Aaron Gordon is game for a third shot at the NBA’s slam-dunk title.
He indicated as much to The Undefeated’s Marc J. Spears:
Magic forward Aaron Gordon told ESPN’s The Undefeated he would accept an invite to the 2018 NBA Slam Dunk contest if asked by the league.
Still, it’s nevertheless refreshing that Gordon is open to returning for a third crack at the title. So many players outgrow the dunk competition. They don’t want to be billed solely as a dunker or aerial specialist. The same thing happened with Blake Griffin.
Others just know they don’t have enough to gain. The buildup to the Saturday night showcase will be so high, they’ll have no chance of living up to it. Participating can only give way to disappointment for so many potential candidates. Hence why guys like LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, et al. won’t do it. Their performances spread across social media like wild fire, and they know there’s nothing they can really do that hasn’t been done before. And if they do find something, then fail to do it, they’ll still be subject to unnecessarily negative takes. This is kind of similar to how All-Star Game participants approach defense. Why play it? You only stand to end up on the wrong side of a poster or viral clip.
That Gordon, an early-season Most Improved Player candidate, is willing to come back registers as pretty cool.
