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All-Star weekend is almost upon us. I look forward to it each year. I know some people don’t think it’s very fun and the events are old and tired, but I like them. The two that I look forward to the most are the dunk contest and the three point shootout. This year, the dunk contest field isn’t really littered with big name stars like Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant or even Dwyane Wade, but there are some big-time young athletes that I think will make it entertaining. Could it be better? Of course it could. It would be tremendous if the best of the best did the dunk contest, but it seems like those days are over. But sometimes guys that you don’t expect to wow you tend to do that. One of those guys that may wow you is Shannon Brown.
When Brown was in high school at the McDonald’s All American game he was in a dunk contest and he went up against none other than LeBron James and gave him a strong run. In that contest, Brown pulled off an incredible 360 dunk showing off his tremendous athleticism, but it was LeBron who walked away with the trophy. He may be only 6 foot 4, but Brown has always been known for his athleticism and excellent leaping ability. It should make for a good show with him, DeMar Derozan or Eric Gordon, Gerald Wallace and defending champion Nate Robinson. However, with dunks like the one below, Brown is my pick to take home the trophy this year. Shannon Brown joined Into the Night with Tony Bruno on to talk about what Kobe Bryant has told him about being in a dunk contest, whether or not he thinks he was robbed in against LeBron James, and whether or not he thinks he’s the best dunker in the contest.
On whether or not the snow will put a damper on the festivities this weekend:
“I think everything should be okay. Hopefully the snow and everything clears up by tomorrow, the sun comes out and melts all the snow away and everybody will be happy. The parties go on, the festivities go on and everybody has a big smile on their face.”
On whether or not Kobe will still be in Dallas to help him with the dunk contest:
“I don’t know about a big party or anything like that. Hopefully he still comes. He’s definitely nursing some injuries, trying to rest up and it’s going to be a surprise.”
On whether or not Kobe has been mentoring him in preparation for the dunk contest:
“Not so much telling me what to do, but we’ve been throwing ideas around. We’ve got some good stuff in mind. We’ve got a couple of dunks that are gonna open a lot of eyes.
On him being in a dunk contest before:
“Yes sir. (Host: You were robbed by LeBron James weren’t you?) No, not robbed. He won fair and square. He accumulated the most points. I actually missed a dunk that didn’t allow me to win but everybody remembers the 360 that I did. That’s what everybody is ranting and raving about.”
On whether he thinks he’s the best dunker:
“I don’t know. We’re gonna see. That’s why we’re having a dunk contest for to see who the best dunker is I guess.”
On whether or not he has been practicing his dunks a lot in practice since it was announced that he would be participating in the contest:
“Not at all. Ever since they announced that I was gonna be in it, my teammates have been talking bad about me about how I really haven’t had any dunks in the game and they were wondering if I could still dunk and this, that and the other. I had to show them in the little practice that we we’re doing for the dunk contest. It’s gonna be a great time.”
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