It’s always tough to say no to mom and dad.
So when Shaedon Sharpe’s parents found out that the NBA wanted him to compete in the slam dunk contest, they applied some gentle pressure like only mom and dad can.
“Mom and dad, they’ve been wanting me to do it, so why not,” said Sharpe. “It came down to me and my family and even friends just telling me ‘You should do it.’ I don’t really do dunk contests but since the NBA asked me to do it, I said ‘Why not?’”
Why not indeed.
Sharpe, a 6-6 rookie who has already proven to be one of the NBA’s highest flyers in his first few months as a pro, said he has accepted an invitation to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest at the 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. One needs to only watch the highlight reel from Sharpe’s first 37 games to understand why.
“I’d probably say I’m more nervous but excited as well. It’s a great opportunity,” said Sharpe. “I think they were really interested because they kept asking my agent and my coach. When they brought that info to me I’m like, why not.”
The young Canadian hasn’t had a chance to think too much about how he’s going to approach the contest, but in typical fashion, he’s not going to worry too much about it.
“I haven’t thought too much of it,” said Sharpe, who is averaging 7.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game this season. “I might just go off the top, see what I can do. I’m going to practice a little bit but I don’t know. Whatever comes to me, I’ll do it.”
While Sharpe has the kind of elite athleticism that might allow him to have success in the dunk contest without too much preparation, he’s already received some gentle prodding that such an approach comes with a fair amount of risk.
“I’m teasing him all the time because in that dunk contest you’ve got to be very creative,” said head coach and five-time All-Star Chauncey Billups. “You got to show some flair and pizzaz, so I’m looking forward to seeing him come to life like that.”
One thing that Sharpe is fairly certain of is he’d like some assistance from his teammates, both in the run up to the competition and during the event.
“I might have to talk to Ant (Simons), see what he did, see what I can try to do in the dunk contest,” said Sharpe, noting that Simons won the 2021 event. “I was thinking if Dame comes I’d use Dame because I feel like we got that connection with the passing and dunking and all that. So I’ll probably use a teammate.”
Sharpe has over a month to figure out how he wants to approach the contest -- the premiere event on All-Star Saturday night is scheduled for February 19 -- but as with most things in his life, he’s not worrying too much about it.
“I try to just have fun with that type of stuff, put on a show,” said Sharpe. “I mean, it’s cool getting all that attention, but it’s whatever.”