Raptors guard DeMar DeRozan says he is done competing in any "prop dunk contest" for NBA All-Star weekend. DeRozan finished third in Saturday's contest, and he lost out to Blake Griffin, who dunked over a car with a choir singing R. Kelly in the background, and JaVale McGee, who brought out an extra hoop so he could dunk two balls at once. Serge Ibaka, who finished last, bit down on a "lost" toy hanging from the rim and gave it to a child actor who was pretending to cry at half-court. Meanwhile, DeRozan just dunked. "I'm a dunker," he said today, and continued,
Dunk contests, you go out there and dunk. I'm not into all the props and everything. I try to come out with a creative dunk and do it and go from there. My fans liked it and you can see the reaction from a lot of people afterward. If there's a dunk contest next year I'll do it. But not no prop dunk contest.
Above, we've compiled video of all of the dunks from this year's contest that require zero "props" — there's just a basketball, a hoop, and maybe someone to toss the ball. And it doesn't disappoint. DeRozan says he thinks the props tend to "cheapen" the contest, and that if the NBA doesn't eliminate props, he won't compete next year, because "there's no telling what might happen... Somebody might use a trampoline." Or sharks with laser beams! It's our hope that other players will agree with DeRozan. The event looks pretty damn good without the toys and the cars and the three-minute speeches. Simplicity works.
DeRozan Done Competing in 'Prop Dunk Contest' [AP]