It appears that the field for the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest has been set. Defending champion Zach LaVine will be returning to defend his title in Toronto during 2016 NBA All-Star Weekend.
LaVine won’t be joined by any of his Minnesota Timberwolves teammates but instead he’ll be joined by a fellow member of the 2014 rookie class, Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon. Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond will soar in for some slams in the contest and Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, one of the top nominees for the ‘Most Improved Player’, rounds out the field.
Following from Chris B Haynes of Cleveland.com.
The field for the NBA Slam Dunk Contest scheduled for Feb. 13 in Toronto is set, according to league sources.
The defending champion in Minnesota’s Zach Lavine, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Denver’s Will Barton and Orlando’s Aaron Gordon are this year’s participants, league sources informed cleveland.com.
League sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the league is expected to announce the names of the high-flyers as soon as Thursday.
The favorite going in will be Zach LaVine, without a doubt. His performance last season was spectacular and hopefully he can pull out more tricks. Aaron Gordon is most likely his toughest competition and was supposed to be in it last year but an injury cut his rookie season short. Will Barton will look to continue to turn some heads in his breakout season with the eyes of the NBA on him and Andre Drummond is the dark horse, considering big men don’t have a great history in the Slam Dunk Contest, with the exception of Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee, Jeremy Evans and Blake Griffin, but he has some hops, so maybe he can surprise everyone. The 2016 Slam Dunk Contest could be an exciting one.
UPDATE:
The field has been officially announced.
Official 2016 Slam Dunk contest participants.
Zach LaVine
Aaron Gordon
Will Barton
Andre Drummond#NBAAllStarTO pic.twitter.com/Sg3VRFJfN4— NBA On Def Pen (@NBAOnDefPen) February 5, 2016
