Stephen A. Smith’s ‘Intentional’ LeBron James Critique Sparks Nick Wright and Fan Outrage – “A Tradition Unlike Any Other”

Stephen A. Smith has long held the notion that LeBron James declining to participate in the Slam Dunk contest set a trend.

Stephen A. Smith’s ‘Intentional’ LeBron James Critique Sparks Nick Wright and Fan Outrage – “A Tradition Unlike Any Other”

Stephen A. Smith, Nick Wright, and LeBron James (Image via FirstSportz)

In Short
  • LeBron James is blamed by Stephen A. Smith for the decline in star participation in the NBA Slam Dunk contest.
  • Smith's critique has sparked backlash from fans and media, who feel he unfairly singled out LeBron.
  • Former NBA player Iman Shumpert advocates for bringing back Mac McClung to improve the dunk contest's appeal.

Now that the NBA All-Star weekend is over, LeBron James and the rest of the league will not play a game until Thursday, February 19th, as they get a mild break to reset their bodies.

The All-Star game was a success, as fans and those in the media who usually critique the lackluster effort from players were surprised to see the new USA vs. World format bring out some competition.

However, there are still some things the league needs to work on, particularly the Rising Stars challenge, the skills competition, and the dunk contest.

I didn’t think about the contest… We all know it was terrible because there was no star power… I’m going to blame LeBron James… The person who really is the provocateur to ruin the slam dunk contest was him.

Stephen A. Smith said on First Take

This was the longtime analyst’s opinion on why he did not tune in to watch the Slam Dunk contest. Stephen A. Smith believes the sheer lack of star power has ruined the event.

For that, he doubled down on blaming LeBron James, as he believes the Los Angeles Lakers single-handedly gave fellow superstars the ability to avoid the contest.

That was in contrast to the past, where the league’s top superstars would want to participate and give the fans a spectacle. Smith believes that by declining to participate, the “King” is responsible for setting this trend.

Stephen A. Smith blaming LeBron James gets pushback

When this clip surfaced on First Take’s social media page, it instantly drew the attention of both fans and other members of the media. That is because they felt this was Stephen A. Smith‘s way of keeping the ratings rolling.

Nick Wright believes that since there are no major sporting events, this was a blatant attempt from the ESPN analyst to rekindle some viewership numbers.

Along with him, fans felt this was an unnecessary jab at LeBron James, especially as there were others Smith could blame for the Dunk Contest’s disastrous run. Check out examples of those reactions below:

Stephen A. Smith is not completely wrong when blaming LeBron James for setting the trend of other superstars declining to participate in the dunk contest.

However, fans felt that the 58-year-old Presidential aspirant could have leveled blame on others, but instead chose to point out the Lakers superstar, as Smith knows that is where the ratings come from.

LeBron James’ former teammate wants NBA to bring back Mac McClung

Stephen A. Smith might want to blame LeBron James for the catastrophe the Slam Dunk contest has become, but the latter’s former teammate thinks the NBA should go with the best out there.

Mac McClung has been the best dunker
Mac McClung has been the best dunker (Image via Scott Strazzante/X)

Bring back the Mac, man. If we are going to have to watch what we just had to watch, don’t get me wrong, they completed their dunks. I’m happy for the guy hoisting his trophy up. If we want to watch dunks, we want to watch difficulty. We want to watch something we haven’t seen before.

Iman Shumpert said on NBA Today

The former Cleveland Cavaliers 3-and-D specialist believes the NBA should bring back 3-time Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung, as there is no better dunker out there than him.

Even though Iman Shumpert was against the idea of bringing him back for another year, the lackluster 2026 Slam Dunk contest has him doing a 360-degree turn.

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