Despite Stephen Curry vs Sabrina success, EX-Champion calls for NBA to “Eliminate” popular contest

The NBA All-Star Weekend concluded with a remarkable 211-186 point game between the East and the West, being among the highest-scoring matchups ever in the history of the league. Many critics and media heavily scrutinized the players for not giving enough defensive effort. But that’s a never-ending argument against the event.

But this time around, things are a little different. People are not just scrutinizing the main all-stars game but also targeting the skills contest, particularly the “Slam Dunk” contest. People have gone so far as to even declare it dead because of its steady decline and lackluster performances over the years. Ex-NBA champions, Jeff Teague couldn’t agree more!

Jeff Teague goes off on the Slam Dunk Contest

In the most recent episode of the ‘Club 20 Podcast’, Teague shared, “I think they should eliminate it (slam dunk contest) for sure. The Three-Point Contest is way more exciting. Sabrina and Steph are way more exciting.” The former Bucks’ champion even went so far as to suggest that the league should look to build on the Steph vs Sabrina challenge and bring in Caitlin Clark, Damian Lillard, and others together to replicate the NBA vs WNBA row. He said, “Let them start shooting it out, and then they should just put like anything else but the Dunk contest.”

Teague’s criticism did not just stop here. Speaking against the Dunk contest, he and his fellow co-host went ahead speculating ideas and things that could actually bring the fanfare back to the All-Star weekend, like it was at one point in time. He believes eliminating the Skills Challenge might also help the cause. “I say take the skills challenge out too ’cause people don’t really care; they be bullsh**ing in the skills challenge. They’re on the Henny, so let that go. They should do some sh*t more competitive,” said the 35-year-old.

He believes that the All-Star weekend should be restored to its glory, like when legends from different teams participated in the same in the past.

This year the All-Star Weekend received more backlash than usual. Even Stephen A. Smith on air said, “Celebrity game was more competitive than the actual game.” Smith too opines that the league probably needs to do away with the All-Star Weekend altogether. And Smith isn’t the only one who feels the same. Brad Botkin from CBS Sports also feels that the players do not care about the weekend. Rather, they just want to participate and go home without sustaining any major injuries. He gives a very solid solution to the problem too – bring in “non-NBA dunkers for the dunk contest“. 

What do you think about the All-Star game? Do you also feel the backlash it is still receiving is valid? Or do you think there should be a solution to the to what people are calling “absolutely terrible”? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

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