It was announced on Thursday that Indiana Pacers star Paul George would enter this year’s Slam Dunk contest along with John Wall, Damian Lillard, Terrence Ross, Harrison Barnes and Ben McLemore.
George, who entered the contest back in 2012 as a second-year player still learning the ropes of being an NBA player, showed in the contest that he can dunk with the best of them. He converted his first attempt with an impressive dunk over 7’2″ teammate Roy Hibbert. His second dunk, however, didn’t quite impress the judges enough: it was basically the same dunk he did in-game against the Los Angeles Clippers that set the world on fire this year:
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as loved than as it was this year because no one really got to see what he did – a Vince Carteresque dunk in pitch dark wearing a glow-in-the-dark jersey that barely glowed. His third dunk was exceptional as well, but not one that impressed the judges enough to move him to the next round.
This year, George should be able to garner more attention with everything he does due to the star-status aura he now carries with him. Often times, it’s the hype factor that can win over the crowd in the dunk contest, and there is plenty of hype surrounding the forward these days.
So what will he do the second time around? Teammate Hibbert has the inside scoop.
Heard @Paul_George24 is gonna take off from the free throw line. Jump over me then do a 360 windmill at the @nba dunk contest this year.
— Roy Hibbert (@Hoya2aPacer) February 7, 2014
That would be quite a feat, but George might have to take Hibbert’s head off to convert that particular dunk.
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James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.