicion:  talent is declining year-after-year.

 

We don’t want no scrubs. We want LeBron, Dwight, Blake and Durant competing for the title. But the NBA is a business. Big name stars want to get paid. During last year’s All-Star weekend, NBC Sports asked Lebron James why he doesn’t participate:

Lebron: It’s just not me, I’m not a dunk contest type of guy…I’m an in-game dunker. I kind of improvise during the game. But, I don’t know. I’m not for scoreboards and all that type of stuff.

NBC Sports: But if they offered the winner a million dollars?

Lebron: Then I’d reconsider. Wouldn’t you?

Dear NBA, let’s make this a reality.

A new kind of dunk contest – for the fans, by the fans: let’s crowdfund a million dollars to incentivize the most elite NBA stars to participate. Like a true marketplace, fans would receive merchandise, insider benefits and exclusive experiences for backing the campaign, not to mention the most iconic Slam Dunk Contest of our generation.

Some may ask, “Don’t these players make enough money already?” Yes, they do. But we’re willing to dish out a few bucks each to see the best product available. More importantly, we also have the opportunity to do some good – anything raised above the $1 million fundraising goal would be donated to charity.

While awesome for the fans and participating players, this is also in the NBA’s interests. Crowdfunding is a better form of social marketing. If executed correctly, this will be the most talked about event in NBA history.

Would you pay $10 for the most iconic dunk contest in NBA History?

  • Angry Mob

    Great idea, teach Big TV and Big Sports how to remain relevant, in a world where they aren’t relevant (i.e., the Internet and today’s youth). Let’s keep this going, so that by the year 2510 the world is no different than in Idiocracy.

    As an aside, page 4 of your presentation is very disturbing. On the left, you have a group of people who care about the game, and who would like to participate in the dunk contest. On the right you have a group of scumbags who are in it only for the money; and your goal is to give the scumbags on the right more money in order to incentivize them to take the place of the players on the left – nice idea.

    • http://twitter.com/elan_miller elan miller

      Ha, didn’t mean to stir up too much controversy here. At the end of the day, I’m arguing for the best available product – a slam dunk contest featuring the most iconic stars in the NBA.

      As a fan, I believe enough of us want to see, and will pay for, the best product through a new marketplace that offers insider benefits and experiences. If that happens to pay LeBron, Dwight, Kobe, etc, then so be it. I totally understand the NBA is a business, and that’s never going to change.

      The fans have a unique opportunity to revolutionize the dunk contest and do some good at the same time, by donating anything above the goal to charity.

  • http://twitter.com/lloyd2nd lloyd johnson

    reasonable minds can disagree about the prospective participants, but it seems fairly predictive of who the fan favorites might be.

    i like the idea in principle–totally down for something like this.

    only caveat–is there a way for this effort to be truly crowd-funded effort independent of David Stern & Co.? along the lines of begging forgiveness instead of asking permission.

    • http://twitter.com/elan_miller elan miller

      i believe so! but i do think the nba could be super helpful in terms of access for insider benefits and experiences to reward the campaign’s backers :)

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