When you see Grizzlies' forward Rudy Gay taking off for one of those high-flying, rim-shattering dunks, note that they serve a purpose.

There's a reason why he went into Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers ranked ninth in the NBA with 56 dunks, most of which have been impressive. Gay has been using the dunks as an audition for the slam dunk contest which takes place during NBA All-Star Weekend in February.

Gay, already a lock to play for the sophomore team in the Rookie Challenge, would like nothing more than to be asked to be in the dunk contest, too.

"I've been trying hard to get into it," Gay said. "I'm not sure what the verdict is. I think it would be something that would be fun, something that I could be creative with."