5 players who belong in the 2018 NBA Dunk Contest

4. Jordan Bell

Bell’s been quietly lobbying to be chosen for the Dunk Contest since earlier in the season. “I’m all able and willing. It’s just if my name gets called for it,” Bell said on SiriusXM NBA Radio in early November. “I’ve got some stuff. I got some dunks.”

“I’ve got some stuff.” Very coy, indeed.

“I got some dunks.” A little too coy if you ask us.

That level of quiet confidence and nonchalance is all we need to know that Jordan Bell really wants to be in the Dunk Contest. He’s playing hard to get. He’s pretending he doesn’t really care. Which tells us he wants it so bad. Which tells us he’s ready for it.

Bell’s addition to the Dunk Contest could provide casual NBA fans with a chance to see just how unfair Golden State’s level of talent truly is. “How’d they find this guy?” One might ask. “Oh, the Bulls didn’t want him. They sold him for peanuts.” Chalk up another win for Golden State’s front office.

In fact, Bell’s been playing so well this season Golden State’s plans to bring him along slowly are being ruined by the rookie’s production.

“We are trying to bring Jordan along slowly, but he makes it hard to keep him off the floor with what he does,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said earlier this year. “We are pointing out his mistakes and trying to teach him about the NBA game and about his opponents, who he is guarding and what to expect. It comes at you fast as a rookie from one night to the next. You have all these star players, tendencies you have to learn and coverages, terminology and everything else. He’s coming along really well and he’s been outstanding for us.”

Throwing Bell into the spotlight would be a great way to give him a little bit of mainstream exposure and allow him to soak it all in, while whispering in his ear that his time on the court for the Warriors will come.

The team is just too talented right now. And life in the NBA just isn’t fair.