LeBron James participated in his record-breaking 22nd All-Star game this weekend, adding to his unprecedented resume. The legendary forward has surely made his mark on the NBA, but not everyone thinks it has been entirely positive.
In fact, one notorious analyst and longtime critic of James believes he ruined the historically most celebrated event of All-Star Weekend.
Skip Bayless Blames LeBron James For Ruining the NBA Dunk Contest
The 2026 All-Star game was an overall success, with several superstars clearly taking this new format more seriously. James was part of Team USA Stripes, which reached the final of this tournament before losing handily to Team USA Stars.
The Lakers’ forward was a somewhat limited participant, playing only 21 total minutes, which prompted one of his most noted critics to raise a long-standing argument against him. Skip Bayless believes James ruined the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and gave a detailed explanation in a recent social media post why.
“LeBron James destroyed the dunk contest by not doing the dunk contest. He had so many opportunities early on where you got young, fresh legs, you’re explosive, you’re 6’9, jump out of the gym leaper, power dunk. Just do the dunk contest. And he set the tone for the generations to come to not do the dunk contest. It has now degenerated into a Mac McClung G-League dunk contest…now the showcase event of All-Star weekend is the three-point shootout.”
Despite the overall success of the weekend, the 2026 dunk contest was widely viewed as underwhelming compared with previous years. Keshad Johnson of the Miami Heat won the event, but many fans and analysts criticized the lack of creativity and star power in the field.
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James is frequently blamed for the modern reluctance of NBA superstars to participate in this competition, even though the trend did not begin with him. Long before James entered the league, several high-profile players chose to bypass the event.
Magic Johnson never competed in it, nor did Larry Bird, and Shaquille O’Neal, despite being an athletic marvel, decline repeated invitations. Still, that does not mean that, for years, the expectation was that dynamic young stars would eventually do the dunk contest.
James openly discussed his participation in it early in his career, which fueled hype around the possibility. When the face of the NBA ultimately never did it, especially during his athletic peak, his absence became symbolic because of his visibility.
The 4× NBA champion was viewed as the ideal headliner for the dunk contest in an era of nonstop media coverage, and his absence unfolded under a brighter spotlight, turning a long-standing pattern into a widely debated narrative.
That said, the decline in superstar participation was already underway, driven by several factors. Specifically, the risk-versus-reward equation changed. A star has plenty to lose in this competition, whether through injury risk, fatigue, or simply looking unimpressive compared to specialists.
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In the social media era, a missed dunk or poor performance can hurt a player from a brand-management perspective. Meanwhile, high-flying role players often benefit more from the exposure. Participation, therefore, has increasingly become the domain of dunk specialists rather than franchise faces, aside from a few here and there.
James, therefore, is not the main culprit behind this drop in star participation, but Bayless predictably disagrees with this narrative.
