Nate Talks Dunk Contest

Not sure why Nate decided to pass on defending his crown or why the NBA has watered down the contest in recent years to only 4 players, but 3 time dunk champion Nate Robinson sat down with Dime Magazine the other day to discuss the dunk contest.
Dime: What’s your fondest dunk contest memory?
NR: Well, my first one I was real nervous, but I was dunking in front of all my favorite players. I have this picture on my wall and you can see Iverson, Jason Terry, Kobe and Chauncey – all those guys were there just watching. Then I have another one with D-Wade, Shaq, LeBron and Chris Paul. The picture is awesome. Oh yeah, and jumping over Dwight. That was just awesome.

Dime: Now that this year’s field is set – Blake Griffin, Serge Ibaka, JaVale McGee and DeMar DeRozan – who do you think is going to win?
NR: I’m not sure. Is this a big man dunk contest? I’m not sure what happened here. Blake, we see him dunk in the game, but what can he do? All I know is that my boy T-Will (Terrence Williams) needs to be in this thing. But right now you gotta go with Griffin. You see what he does in the games.


Dime: Break him down for us.
NR: I compare Griffin to a Shawn Kemp. Kemp did a dunk contest, and he didn’t do too good. Blake lives for the dunk and the kid is out of this world. He has a lot of flair, a lot of swag to him. It’s kind of ridiculous.

Dime: You’re not the first person to tell us that T-Will should be in it. What would he bring to the table?
NR: Flair, swagger and entertainment. He’s my brother. Me and him do dunks together when we workout, and he always does this dunk that is ridiculous. It’s unbelievable. I can’t tell you what he does, but he has a couple you-scratch-your-head type of dunks. Look at his one-foot windmill. It’s ridiculous.

Dime: What would your ultimate dunk contest be this year?
NR: I would love to see Derrick Rose, T-Will, Blake and James White. For this year, those would be my four guys. I might come out of retirement for that.

Dime: Is there anything you would change about the dunk contest?
NR: I wish they brought back music. You used to be able to pick your own song to come out to. They need to bring that back.

Dime: Who’s your favorite dunker of all time?
NR: Vince Carter is my favorite of all time and the best ever to step foot on this planet. Ever. I would pay to see Vince and James White go at it. That would be awesome. It’s your prototypical two-foot jumper versus one-foot jumper.
To read the full interview click here.