Three-time NBA Dunk Contest Champion Nate Robinson joins Sports Illustrated ahead of NBA All-Star Weekend where he has been appointed AT&T’s Chief Dunk Officer of this year’s contest.
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00:00 I'm Robin Lundberg, joined now by the AT&T Chief Dunk Officer
00:04 ahead of All-Star Weekend, Mr. Nate Robinson.
00:07 We got the Slam Dunk Contest coming up.
00:10 Obviously, you're a former participant.
00:13 What are your thoughts when you see the field for this year's contest?
00:16 I like the lineup.
00:20 I mean, I'm very excited to see Matt McClellan come back and do it again
00:24 and kind of repeat what he did from last year.
00:26 He put the Dunk Contest back on notice for the world to see.
00:30 And it was pretty fun to watch him last year.
00:33 And then we got some new entries this year, Jalen Brown, Jaquez, and Toppin.
00:40 So we're trying to see what these guys can bring to the table.
00:43 What stood out to you about the participants?
00:46 I know for a lot of fans, it was-- and myself-- it was probably Jalen Brown
00:50 electing to do this, considering he is a higher-tier player than people
00:54 we've seen in recent years.
00:56 Yeah, that was pretty cool that he humbled himself and come down
01:00 and do the Dunk Contest.
01:02 It's pretty cool, man, because he's a fan favorite.
01:05 A lot of fans love his game.
01:08 For him to come in and do it is pretty dope.
01:10 Toppin's been doing crazy dunks in games between the legs and stuff like that.
01:15 Recently, just crazy athletic.
01:20 And it's going to be fun to see.
01:22 The sleeper is Mr. Jaquez.
01:24 We don't know what he got.
01:25 And he's a great player from Miami, rookie, doing a great deal.
01:31 I follow him at UCLA.
01:34 He was a great player at UCLA.
01:35 But I never knew that he had bounce like that.
01:37 So it's going to be interesting to see what he brings to the table.
01:40 What do you say to the people who say the Dunk Contest is dead or we've seen it all?
01:45 What's your rebuke to that?
01:46 I mean, we pretty much have seen it all.
01:50 But that's the surprising thing about the Dunk Contest.
01:54 You never know what you're going to get.
01:55 Somebody's going to do something we've never seen before.
01:58 And I'm excited to see what these guys have in store.
02:01 Who's the best dunker ever, in your opinion?
02:04 Vince Carter, for sure.
02:08 Vince Carter is one of the best dunkers ever.
02:10 Zach Levine is up there.
02:12 Aaron Gordon is up there, for sure.
02:16 Dominique Wilkins.
02:18 Those are the type of guys that have shown to be the Dunk Contest
02:22 champions that have been doing some crazy stuff.
02:26 And first-time type deal.
02:28 Jason Richardson as well.
02:29 The list goes on.
02:32 There's so many great dunkers out there.
02:33 All right.
02:34 Now, how are you doing, Nate?
02:36 I read yesterday that you were actually in search of a kidney donor.
02:40 Everybody obviously out there hoping--
02:43 I wasn't necessarily.
02:46 I am.
02:46 But if God can bring me one, that's something that I'm looking forward to getting.
02:52 Whoever wants to be nice enough to loan me a kidney, that'd be pretty cool.
03:00 But yeah, I had kidney failure for the last--
03:03 well, my kidneys were deteriorating when I was on the Knicks my rookie year.
03:09 From then on throughout my NBA career, I've been battling and dealing with this for years.
03:14 But they failed about four years ago.
03:16 And I've been sitting here dealing with kidney failure, going to dialysis three days a week
03:22 for four hours.
03:23 And that's how my life's been for the last couple of years, man.
03:26 And now I'm just hopefully waiting on somebody that can do me a solid.
03:30 Waiting on an angel to come bless me with a kidney.
03:33 Well, we obviously all hope the best for you.
03:36 And you're the chief dunk officer, AT&T, coming up All-Star weekend.
03:41 Tell us what you're excited about with that and what your role is going to be.
03:44 Man, it's interacting back with the fans, man.
03:47 AT&T gave me a great opportunity to come and be the chief guy, head guy in charge, chief
03:53 officer.
03:53 So I think that's pretty awesome, man.
03:54 And so I thank AT&T for that.
03:56 And to be a part of the dunk contest again, it's always special.
04:00 It's always going to be energetic, entertaining.
04:04 And to give the fans a little background scoop on--
04:08 you know, from behind the scenes and to interact with a three-time Clam Dunk champion like
04:12 myself, to give you guys some insights and let you guys know what to expect.
04:16 And just keeping you on your feet and at the edge of your seats.
04:21 Well, you were able to do that throughout your career, Nate.
04:24 I mean, I covered the Knicks when you were on the team.
04:26 I remember you coming off the bench randomly that one game and lighting it up with Mike
04:30 D'Antoni as the coach.
04:32 And I'll tell you this anecdote.
04:33 Roy Jones Jr., he was a guest on a show I was doing.
04:38 And I think he had practiced with you guys for a few days.
04:41 And he came back--
04:41 Yeah, before.
04:42 Yeah, he said Nate Robinson is the best athlete I've ever seen in my life.
04:46 That's pretty cool, man.
04:48 I think that's a big honor, man, because coming from Roy Jones Jr., I thought it was like
04:52 the coolest thing ever that Roy Jones Jr. was practicing with the Knicks.
04:55 Like, I was like a kid in the candy store.
04:57 Like, I was so excited to have a guy like Roy Jones Jr. come to our practice and actually
05:03 practice with us, man.
05:04 It was so cool, man.
05:05 Shout out to big Roy Jones.
05:07 All right, Nate.
05:08 Appreciate the time and enjoy All-Star weekend.
05:11 Man, anytime.
05:12 Thank you, guys.
05:13 Appreciate you.
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