Alex Caruso broke a billion hearts, declined a spot in the NBA Dunk Contest
By John Buhler
Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso has let the entire world down by not participating in the NBA Dunk Contest.
There was an opportunity to make the 2021 NBA All-Star Game better, but Los Angeles Lakers point guard Alex Caruso had no interest in doing so. We are all looking for glimmers of hope in our lives, but to be soul-crushed like this is absolutely devastating. Our broken hearts will never recover.
Caruso was reportedly offered a spot in the NBA Dunk Contest but declined the invitation. His reasoning was due to a short offseason because the Lakers won the NBA Finals. He said he was “maybe looking forward to (the break) a little more” than he normally would. Instead of dunking for our enjoyment, Caruso will “probably just play some golf with some buddies and leave it at that.”
Add “Heartbreaker” to the many Basketball-Reference nicknames of Alex Caruso
It would not matter in the slightest if he was scintillating above the rim or not, Caruso would have won the fan vote if he participated in the marquee event. We were denied a photo opportunity between Caruso and the greatest in-game dunker of all time Dominique Wilkins, who is one of the five judges of the NBA Dunk Contest in Atlanta. This photo would have looked great in Springfield.
The shame in it all is how many people who have ever walked this earth can claim they are NBA champions and NBA Dunk Contest champions. There are fewer ways to ascend the basketball pantheon faster than to slam a basketball while hurdling over a Kia Optima. So as Caruso and his buddies crack some brews on the links, just know we were all denied a moment of greatness.
Caruso may have time to redeem himself, but him sitting out the 2021 NBA Dunk Contest hurts.