As early as 20 years ago, Kobe Bryant won the championship in the 1997 slam dunk contest, and fans and the media were already mourning the prospect of the slam dunk contest. Thorn, then vice president of basketball operations at the time, said: "We all have an idea that all the dunk action has been done, and there will never be any new action in the slam dunk contest." ”

As a result, the 1998 slam dunk contest was suspended. In 1999, he continued to be suspended due to the suspension of the season.

Finally, in the 2000 slam dunk contest, Carter, Francis and Maddie and others came out of nowhere to completely save the dunk contest with unprecedented moves. To this day, people still talk about the slam dunk contest. Some fans even said after this year's slam dunk contest: "If Carter comes to participate, he can win the championship even if he stands and dunks." ”

It's a joke, but it also reflects how much of a shock the 2000 slam dunk contest had on fans.

Why James never appeared in the slam dunk contest. Part of the reason for this is that good dunk ideas have basically been used, and James can't think of a dunk idea that can help him win the championship in one fell swoop, and the dried-out of inspiration has become the key to the dunk contest getting lower and lower. Another part of the reason is that star players are increasingly reluctant to participate in the slam dunk contest, and the slam dunk contest champions after 2000 have not even been All-Star players except for a few people such as Howard and Griffin.

The emergence of LaVine in the last two years has revived the enthusiasm of fans and the media for the dunk contest. Especially in the 2016 Toronto Slam Dunk Contest, the contest between LaVine and Gordon can be called the pinnacle of the 20-year and even the entire history of the Slam Dunk Contest. However, this year's decline again makes us have to sigh that the glory of the past two years may really just be a return to the past. In ESPN's post-game rating of the Slam Dunk Contest, Aaron Gordon said, "He lacks one of LaVine's most important characteristics: always being able to get the first dunk. Today his magic trick - failed. ”

So will the NBA cancel the slam dunk contest? The answer is most likely no, because today's slam dunk contest has long gone beyond the scope of a simple game.

In fact, the NBA has also found that the slam dunk contest is a piece of the cake that they can never part with in terms of profits. During the 2015 Slam Dunk Contest, the NBA sneakily printed sponsor advertisements in the upper left corner of the jersey. Although the logo of this ad is small enough to be mistaken for a badge, it is the first jersey advertisement in the history of the NBA, and it is also the first time that the four major professional leagues in North America have appeared on the chest.

In addition to the NBA, players are also committed to their sponsors. In the 2008 slam dunk contest, Gerald Green made his sneakers shine in front of a global audience before dunking barefoot. In 2009, Nate Robinson wore a kryptonite on his feet, which is a rare sneaker colorway. The 2015 slam dunk champion LaVine's 10th generation of progressive bottom Kobe Bryant wore on his feet, coupled with the mirror spray he wore in his rookie game, caused the price of the same sneaker to skyrocket.

If sneakers are a necessity, the 2011 Griffin actually drove the sponsor's brand car directly onto the field and made a leap on the field, which was called an out-and-out product placement by many fans. Also in that slam dunk contest, McGee kept changing his shoes throughout the game, and he changed the five colors of one sneaker again. In this way, the NBA will be conscientious players. However, Griffin later said that he didn't really want to take on such a difficult challenge, just to fly over a roadster. The alliance ultimately allowed Griffin to sponsor the brand's cars for the benefit of advertisers.

By this year's slam dunk contest, even the superstars sitting on the sidelines came up to help. Wade rushed into the field and took a photo with Glenn Robinson III, many people wondered, Wade and Robinson are not on the same team, and they have no intersection with his father's big dog Robinson, and they usually don't hear of any deep friendships, so why did they come in so diligently to take a group photo?

It wasn't until Wade bent down to shoot at the sneakers that it dawned on everyone.

It turned out to be for advertising.

According to the official NBA statistics, fans from 215 countries and territories, speaking 49 languages, will watch the 2017 NBA All-Star Game on television, computer, mobile phone or tablet. With such a good communication effect and such a high level of attention, the NBA All-Stars are naturally loved by advertisers.

According to incomplete statistics, the sponsors of this All-Star Weekend include: sports drink brand Mountain Dew, insurance company State Farm, beer brand Bud Light, sneaker sales brand Foot Locker, audio brand **L, socks brand Stance, watch brand Tissot, alcohol brand Jack Daniel's, game company NBA2K, car brand Kia, beverage brand Pepsi and Kumho Tire. And there are countless brands that have signed sponsorship contracts with players and stadiums, all saying that the Super Bowl is the Spring Festival in the United States, so All-Star Weekend is undoubtedly the Lantern Festival in the United States. The slam dunk contest is the most eye-catching part of this business event.

Due to the appeal of the slam dunk contest, the number of sponsors in the NBA is also increasing. Ahead of the 2016 All-Star Weekend, when Mountain Dew became one of the NBA's main sponsors, Tatlock, then the NBA's senior vice president of global market partnerships, said, "We have a lot of new partners, and Mountain Dew will be our long-term partner at All-Star Weekend. ”

Lyons, senior vice president of marketing at Mountain Deus, said, "We are a natural fit with the NBA, and we want to bring the All-Star experience to as many fans as possible. Tournaments are played on the court, but life related to basketball is everywhere. ”

According to the statistics of IEG, a well-known sponsorship consulting company in the United States, PepsiCo spent as much as $350 million on sponsorships in the United States in 2014, most of which was spent on sports. As one of the four major professional leagues in the United States, there are many shares that want to be allocated to the NBA. According to IEG's senior analyst Chips, "This kind of fan enthusiasm at the All-Star Game is exactly what sponsors want to see. ”

According to media reports, the annual All-Star Weekend brings more than 13% of the NBA's total revenue for the year. Over the past 10 years, the NBA and All-Star host cities have made more than $600 million in profits. With such a big gain, it seems that we don't have to worry about not seeing the slam dunk contest in the future.

Because of the profits, the NBA simply can't refuse.

This is today's business alliance, it's not that there are no better ideas, it's just a pity that in the face of huge commercial interests, all the props used in creativity must be commercial!