What’s good everyone? Hope you all are doing well. We had a tough loss to the Mavs on Wednesday, but we’re going to try and bounce back tonight against the Pistons. Make sure you tune into the game tonight.

Okay, I know NBA All-Star Weekend isn’t until February, but I just wanted to let you all hear it from me first: I will NOT be participating in the Slam Dunk Contest. I was offered a spot in the contest not too long ago but politely turned it down. But hear me out on this one.

My agent came to me last week and asked me if I wanted to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and I was like…‘Nah.’ I’m just not a dunk contest dunker, you know what I mean? I don’t even do any good dunks in games. I can’t jump as high as those guys, either, so I’ll leave that up to the Rudy Gays and the Dwight Howards to show off in the Dunk Contest. I’ll pass on that.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I was really honored to be asked. There’s a lot of great dunkers in this league and they decided to put me out there, to call on me but I had to gladly say ‘no thank you.’ Besides, I think it’s more fun to watch than to be in.

But I’ve always been a fan of the dunk contests growing up as a kid. I remember all of them. My favorite had to be in 2000, with, of course, my favorite player Vince Carter, who was playing with the Toronto Raptors then. Vince won that one. That’s when he brought out the between-the-legs dunk and put his arm in the rim. He also did the 360 windmill. He brought a lot of dunks that I don’t think a lot of people had seen before, so I’d say that was my favorite one.

What are some of your favorite dunk contest memories? Let me know in the comments section.

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

What’s good everyone? We had another good win last night. Russell had a career high 15 dimes!!! Hope you all had a chance to check us out. We have another tough one coming up on Friday against the Celtics.

Not sure if you heard, but I was recently put on the cover of the new ESPN Magazine as their “NEXT” athlete for 2010. I’m in some pretty elite company, too. Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Alex Rodriguez, LeBron James and Derek Jeter have also been NEXT athletes.

It’s an honor to be a part of that company. It’s just a blessing, but to really be up there I’ve just got to continue to work hard and be the person I am. I haven’t read the story yet but I’ll read that one. It’s pretty big time to be on the cover of any magazine. I was just honored. My family is real excited for me. They’re more excited than I am. They just congratulated me and it’s something that no one can take away from me.

Make sure you get a copy of the magazine. Also make sure you read this interview I did with Adena Andrews of NBA.com.

Russell also interviewed me about being NEXT. Check it out:

I’ll be back with another post later this week.

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

KD is having success both on and off of the court this season. Wednesday he was named ESPN The Magazine’s NEXT athlete for 2010 in the publication’s annual NEXT issue.

The first issue of ESPN The Magazine was a NEXT cover with Kobe Bryant, Eric Lindros, Alex Rodriguez and Kordell Stewart. Other NEXT athletes include Adrian Peterson, Dwight Howard, Yao Ming, LeBron James and Derek Jeter.

Make sure you pick up a copy of ESPN the Magazines NEXT issue with KD on the cover.

Kevin and the Thunder took it to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic on Sunday night. KD finished with a game-high 28 points. Here are the highlights from the game:

The Thunder head to Sacramento for a game against the Kings on Tuesday.