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Former Slam Dunk Champ Calls Out Lakers' LeBron James

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 6:05 PM ET

21-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James remains a potent force in the league, even as its oldest active player for the past two seasons.

The 40-year-old is slated to embark on his record-breaking 23rd year in the NBA, having opted into his $52.7 million salary for 2025-26.

After James picked up his player option, however, his agent Rich Paul issued a curious statement to ESPN's Shams Charania, seemingly alluding to a desire to play on a contending team, and challenging the notion that this L.A. club as currently constructed was good enough to get there.

"LeBron wants to compete for a championship," Paul told Charania. "He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

Given that James is earning, by far, the biggest salary on said club, and that it directly hampered a lot of additional free agent moves the Lakers could make, that statement could be an indictment by James' reps on... James himself.

James has been called out by a former high-flying rival, two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion shooting guard Jason Richardson, for another reason: his lack of Slam Dunk Contest appearances.

As Richardson details in a fresh interview with Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, the 6-foot-6 swingman out of Michigan State is bummed James — one of the great in-game dunkers of his generation, and still plenty athletic even at age 40 — has never given the competition a whirl.

"I was a little bit [disappointed James never participated] because if you look back at the history of the Slam Dunk Contest even when I was kid, if you were a high flyer or if you were a superstar, you DID the Dunk Contest, you know?" Richardson said. "[Michael] Jordan did it. Dr. J did it. Dominique Wilkins did it."

Across 14 seasons with the Golden State Warriors, the then-Charlotte Bobcats, the Phoenix Suns, the Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers, Richardson averaged 17.1 points on .438/.370/.707 shooting splits, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals a night.

"Some of the greatest jumpers in the history of the NBA have done it and you want a guy like LeBron to carry on that tradition of superstars doing the Dunk Contest because the Dunk Contest is what carried All-Star Weekend… until now," Richardson acknowledged. "So it’s kind of disappointing that he never did one but I can understand why he didn’t but, as a fan of the Dunk Contest watching it since you were a kid you would want a guy like LeBron in the Dunk Contest."

When asked if James, in his NBA dotage, would still be in a position to compete during, say, the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest, Richardson issued a surprising thesis.

"[laughs] In the Dunk Contest? No! [laughing] Because every time you leave the floor, it hurts your body and especially for a guy like LeBron — I think this is his 22nd year and if you add up all the games in the playoffs, he probably played another five-six years of basketball which is adding the playoff games he had in the postseason," Richardson said. "So, it’s kind of hard for him to have a guy like that go out there and compete in the Slam Dunk Contest, but it’s still amazing what he’s doing at 41, 42 years old still playing in the NBA at a high level."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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