Rockets forward Chase Budinger has been waiting for his chance at the Dunk Contest and stays mum on his plans

Rockets forward Chase Budinger has been waiting for his chance at the Dunk Contest and stays mum on his plans
February 17, 2012 – 9:00 am by Steven Cuce
Houston Rockets third-year forward Chase Budinger has been selected to participate in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He will join Paul George of the Indiana Pacers, Derrick Williams of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Iman Shumpert of the New York Knicks.
Now these aren’t names like Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard and LeBron James, but the league looks to make the dunk contest more of a youth movement competition. There are some noteworthy names in this year’s competition even though this spectacle has become fair more of a circus act over the last few years.
Chase Budinger has been hoping to be a part of the dunk contest for quite some time now and remains relatively quiet about what he has in store for Orlando on All-Star weekend.

Chase Budinger joined KILT in Houston with MAD Radio (Mike Meltser and Brad Davies) to discuss spending some extra time at practice to get ready for the dunk contest, getting involved in the dunk contest, a specific dunk he is considering for the contest, bringing a teammate along with him to the contest and using props for his dunks.
Did you take any extra time in practice dunking to prepare for the dunk contest?
“No. Not so much. I’m still focused on our next couple of games and still thinking about the dunks. I just found out that I was going to be in this contest. I just have to figure out what I am going to do first.”
How do you get into the dunk contest? Do you apply? Do you get asked? What takes place?
“First of all you have to be willing to do it and you gotta definitely make yourself available that you want to do it. Last year I told the NBA that I wanted to do that, so what happened was they kept that in mind and this year they needed someone, so they chose me.”
Have you considered what types of dunk you are going to do in this competition?
“Not really. This year I was not focused on the dunk competition at all. I was just trying to get through this season because we are playing really well right now. This came out of the blue for me. I definitely gotta sit down and think of some creative dunks for me to do and go out and practice.”
Are you considering bringing one of your teammates to do the dunk contest with a prop or a ball or are you going solo in this?
“Like I said it is still up in the air. I know for sure Courtney Lee is going to be down there in Orlando, so if I do need somebody to throw me a lob I know I got him by my side.”
Have you given any thought to using props for the dunk contest like Blake Griffin did last year?
“I think I will be. I think I will use some props. With what the dunk contest has evolved into is using more props and making it more fun for the fans instead of just going out there and doing some special dunks because it is tough to be creative with new dunks because pretty much everybody has done every dunk you can possibly think of.”
Listen to Chase Budinger on KILT in Houston here

2 Trackback(s)

Feb 18, 2012: 10 Sickest Dunks of the Week in the NBA – Bleacher Report | Blake Griffin Zone

Feb 18, 2012: Saving the dunk contest: The best $2 million the NBA could spend – SportingNews.com | Blake Griffin Zone

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