Who are the judges of the 2024 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest?

There’s something for everyone during the NBA’s All-Star Weekend. The top players from both the men’s and women’s leagues will be showcasing their vast array of skills in four events which are programmed for Saturday’s action at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

Four players will be taking part in the All-Star Slam Dunk Contest - Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Miami Heat), Jacob Toppin (New York Knicks) and the defending champion Mac McClung (Osceola Magic), who won last year’s contest with perfect scores on three of his four attempts. McClung’s achievement was even more impressive as he was (and still is) playing in the G League.

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest is a two-round competition, with each dunk rated from 40 to 50 by a panel of five judges. The men who will be in charge of giving out the marks on Saturday include two former Slam Dunk contest winners. ex-Atlanta Hawks forward Dominique Wilkins AKA “The Human Highlight Film”, who won the 1985 and 1990 contests; he will be joined by Fred Jones (winner in 2004), Hall of Famers Gary Payton and Mitch Richmond and former Indiana Pacers star Darnell Hillman, more commonly known as Dr Dunk. All of them seasoned purveyors in their own right in the art of the dunk.

Each dunker will be given a time limit of 1:30 minutes to complete their dunk, plus one additional try and will be limited to three attempts. The NBA rules state that “an attempt is defined as the player controlling the basketball while airborne and moving it towards the rim” while a “try is defined as any action taken in effort to attempt at dunk”.

The referees will judge whether a dunk is considered a made dunk or a missed dunk. Made dunks cannot be “replaced”, even if the dunker has attempts remaining. In the event of a tie after the Final Round, a One Dunk Dunk-Off will be staged to determine the champion. Each player will be limited to one attempt (same definition as above) during the dunk-off round. If still tied after the one-dunk dunk-off the champion will be determined at the Judges’ discretion. The judges will choose the winner by raising a card with the dunker’s name on it.

The 2024 All-Star Skills Challenge takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday 17 February with four events: Skills Challenge, Starry 3-Point Contest, Stephen [Curry] vs. Sabrina [Ionescu] 3-Point Challenge and the Slam Dunk Contest. The evening gets underway at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT. The contest will be broadcast live on TNT with similar services available on DirectTV (ESPN and NBA TV) and Hulu.