Over the last few years the NBA Dunk Contest has become more about props than actual dunks. Somewhere between Gerald Green’s cupcakes, Dwight Howard’s capes, Blake Griffin’s cheap cars and an assortment of other forgotten but similarly “creative” jams, the focus shifted from Vince Carter-esque amazing athletic feats to what we have now – lame dunks with sort of unique distractions.
In keeping with that tradition, New York Knicks rookie guard Iman Shumpert planned to utilize Linsanity and use a couch sort of like the one Jeremy Lin famously slept on when he -- and everyone else -- was unsure of his future in the Big Apple. Unfortunately, as a result of tendinitis taking Shumpert out of the proceedings, a Lin-like couch will now no longer bless our screens this Saturday.
According to the New York Post (via The Score):
Knicks rookie guard Iman Shumpert, who officially pulled out of the Slam Dunk contest yesterday because of tendinitis in his knee, admitted to The Post he had a “Linsane’’ trick up his sleeve.
Yes, he and Jeremy Lin had talked about doing a dunk in which Shumpert would vault over a couch — the symbol of Lin’s humble sleeping conditions.
“He was going to help me out,’’ Shumpert told The Post. “Once my knee was so sore, I started thinking about it: ‘Am I going to be able to jump over the couch?’ All kinds of things to think about.’’
So there you go. Basketball fans were this close to getting to see Iman Shumpert jumping over a couch at the dunk contest. Eat your heart out, Michael Jordan taking off from the free throw line.
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