As always, there's a lot of buzz entering the upcoming NBA Dunk Contest during the All-Star weekend. As has been the case over the past few years, however, this year's iteration of the highly-anticipated showcase will not be featuring superstar-caliber players on the roster. LeBron James will be taking part in Sunday's NBA All-Star Game, but it is clear that he isn't touching the Dunk Contest with a 10-foot pole — at least as a participant.
As it turns out, however, LeBron once received a bonkers offer from the NBA for him to grace the Dunk Contest. This revelation was made by none other than former Dunk Contest champ Vince Carter, who apparently, received the same offer as well. According to Carter, even the late, great Kobe Bryant and Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady were also tapped by the league:
“I know for a fact, some years back, the NBA tried this tactic as far as upping the ante a little bit, a million dollars,” Carter said on his podcast (h/t Tyler Conway of Bleacher Report). “They threw around some names, I remember it was LeBron, Kobe, T-Mac—my name was thrown in there of course, and it was a few other people for $1 million. But you obviously couldn't get the commitment of everyone to do it.”
That's a whole lot of money. You also have to note that this was many years ago so the value of a million dollars would have been much more. Then again, even this monster offer was not enough to entice LeBron James or the other superstars that Carter namedropped.
For what it's worth, Carter, Kobe, and McGrady have all taken part in the Dunk Contest at one point in their respective careers. VC and Bryant both won the contest when they participated. It's a whole different story for LeBron, though, and it doesn't seem like he's ever going to bless us with his presence in any NBA Dunk Contest in the future.
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