Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon (00) goes up for a breakaway dunk in front of Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon headlines the field announced Thursday for the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk contest on February 17 in Los Angeles.
Gordon, the 2016 runner-up, will be taking part for the third straight year.
His challengers include first-time All-Star Victor Oladipo of the Indiana Pacers, Larry Nance Jr. of the Los Angeles Lakers and rookie Dennis Smith Jr. of the Dallas Mavericks.
All four have had their fair share of highlight-reel dunks the first half of the season and should put on a show on the Saturday night before the All-Star Game.
The three-point contest features last year’s winner, Eric Gordon of the Houston Rockets, and 2016 winner Klay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors.
Thompson is one of four 2018 All-Stars in the field along with the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Paul George and the Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry.
The rest of the field is composed of the Suns’ Devin Booker, Heat’s Wayne Ellington, and Clippers’ Tobias Harris.