Lakers News: Larry Nance, Jr. won’t participate in slam dunk contest

One of the few things Los Angeles Lakers fans still had going for them this season was the chance that Larry Nance, Jr. would have the opportunity to avenge Shannon Brown’s performance in the Slam Dunk Contest. Wednesday afternoon, they found out that even that is now out the window.

So yeah, has anyone found that fast-forward button at all?

ESPN’s Baxter Holmes has the report, though it was the OC Register’s Bill Oram who first reported Nance didn’t expect to partake in the competition.

As disappointing as the news might be, Nance is still recovering from a bone bruise that held him out for about a month and the repetitive jumping, twisting and turning involved in a dunk contest simply isn’t smart. Nance will have plenty of years ahead of him (knock on wood) to compete in this and given his injury history, putting additional strain while he recovers isn’t a good idea at this time.

So, until the skills challenge participants are announced, it seems the Lakers’ lone representation at All Star Weekend will be D’Angelo Russell and Brandon Ingram. Let’s all hope that changes in the years to come.