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Greek forward will be the third Buck in franchise history to compete in the dunk contest
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo will participate in the 2015 Sprite Slam Dunk as part of NBA All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 14 in New York City, the National Basketball Association announced today. He will join fellow sophomores Victor Oladipo (Orlando) and Mason Plumlee (Brooklyn), as well as rookie Zach LaVine (Minnesota), to compete in a dunk contest that will have an old-school feel to commemorate the 30th year of the fan-favorite event.
Returning to a classic format, the Sprite Slam Dunk will be a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose with no time limit. The players will have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges will score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be the champion.
Antetokounmpo is the third player to represent the Bucks in the dunk contest, following Paul Pressey in 1987 and Ray Allen in 1997. Brandon Jennings was named to the contest in 2011, but did not participate due to injury. The 20-year-old has a chance to make history by being both the first Milwaukee player and the first international player to win the title.
TNT will televise the Sprite Slam Dunk live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, part of Turner Sports’ 30th year of All-Star coverage.
