NEW YORK (AP) -- Magic Johnson is giving LeBron James a million reasons to consider the slam dunk contest.

The Hall of Famer says Friday during ESPN's pregame show that he will put up $1 million if James finally enters the marquee event of All-Star Saturday night.

James has always refused to enter the contest, but he's recently been putting on a dunking show before Miami's games, reigniting interest in seeing him take part.

Johnson says: "Please LeBron, get in the dunk contest. I'm going to put up a million dollars. A million dollars to LeBron. Please get in the dunk contest. I go every year. I want to see you out there. A million to the winner."

The NBA currently pays $100,000 to the winner and $50,000 to the runner-up.