All-Star Weekend is a time for celebration and there’s no better way to do that than taking a look back at history. Including basketball founder James Naismith in the introductions was a nice touch, but paying homage to the late, great dunker nicknamed “Chocolate Thunder” (Darryl Dawkins) whom we lost earlier this season, would have been extra special.

Don’t be mistaken, the battle between Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine was extremely fierce. However, the rules and regulations do not do justice to these talented athletes or the audience. There was tremendous speculation as to who actually won the dunk competition, and after seeing those aerial assaults once again composed by Gordon and Lavine, audiences everywhere do have a solid case.

For starters, if a player can’t throw it down one-handed with relative ease when he played, he should not be able to judge a dunk competition. Are you kidding me with names like Magic Johnson and Dikembe Mutombo?

Where was Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb or Dr. Julius Erving? What about even incorporating Michael Jordan as a judge? How about some of the current players who just can’t hack it anymore like Vince Carter, even Kobe Bryant, or Dwight Howard? Put some extra spunk into the judging panel.

Dunks, especially during this generation and beyond, have the potential to be an absolutely mind-blowing spectacle. We already saw that with Lavine last year, and Gordon added even more in 2016. There needs to be some order to the madness of rating a dunk.

Judge Shaquille O’Neal was correct in giving a few nines when everyone else got a ten, because the dunk wasn’t perfect. If a player does not complete a dunk in his first attempt, there must be a consequence or else it means less to win.