NBA News: Lakers LeBron James Reveals Reasoning Behind Not Participating In Dunk Contest

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets have had their fair share of players who participated in the NBA slam dunk contest. But had LeBron James joined the Rockets at any point in his career, the all-time great would not have partaken in the event.

Fans have yearned for James to add his name to the event since he entered the NBA 20 years ago as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 NBA Draft. But in a recent interview with BallySports' Scoop B. Robinson, James revealed why he never considered the All-Star Weekend event.

"I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine," James said. "It never was coming into the NBA to be a part of the Dunk Contest, you know? Making the NBA All-Star Team was, being the league MVP, winning Defensive Player of the Year, and winning NBA Championships? THOSE were some goals of mine.

"The NBA Dunk Contest was NEVER a goal of mine so, it wasn’t something that I had too much passion for."

It is hard to imagine the type of dunks James would have been able to pull off in his athletic prime. But any version of James may have been enough to defeat any player from the Rockets.

Houston has had six players in franchise history who participated in the dunk contest but never had a winner.

K.J. Martin was the latest player to participate in the event during the 2022 All-Star break, where he placed third. Steve Francis, who won Rookie of the Year honors, was runner-up to Vince Carter in 2000. Chase Budinger finished second to Jeremy Evans in 2012.

Other participants were Ralph Sampson (1984), Kenny Smith (1993) and Jalen Green (2022).

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