Load Management at the NBA All-Star Game, McClung Unofficial Dunk Contest, 3-Point Contest Over Dunk Contest? and Other Bulls Bullets ...Middle East

Happy All-Star Sunday to all those watching. I don’t assume a lot, because the main All-Star game is no longer the draw of this weekend, with no interest from players in making it the spectacle people hope for it to be. Yes, this is the tone for the article today, because after the news I read, this trend will continue tonight.

Let’s talk NBA All-Star Basketball.

Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images After the first two days of NBA All-Star Weekend, Friday’s Rising Stars game and Saturday’s dunk contest and three-point contest, we finally arrive at the “main event,” the NBA All-Star Game. But over the past few years, this game just hasn’t lived up to the hype. Something has clearly been missing. A much-needed format change had been implemented just to get players to compete harder, which says a lot. Somewhere along the way, the All-Star Game started feeling less like a battle of the best and more like a place where players think they’re guaranteed to get injured. Because of that mindset, they’ve stopped giving it their all when it comes to this stage. Now, I don’t want to point any fingers about who set this precedent, cough cough LeBron James, but it feels like that tone has carried over. And honestly, even this year, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change. Last year, at the 2025 NBA All-Star Game in Oakland, California, LeBron James didn’t announce that he wasn’t going to play until the day of the game. By then, it was too late for the NBA to find a proper replacement, leaving an empty roster spot for someone who was never going to see the floor. That’s tough. I get it, LeBron has played in 20-something All-Star Games. At this point, he doesn’t need another one to validate his legacy. That part makes sense. But with the All-Star Game’s format already deteriorating and the overall competitiveness hanging by a thread, it felt especially important to have the big names actually show up and at least try to put on a show. As mentioned before, the league tried something new last year with that tournament-style format. In theory, it sounded interesting. In reality? It felt like a long, dragged-out ad fest, with more going on around the game than on the court. The flow was off, the energy wasn’t there, and the actual basketball kind of got lost in the noise. Now this year, they’re trying something similar but slightly different—a USA vs. World type of format, with different teams and a fresh twist. On paper, it sounds promising. But it already seems like LeBron won’t be truly available for this game either, as was recently announced that he will be doing his NBA All-Star Media Day availability on the day of, and not yesterday like the rest of the players did.

LeBron James will not be present for today's NBA All-Star Media Day and will be made available on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. PT in the press conference room.

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) February 14, 2026 It could be a case where he announces he will not play at all, like last year. Or because the game is in LA, he might suit up for a couple of minutes and call it a day. Two years ago he did something similar where he played just 13 minutes. LeBron’s teammate and leading vote getter, Luka Dončić, has already been announced as playing in just one of the games in this multiple-game tournament format, and even then, he’ll be on a minutes restriction. Now, Luka has been dealing with an injury and hasn’t been available for the last four Lakers games, so I understand the caution. But still, tonight he won’t be fully available either. Add that to the growing list of injuries, Steph Curry out, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander out, Giannis Antetokounmpo out, and suddenly the star power for this NBA All-Star Game is looking a lot, lot thinner than it should. And for a showcase that’s already fighting to keep its edge, losing that many headliners doesn’t exactly help.

Luka Doncic (hamstring) will start and have a minutes restriction in All-Star Game on Sunday, per @DanWoikeSports.Doncic will play in just the first game.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) February 14, 2026 Last night, we also got the three-point contest and the NBA dunk contest. And one really interesting thing I’ve started to notice is that over the last 10 years, the three-point contest has completely overtaken the dunk contest. And what I mean by that is this: it’s not just more exciting right now, it’s where the All-Stars and true superstars actually want to compete. Just look at the last 10 dunk contest winners. You’ve had only one former or current All-Star in that group. And when Donovan Mitchell won it, he was still just a young player. Since becoming an established All-Star, he hasn’t gone back to participate again.

Last 10 Slam Dunk Contest winners:'26: Keshad Johnson'25: Mac McClung'24: Mac McClung'23: Mac McClung22: Obi Toppin'21: Anfernee Simons'20: Derrick Jones Jr.'19: Hami Diallo'18: Donovan Mitchell'17: Glenn Robinson IIIOnly one All-Star has won in the last decade.

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) February 15, 2026 Now compare that to the three-point contest. Your recent multi-year champion has been Damian Lillard. And when you look through the rest of the recent winners and participants, the list is stacked with legitimate All-Stars and household names. The league’s elite shooters actually want to be there.

Last 10 3-Point Contest winners:'26: Damian Lillard'25: Tyler Herro'24: Damian Lillard'23: Damian Lillard'22: Karl-Anthony Towns'21: Stephen Curry'20: Buddy Hield'19: Joe Harris'18: Devin Booker'17: Eric Gordon

— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) February 14, 2026 So it’s not just the All-Star Game on Sunday that feels like it’s losing some of its shine. It also feels like the three-point contest has quietly become the main event of All-Star Weekend, overtaking the dunk contest in both prestige and excitement. And honestly, I don’t think anyone 25 years ago would’ve believed that would ever happen. One name noticeably missing from the dunk contest last night was Mac McClung, current Chicago Bull and three-time NBA dunk contest champion. And the reason he wasn’t invited back? Apparently, the league discouraged him from participating because if he entered, no one else would want to. Which is wild. But after watching the dunk contest we got last night, maybe that wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world.

Mac McClung says he chose not to enter the dunk contest because several NBA players didn’t want to compete if he was in it ?“I think there was just back and forth of us being like this, and then they were calling me, being like 'People didn't want to do it if I was doing it',… pic.twitter.com/ZFNsGFtYXA

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 12, 2026 Mac even posted a video showing what his four dunks would have been if he had competed. And honestly? They looked ridiculous. We’re talking 50s on 50s. Every single round. It almost doesn’t matter if he’s the overwhelming favorite every time he steps into that contest, if the dunks are that creative and that explosive, people are going to tune in.

Mac McClung reveals all the dunks he would’ve done in the Dunk Contest ? pic.twitter.com/cZ0RDG1tXB

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) February 15, 2026 For the past three years, he’s been the main reason the competition stayed relevant. And it’s kind of hilarious when you really think about it, a G-Leaguer who struggles to stick on a full-time NBA roster is somehow one of the best pure dunkers in the league. And instead of embracing that, we discourage him from competing? That’s insane. But at least now we’ve seen what the dunk contest looks like without him. And maybe, just maybe, after last night, the league reconsiders, and we see him make a return next year.

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