A shocking “What if” was revealed this week about the NBA trying to put together a Slam Dunk competition pitting LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant vs. Vince Carter.
There was a time when the NBA All-Star weekend and the events surrounding it were a major sports happening. There was the celebrity game, the skills competition, the legendary Three-Point Shootout, and then, arguably, the most anticipated event of the weekend, the Slam Dunk Competition.
The Dunk Competition was a showcase of individuals who could do something the majority of the human population will never be able to do, no matter how hard they practiced: Sky to the rim for a jam. The event also served as an avenue to make a player a household name, including NBA legends Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
However, over the last decade, the popular event has lost its prestige. Especially since it featured players who haven’t gone on to make an impact in the league. Mac McClung not even being in the league currently after winning the last three competitions is the prime example of how far the event has fallen.
However, it seems the NBA was well aware of declining interest in the beloved event a long time ago and had a radical idea that could have landed the winner $1 million. In a new addition of Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady’s Cousins podcast, the pair of legends revealed that the league came to both with the idea of being in a Slam Dunk competition that also included Bryant and James.
Kobe Bryant and LeBron James turned down Dunk Competition against Vince Carter
Yet, despite a million-dollar prize allegedly being on the line, Carter claims he was the only one who was an immediate yes to the idea.
- Carter: Do you remember…
- McGrady: The million dollars? Yeah.
- Carter: The phone call.
- McGrady: For sure.
- Carter: They wanted me, you, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James for sure for a million dollars. And I said, ‘I’m in if everybody else is in.’ And then…
- McGrady: ‘No, no, no. I’m good. I’m good.’
- Carter: I felt like, at the end of the day, I would love to get a confirmation, but I felt like I was the only one who said yes.
- McGrady: That was the problem.
It is unclear when the offer was made, but it likely must have been somewhere between 2003 and 2008. When all of them were still in the league and playing at a high level. Carter (2000) and Bryant (1997) have won the event and are two of its best competitors. McGrady was a standout in defeat to his cousin, Carter, in 2000. James never competed in the event, but it is something fans have wanted ever since he entered the league.
The idea of all four being in the Slam Dunk Competition is a dream match for NBA fans, and it is amazing that the league actually wanted it to happen. But alas, it never came to pass and fans will have to wonder about who would have won.
