Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is one of the greatest NBA Dunk Contest performers of all-time, but it has become quite clear that he wants to be known as more than just a high-flying dunker.
LaVine really kicked off his “More Than A Dunker” tour last month when he turned down an opportunity to compete in the dunk contest on his home court and instead took part in the 3-point competition. He doubled down on his stance on Tuesday in response to ::checks notes:: a Happy Birthday tweet from ESPN? Yes, that is right.
Elsa/Getty Images
The official ESPN account called attention to LaVine’s 25th birthday on Tuesday afternoon by tweeting out a compilation of his 2016 Dunk Contest performance along with the caption: “The high-flyer put on an absolute show at the 2016 slam dunk contest.” It was a fine video. Who among us wouldn’t appreciate a 90-second clip of LaVine’s jaw-dropping, rim-rocking jams?
Whoever is in charge of running that account certainly did not intend to offend LaVine, not on his 25th birthday, but the Bulls guard took exception to the tweet nonetheless. Not long after the video was posted, LaVine responded, “Still just want to talk about dunking huh [face palm emoji].”
In short, if you are going to wish the two-time dunk champ a Happy Birthday on twitter today, please refrain from referring to him as a former dunk champ. Instead, maybe consider dropping him a line about how he’s averaging a career-high 1.5 steals per game.
