NBA Dunk Contest 2019: Full List of Participants for All-Star Saturday Night

Seth Wenig/Associated Press

The contestants for the 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest were made official on Tuesday, headlined by new New York Knicks point guard Dennis Smith Jr.

The full four-player lineup includes Smith, Miles Bridges of the Charlotte Hornets, Hamidou Diallo of the Oklahoma City Thunder and John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks. 

Smith has had an interesting 2018-19 season, to say the least. He had a strained relationship with the Dallas Mavericks prior to his move to the Knicks.

Head coach Rick Carlisle said on his radio show last month (h/t ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon) he thought Smith’s advisers were telling him to stay away from the Mavs when he missed six games from Jan. 9 through 21. 

The Knicks acquired Smith, along with DeAndre Jordan and Wesley Matthews, as part of the blockbuster trade Jan. 31 that sent Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Trey Burke and Courtney Lee to Dallas. 

Even with Smith still settling into his new surroundings, he has proven himself capable of pulling off incredible gravity-defying dunks:

Bridges will be representing the hometown Hornets in the Dunk Contest. The 20-year-old rookie has shown promise in limited usage this season. He’s averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. 

One of Bridges’ best performances against the New Orleans Pelicans on Dec. 2 also featured one of his best dunks since turning pro:

Diallo has had a difficult time finding consistent playing time for a Thunder team competing for one of the top playoff spots in the Western Conference. The 2018 second-round draft pick has appeared in 43 out of 52 games so far this season.

Collins is having the best season among this year’s Dunk Contest participants. The second-year forward is averaging 19.6 points and 10.0 rebounds per game. 

It was apparent during Collins’ first appearance in the Las Vegas Summer League last year he would end up in the NBA’s annual slam-dunk showcase:

Smith is the only returning player in this year’s field. He didn’t make it out of the first round in 2018, but he posted a perfect score of 50 with a between-the-legs 360 reverse jam on his second dunk. 

The 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest will take place as part of All-Star Saturday night on Feb. 16 from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.