Germantas Kneita
The NBA Slam Dunk contest will be hoping to close out the All-Star Saturday action with a bang. It will consist of 4 participants attempting 2 dunks each in the opening round, which will be judged by a panel of 5 judges. The 2 highest scorers will progress to the final round to pull of 2 more dunks each. The athlete with the highest combined score in the second round will be crowned the winner.
You can see my breakdown of the participants and their chances below.
Mac McClung (-225)
McClung will be looking to become the first player in history to win the Slam Dunk Contest 3 years running. And he certainly has the athleticism and creativity to get it done. His 43.5-inch vertical is among the top 10 in NBA combine history, so he certainly has the capabilities of pulling off the spectacular. He should also have the crowd behind him. He is the most recognizable dunker of those competing and — considering he has delivered before — there will be a sense of anticipation before each of his dunks. If he can fire up the crowd, do not be surprised to see that translate to extra points from the judges.
Andre Jackson Jr. (+550)
The Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard might be one of the most impressive athletes in the contest. Being 6’6” and with a 40-inch vertical should allow him to get really creative and pull off a wide array of dunks. If you take a look at his in-game finishes, he tends to dunk with power which should help get the crowd going. In the lead-up to this, he has mentioned that Vince Carter has been one of his main inspirations — and if he pulls out some of his classic dunks as tributes, he is sure to score high. Carter finished with authority and Jackson Jr. has shown he has what it takes to follow suit.
Matas Buzelis (+750)
The Chicago Bulls rookie has already competed in a dunk contest against one of his upcoming rivals. In the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Jam Fest, he blew away Stephon Castle and recorded one of the few perfect scores in the contest. However, on a couple of his later dunks he struggled to pull off what he had in mind. Buzelis did get a chance to consult Zach LaVine in the build-up to this, but he does not have the type of athleticism to match what his former teammate achieved in the Dunk Contest. He reportedly has a 38-inch vertical and he is also the tallest contestant, measuring in at 6’9”. I think the height will work against him, however. Being Lithuanian, myself, I will be rooting for him — but I am struggling to see how he can come out as the winner.
Stephon Castle (+750)
The San Antonio Spurs rookie has similar size to Jackson Jr., but his vertical reportedly falls short — measuring in at 37 inches. And looking at his performance in the contest against Buzelis, it really did not inspire confidence that he will be able to deliver on a bigger stage. A couple of years have passed since then, so perhaps he has improved his dunk package — but at the moment I’m skeptical. He does have a certain 7’4” teammate that he could use to help in some of his dunks, but I doubt he has the vertical to clear him cleanly if he attempts to jump over him. I have Castle as a clear outsider in this contest but would be happy if he proved us wrong.
Best Bet: Andre Jackson Jr.
I think McClung will probably leave Saturday night as a 3-time Slam Dunk champion. However, you will not get great value backing him to do just that, especially when there is a threat like Jackson Jr. in the contest. At +550, AJJ is certainly worth a shot. I think he makes it to the final round and from there, anything can happen. If he can put together a couple of explosive dunks on his first attempt, he will be firmly in this. He represents the best shot for someone to upset McClung.
