Russell Westbrook May Take Part in the Slam Dunk Contest

Established NBA stars generally shy away from the increasingly unpopular Slam Dunk Contest. However, Russell Westbrook says that he would like to take part in one before he loses the explosiveness in his legs. He’s just not sure it will be this season. Per the Oklahoman: “Russell Westbrook on Thursday expressed his interest in someday joining the field but said he wasn’t sure if he will participate in Houston this year. ‘It’s up in the air,’ Westbrook said about this year’s dunk competition. ‘I would (like to) before it’s too late. But I don’t know where I’m going to feel like doing it or not.’ Westbrook, as he has in the past, insisted that he is more of a ‘game dunker’ rather than a dunk contest dunker. Typically, that means a player impresses more with power and by posterizing opposing players as opposed to planning out dunks weeks, if not months, in advance. ‘It’s so many people in this league that jump so much higher than I do, everybody else can do it,’ said Westbrook, clearly being modest. ‘It’s a lot of people that can jump. I only can jump high in the games. That’s it. I think if it’s just regular people would be disappointed.’ Westbrook, however, said he does have a few tricks up his sleeve. ‘I got a few dunks, but it ain’t nothing that you ain’t seen before,’ he said. ‘These dunk contests you’ve got to dunk on three baskets, do cartwheels and do something to get points. But I don’t know, man.'”