The Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward LeBron James says he never wanted to participate in the slam dunk contest: “I don’t think it was something I wanted to accomplish in my career; it’s not a goal of mine and 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, 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.”