There will be a new slam dunk champion this year when NBA All-Star Weekend comes to Los Angeles, and it might be Lakers center Jaxson Hayes.
Three-time winner Mac McClung will not be in the field; going into last year’s dunk contest he said he expected it to be his last. The Chicago Bulls guard will, however, play in the Rising Stars game.
Joining Hayes in thedunk contest will be San Antonio’s Carter Bryant, Miami’s Keshad Johnson and Orlando’s Jase Richardson. The contest features a two-round format, with judges scoring each dunk. In the first round, all four players will attempt two dunks, and the combined score will determine the two who advance to the final round. Each finalist will then attempt two additional dunks, with the higher combined score determining the champion.
Each contestant has 90 seconds and a maximum of three attempts for each dunk. If at the end of 90 seconds the dunk has not been completed, the contestant has one more attempt.
For the first time since 2015, the Shooting Stars event is returning to All-Star Weekend. The event, which features two current NBA players and a retired one per team, is taking the place of the skills competition, which is being tabled for at least this year.
Allan Houston — a past Shooting Stars champion — will return for Team Knicks, with current New York players Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns joining him. Also in the event: Team Harper (Ron Harper and his sons, San Antonio’s Dylan Harper and Boston’s Ron Harper Jr.), Team All-Star (Richard Hamilton, Toronto’s Scottie Barnes and Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren) and Team Cameron (a nod to Duke, with Corey Maggette, Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel and Atlanta’s Jalen Johnson).
The last three Shooting Stars events were all won by the same trio — Chris Bosh, Swin Cash and Dominique Wilkins. No WNBA players are involved this year.
The Shooting Stars event has a two-round format, with the top two advancing to the final round. Teams have 70 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting locations around the court, with all three players on a team shooting at each spot in a set order.
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