Some guys who can jump out of the State Farm Arena are taking the court at halftime of the All-Star Game Sunday in Atlanta.
The NBA made the expected official: The Knicks Obi Toppin, the Trail Blazer’s Anfernee Simons, and the Pacers’ Cassius Stanley are your participants in the 2021 NBA Dunk Contest.
The early favorite is Stanley, who has been throwing down highlight dunks since high school, measured a 44-inch vertical at the NBA Draft Combine, and at Duke had a better vertical leap than Zion Williamson.
But the competition will be fierce. Obi Toppin was throwing down monster dunks at Dayton, and if he wins the Knicks will have won more Dunk Contests than any other franchise. Simons is a 6'3" guard with a reputation for being able to throw it down with the best of them.
Zion Williamson reportedly turned down the chance to participate in the contest.
The Dunk Contest will take place at halftime of the All-Star Game, set for March 7 in Atlanta.
No Dwyane Wade making dubious calls at the judges’ table this year. Four legends of the event will judge the Dunk Contest: Dominique Wilkins, Spud Webb, Jason Richardson, Dee Brown, and Josh Smith — seven dunk titles between that group.
This is a two-round competition. In the first round, each competitor will perform two dunks each, scored by the judges The two players with the highest combined scores advance to a final round where they perform one dunk each and the judges pick the winner.
