Terrance Ferguson expressed his desire to participate in the 2020 All-Star Slam Dunk competition. The truth is the OKC Thunder could rally for three participants!
For those who’ve witnessed the growth of OKC Thunder guard/forward Terrence Ferguson, it’s not a surprise to learn he can dunk. In fact, when TFerg first came into the league arguably his best asset was his athleticism and ability to throw down.
In the first preseason game of the year on Tuesday versus the Mavericks, fans got to experience one of Ferguson’s more powerful dunks. Ferguson hails from Tulsa so with over 20 members of friends and family on-site at the BOK Center he wanted to put on a show.
Erik Horne of The Oklahoman spoke with TFerg post-game and posted on social media how the young star is keen to be a participant in this year’s All-Star Weekend as a participant in the All-Star Saturday Night event, specifically in the Slam Dunk Competition.
"Terrance Ferguson on his dunk from last night, said that was for Tulsa. Ferguson, a Tulsa native, had 23 friends and family members at the game. Ferguson: “I’m just looking to get that dunk contest invite. That’s pretty much it.”"
https://twitter.com/okcthunder/status/1182021650491027458
The interesting sidebar to this conversation is Hamidou Diallo is the reigning Slam Dunk Champion. Generally, the previous year’s winner gets the opportunity to repeat so odds are Diallo will get the automatic invite.
For that matter, Hami made sure to remind Thunder Nation why he won last season with his efforts in the OKC Thunder win over the New Zealand Breakers.
And, the truth of the matter is the best dunker on the team might very well be Deonte Burton who dazzles Chesapeake in warmups as his pink shoes rise up for his jaw-dropping powerful dunks.
I took to Twitter to ask Thunder Nation what you thought — and you didn’t disappoint:
Terrance Ferguson stated he wants to participate in 2020 Slam Dunk. Which of this trio would you pick to participate? #ThunderUp
— Thunderous Intentions (@thunderousint) October 10, 2019
Already, the scuttlebutt in NBA land is calling for rookie sensation Zion Williamson to participate. He’s not committing stating it’ll be a “game time decision”. Read: I have to check with the franchise.
Hopefully, this isn’t a repeat of LeBron James who fans clamored to get in the dunk competition only to be disappointed year after year. At the 2009 event James committing to participate in 2010, but it never came to fruition.
The other key this season will be location as Chicago hosts the weekend which means home town star (and two-time winner) Zach LaVine will likely be encouraged to participate. If healthy that might mean Aaron Gordon will also want a shot at the title considering many felt he won at the Toronto event (and for what it’s worth ranked among the top three slam dunk competitions ever).
The problem is the NBA tends to only have four participants, so if each of LaVine, Gordon, and Williamson commit, logically that would mean Diallo would be the fourth.
Although if fans recall this 2013 showdown between a young Zach LaVine and Deonte Burton they might clamor for the re-match.
Perhaps Thunder Nation needs to start lobbying now for our trio of dunkers to get in on the party and try to convince the league to take the event back to a similar structure as the season when Vince Carter won.
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There were more participants back then with three dunks required to par the list down to the top three who then competed in the final round with another two dunks.
Ultimately, much will likely depend on where the teams stand as they head into the break. If the Pelicans are in the mix for a playoff seed the franchise may not want Zion risking being involved in too many events.
Although most are writing off the OKC Thunder and their playoff chances the truth is we’ll likely know after the first 20 games of the horrific opening schedule. Either way, it’s doubtful TFerg or Diallo would back down from wanting to participate and I’ll keep pushing for Burton because he’s my guilty viewing pleasure on the Thunder for everything he does, but the dunks are just the icing on the cake.
What do you think folks? Should we start some sort of rally cry to get the trio included? As the saying goes — nothing ventured, nothing gained!