Isbhia has pledged $2 million for All-Star weekend if he can do it
The NBA All-Star Game will be the host Phoenix Suns 2027 and the owner Matt Ishbia works hard to get players interested in the competition. He wants the stars to compete in three-point and dunk contests like they used to. So one way he could try to get players to compete is by providing additional cash prizes for the winnersbut he may not be able to.
Ishbia was on the latest episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” and pledged to offer a $1 million prize to the winners of the three-point and dunk contest. Then, another million dollars to charity in each event. However, while it sounds good in theory, there would be some obstacles to making it happen.
“Let’s get the best guys in,” Ishbia said. “Let’s make it great.”
However, officials from the NBA’s front office and the players’ union also told ESPN that such an award would not be consistent with the existing bonus structure for players.
Ishbia did not consult the league office before making the offer, sources said. But he’s motivated to find a way to get more stars into the events as a whole, and if he can get this approval, it could work.
The last time a reigning All-Star won the dunk contest was in 2011 after Blake Griffin set the basketball world on fire by jumping over a car to win the contest.
This year, the NBA All-Star Weekend events were seen by many as a mixed bag. Miami Heat’s Keshad Johnson won this year’s slam dunk contest in Los Angeles. Then, Damian Lillard, a nine-time All-Star, won his third 3-point contest in four years despite not playing a single game this year due to an Achilles injury.
Jackson Hayes had a warm-up dunk in an actual contest, and it went down widely on social media and in the NBA world. Then Jace Richardson almost seriously injured himself trying to dunk. The real competition between Cashad Johnson and Carter Bryant got interesting, but it was too little too late. If Ishbia can pull this off, it would be a huge win for the NBA and its audience.
2026-02-26 22:39:00
