Before Zach LaVine was a two-time All-Star, 20 PPG scorer, and 200 million dollar player, he was a young player with the ability to fly high in the sky and the hopes of making a name for himself during All-Star weekend.
In 2015, the Slam Dunk Contest was going through an existential crisis. After being the highlight of the weekend for years, excitement around the event had faltered. It needed an exciting and creative new face to re-invigorate interest in the competition.
LaVine, in his rookie season, proved to be just the man for the job. The following season, LaVine found a way to one-up his debut performance – participating in one of the greatest duels in competition history en route to his second Slam Dunk Contest title.
It has been nearly a decade since his last Dunk Contest victory, and LaVine is a much more recognizable player than he was before his first All-Star weekend. He's also developed a legacy that stretches much further than his ability to mash the ball through the hoop. Yet, it seems that the Sacramento Kings slasher still thinks about the event.
A challenge from Ja Morant
On Saturday night, Ja Morant put out a tweet on X that read, "mac might make me decide to dunk." He immediately followed that tweet with a follow-up that challenged LaVine and Gordon to enter the Dunk Contest again and re-create their iconic showdown. Here is what LaVine responded to that:
Thinking I might have too again…. https://t.co/LVnVyEGOwP
— Zach LaVine (@ZachLaVine) February 16, 2025
Despite already cementing his legacy as one of the greatest dunkers the sport has ever seen, it seems like LaVine still has the itch to compete. Unfortunately, there is one massive hurdle that stands in his way.
LaVine may be too old and beat up to compete in the Dunk Contest
The last time LaVine participated in the Dunk Contest, he was 20 years old. In a couple of weeks, he will be celebrating his 30th birthday. By the time next season's All-Star weekend rolls around, he'll be almost 31 years old.
Not only is LaVine much older than he was when he resurrected the event, but he's also suffered a ton of injuries in the time since then. In the season after his second Dunk Contest win, LaVine tore his ACL. Since then, LaVine has played over 70 games in a season just once (although he is on pace to do that this year, too).
So, while it is cool to see LaVine still has that fire burning inside him, and it would be fun to see if he has any new tricks up his sleeve (and to see the Kings get some representation in the weekend), it seems unlikely that he will actually be able to go for Slam Dunk Contest title number three.