Today, the folks at Coca-Cola announced that its Sprite brand would launch the first-ever slam dunk showdown. The contest will look for the best amateur dunker across America. The competition will culminate at the NBA All-Star Game in Dallas, where four finalists will compete for the crown, and the company says that 2009 MVP LeBron James will help choose the champion.
What's so strange about all of this?
Well, James - who Coke recently moved from endorsing Sprite to Vitaminwater - hasn't been in the NBA version of the contest himself. And a Coke spokesperson told us that LeBron's involvement with the amateur contest does not at all require him to participate in the actual contest.
In February, we asked you if LeBron was making the right decisionby sitting out all these years. Most of you said "no." Then, after watching Nate Robinson win the contest again, LeBron softly committed to 2010.
You kind of wonder what type of credibility he'll have with the kids he judges if he sits out the dunk contest for another year.
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