Chicago Bulls star guard Zach LaVine turned 25 on Tuesday and ESPN’s Twitter account tried to wish him a happy birthday but he didn’t appreciate how they did it. ESPN shared a highlight reel of LaVine’s 2016 Slam Dunk Contest performance but he was not a fan of it.
LaVine replied to them by tweeting:
Zach LaVine turns 25 today ?
The high-flyer put on an absolute show at the 2016 slam dunk contest ? pic.twitter.com/BnmIDXNJ5H
— ESPN (@espn) March 10, 2020
“Still just want to talk about dunking huh”
Zach LaVine clearly doesn’t want to be seen just as a dunker. He made this clear by preferring to participate in the 3-point contest during the All-Star Weekend in Chicago last month, despite many fans wanting him to go for this third Dunk Contest title.
The 25-year-old admitted that he was planning to participate in the Dunk Contest before knowing that he was snubbed from his first NBA All-Star appearance:
“If I would’ve made it, I would’ve did it for y’all, man. But I just don’t — I don’t got it in me. If I would have made it, I would’ve made it even then. It’s not like I really wanted to. I would have just put on for my city. You know it’s in Chicago, and I don’t need a lot to prove about the Dunk Contest.”
LaVine’s reaction to ESPN’s tweet confirms that he will have indifference towards the contest in the future as well. The controversy surrounding the end of this year’s version also doesn’t help the chances of seeing LaVine in it again. LaVine deserved to be an NBA All-Star, he is averaging career-highs with 25.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks. He is also dishing out 4.2 assists in 34.8 minutes over 60 games.
