Report: Zion Declines Dunk Contest, LaMelo Ball Turns Down Skills Challenge

Zion Williamson joins Jaylen Brown and Miles Bridges as the latest player to decline a Dunk Contest invite.

Hornets high-flyer Miles Bridges, Celtics star Jaylen Brown, Timberwolves rookie Anthony Edwards and now Pelicans powerhouse Zion Williamson have all declined invites to participate in Sunday's slam dunk contest during the All-Star pregame, according to Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. 

On Sunday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons and Pacers guard Cassius Stanley had accepted dunk contest invites. Meanwhile, Knicks Rookie Obi Toppin had already accepted an invitation. 

This leaves one spot left open for the dunk contest after multiple young stars have said no. Williamson, who is competing in his first All-Star Game on Sunday, had been mulling the contest for some time.

In an interview with ESPN's First Take, Williamson was hesitant to give a definitive answer when pressed on the topic. 

We asked Zion if he would be participating in the dunk contest this year.

He did not say no 🙃 pic.twitter.com/WNmI8ueDRU

— First Take (@FirstTake) February 26, 2021

The other All-Star events are also getting their fair share of rejections. Hornets rookie LaMelo Ball was offered a spot in the skills challenge but declined, according to Yahoo Sports. Ball leads all rookies in points (15.7), assists (6.4) and rebounds (6.0) per game. 

Knicks forward Julius Randle, who is also participating in his first All-Star game, has accepted an invite to participate in the skills challenge, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.

Trail Blazers point guard Damian Lillard has reportedly declined an invite to the three-point contest for rest purposes while Stephen Curry has agreed to participate. Curry won the contest back in 2015 and has made the second-most three-pointers of all time at 2,659. Only Ray Allen's mark of 2,973 remains in front of him.

The official participants of the skills challenge, three-point contest and the dunk contest will be announced at 7 p.m. Monday on TNT. The All-Star competitions are slated to take place directly before the March 7 All-Star Game at 8 p.m. EST in Atlanta.