Blake Griffin is a SportsCenter Highlight Reel Staple. He is always in the news and recently he was attached to trade rumors with the world's best player! Of course, he already won the Dunk Contest! But was it rigged?

Griffin has announced that he will never join the contest again. He claims that All-Star Weekend is the only time to rest. His full elaboration on ESPN:

"I wouldn't say it was a mistake [in 2011] because it was a great experience, but it's something I would never do again. For me, All-Star Weekend is about getting a chance to rest as much as anything. With the All-Star Game alone you still have obligations almost all day Friday and you have some kind of an event Friday night and Saturday's practice and appearances. Saturday night for me now has become the time where I hang out with my family and hang out with my friends and take it easy."

Of course, fatigue is never an issue with his All-star teammate Damian Lillard, who will participate in five events (Slam Dunk, Rising Stars, Skills Challenge, 3-point Shootout and All-Star Game).

Was it because of the controversy surrounding his win in 2011 (his de facto rookie season)? To clarify the arguments that led to the suspicion, from CelticsLife:

"Who would generate the most buzz as victor?  Which contestant's victory would generate the highest ratings in the future?  Griffin, who's high-flying dunks have been one of the big stories of this season.  Who won? Griffin.  That's good for the league, I'd say.  Who lost?  Oh that's right, no-names from teams with small markets.

For the amount of production that went into this dunk, you would think that the car would be a slick speedster or at least something exotic.  Nope, Kia.  Why Kia?  Kia is one of the NBA's biggest sponsors, if not the biggest. 

What about Derozan's show-stopper?  Ibaka's insane IMPROVEMENT on Dr. J's FTL flight? Or his under-the-glass reverse one-hander? Javale's two-ball, two-rim? Nope, alley-oop two-hander from a reasonable distance wins.  Sure the fans vote too, and supposedly the majority voted for Blake, but who counts them?  How would anyone know if they lied?"

Another opinion, from the only player to win the contest three times, Nate Robinson predicted Blake would win, one month before the contest-although not in a good way. From nba.com:

"Of course. They set it up like that. They set it up for Blake to win it like that. Everything. It's all set up. But we'll see. I'm not saying he can't dunk, because he can. Though we'll see how it goes. Hopefully the guys that are in there with him will give him some competition and put on a show. Because that's all it's for - it's a show. That's the whole meaning of the dunk contest."