Nate Robinson wants All-Star Week’s Dunk Contest to rise again, and as a former winner of it, he knows what sort of formula it should take to bring it back to its former glory. A lack of star power and some middling contests has diminished the former marquee event of the league’s annual All-Star Week festivities. However, Nate Rob believes he can help restore its place in the pantheon of All-Star events among younger fans of the league.
Speaking in a recent interview with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, the former Boston Celtics floor general spent some time breaking down his new role with the Dunk Contest. Robinson also got into how players like star Celtics forward Jaylen Brown could be the spark to revitalizing the now moribund event.
“I’m working with AT&T as a newly appointed AT&T Chief Dunk Officer for 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend,” said Robinson.
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“Our goal is to create momentum for fans to get a deeper connection with everything to do with the NBA,” he added. “From the Dunk Contest to fan engagement, just having a lot of fun.”
“I’m really excited and that starts with bringing them behind the scenes with the AT&T Slam Dunk, with myself, and being a part of it, I think it will be pretty awesome for the fans to really get a real glimpse of what it’s like to be a part of something so special.”
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A three-time winner of the Dunk Contest, Robinson wants to leverage his unparalleled experience with the event to help it make a comeback of sorts. “I’m just trying to use my firsthand experience to bring the fans closer to the game,” he explained.
“Through the insights, just of everything with tips, what to expect in the Dunk Contest, what fans really want to see, especially from dunkers like myself. We want that creativity back. We want that swag. They need to make sure the kids can pick the music that they want to dunk to. I remember as a kid I used to always want to come out to a certain kind of song to get me hyped, so I can go in there and jump through the roof.”
“So hopefully that’s the opportunity, and they get that,” Robinson said.
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As to why more stars don’t follow in Brown’s footsteps, Robinson had a simple if obvious answer — no one wants to look bad if they screw up. “They don’t want to mess up … I hate to say it, they don’t want to look silly, man,” he explained. “It’s about the reputation more than going out and just showing people that you’re human.”
“It’s okay to mess up and fail at something. It’s more about having fun like you’re in the gym just dunking after you get done working out, or you get done training, and you’re just throwing the ball up dunking in front of millions of people. That’s the difference.”
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Noting that if LeBron James were to participate, Robinson shared that “it would make it so much more fun just because he’s in it … kids will go back loving the Dunk Contest again just because he was in it.”
As for what he expects to see from Brown? “I want to see what Jaylen Brown got. I know he can dunk in games, but does he have Slam Dunk Contest dunks?”
We won’t have long to find out!
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