LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is credited by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith for the NBA Slam Dunk contest’s failure. The absence of star involvement is one of the many reasons, according to many NBA fans, why the slam dunk contest has been disappointing for many years.

With his participation, Jaylen Brown became the first player to be picked to the All-Star team. Victor Oladipo was the last celebrity to compete in the 2018 tournament before him.

Young role players have been participating in the dunk contest for some time now. Even the two-time champion Mac McClung has participated in more G-league games than he has on an NBA roster. Players of All-Star caliber appear to be staying out of the dunk competition, and Stephen A. claims that LeBron is the sole reason for this.

Smith claimed on First Take that “LeBron James is directly responsible for ruining the Slam Dunk contest.”

His co-hosts began to respond in different ways, but he cut them off to resume his tirade against the 39-year-old celebrity. Stephen A. continued by enumerating some of LeBron’s accomplishments and expressing how much he will be missed and how much his work will be valued.

He then reminded everyone that from 1985 to 1997, a future Hall of Famer won the NBA Slam Dunk competition five times. These players were Kobe Bryant, who won once, Dominique Wilkins, who won twice, and Michael Jordan.

Stephen A. went on to say that until LeBron declared he wouldn’t be participating, all of the amazing in-game dunkers wanted to be in the dunk competition.

“And do you know how [LeBron] made it even worse? The analyst went on to say, “He’d do it on the lay-up lines before games,” alluding to LeBron’s pre-game warm-up dunks. “You went to the games, and you had people with their cameras clicking and going crazy because they saw LeBron James using a lay-up line pre-game as his own slam dunk performance, and he did it on purpose.”

Stephen A. then launched into another tirade, declaring once more that LeBron’s unwillingness to compete was the reason the slam dunk contest was ruined.

LeBron James gave an explanation for his decision to forgo the dunk competition

Dwyane Wade had the opportunity to speak with LeBron James in the capacity of an interviewer at the 2015 NBA All-Star weekend. Wade inquired as to why he had never taken part in the annual dunk contest, among other things.

In response, LeBron said that it simply lacked his “flavor.” He acknowledged that he had done it a few times in high school, but Wade cut him off before he could finish his thought by implying—in part without really saying—that LeBron is an in-game dunker.

LeBron James concurred, but he also stated that he is no longer interested in competing, even though he occasionally felt guilty about not entering the slam dunk competition while watching it.