As NBA All-Star Weekend descends upon Los Angeles, the league’s showcase event is searching for star power and narrative appeal.
The dunk contest is moving on from electric three-time winner Mac McClung as the league offers up an inexperienced quartet of rookies and role players. While the 3-point contest delivers the fun storyline of Damian Lillard pulling a Voshon Lenard and participating despite sitting out the season with injury, the contest is filled with first-time entrants.
It’s hard to know what to expect with so many newcomers taking part in All-Star Saturday. But after three years of McClung dominating the dunk contest with relative ease, the entertainment value this year could be high with so many unpredictable competitions.
Dunk contest odds: Spurs rookie Carter Bryant is favored to overcome dunk yips
The NBA Dunk Contest is wide open with four first-time challengers. San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant (+180) is the current favorite to win the dunk contest on FanDuel Sportsbook. This may come as a surprise to some, as Bryant is most known for missing a string of easy dunks early in the season.
In a bizarre ongoing saga, the 14th overall pick in last summer’s draft missed five dunks in four weeks and had another made dunk waved off due to his own basket interference. Bryant’s unexpected dunk yips, after frequently playing above the rim at Arizona, led to Spurs veterans De’Aaron Fox, Harrison Barnes and Julian Champagnie delivering a humorous threat to the rookie forward: three more missed dunks and Bryant’s head gets shaved.
“He jumps too high to be missing dunks,” Champagnie said to the San Antonio Express-News. “If I had that kind of bounce, I wouldn’t be missing dunks. So I feel offended that he’s out there missing dunks.”
Since the hairy ultimatum, Bryant is finally making dunks for the Spurs while receiving more playing time during a promising first season. If Bryant can overcome the pressure of losing his hair every time he attempts an in-game dunk, then the dunk contest shouldn’t carry much weight. Bryant is hoping the missed dunks on national television are the start of his superhero origin story. Winning the dunk contest would be quite the next chapter during Bryant’s unusual first season.
Los Angeles Lakers veteran forward Jaxson Hayes (+250) is next in the dunk contest odds. A recent in-game “East Bay” dunk against Chicago put Hayes back in the spotlight.
Although Hayes is the most experienced player in the field, big men have a poor track record of winning the dunk contest. Dwight Howard is still the only center to win the dunk contest, giving the 7-foot Hayes a difficult narrative to overcome. It could benefit Hayes that Howard is one of the judges this season.
As perhaps the most unknown of the participants, Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson (+320) showcases effortless leaping ability. But with most of Johnson’s NBA dunks coming off of missed jumpers, it’s difficult to assess what his contest dunks could look like.
Johnson is an Arizona product, like Bryant, as the duo hopes to break a string of Wildcats — Richard Jefferson, Andre Iguodala, Chase Budinger and Aaron Gordon — who failed to win the dunk contest.
Rounding out the field is Orlando Magic rookie guard Jase Richardson (+350). The Michigan State product elevated from +450 odds at the start of the week.
Richardson has only dunked the ball four times in limited NBA minutes. But even without much playing time, Richardson owns two distinct advantages over the field: size and bloodlines.
At 6-foot-1, Richardson is the only participant under 6-foot-6, with smaller guards often going over well with the live crowd. And as the son of two-time dunk contest champion Jason Richardson, Jase could use his father to create memorable moments.
In a year where the dunk contest lacks star power and narrative appeal, Richardson wearing his dad’s jersey while doing one of his signature dunks or involving his father in a new live dunk could be a contest-winning development.
3-point contest odds: Kon Knueppel overtakes Damian Lillard
Fascinating subplots are brewing in the 3-point contest thanks to the participation of injured Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard. Sidelined since last April with a torn left Achilles, Lillard is healthy enough to compete for his third title in the event, which would tie a record with Larry Bird and Craig Hodges.
Social media videos already show Lillard going through extensive basketball work during injury rehab. So shooting set jumpers shouldn’t present physical challenges for Lillard. The mental aspect of not having competitive basketball since April, however, presents an intriguing challenge for the star guard.
Lillard also must overcome last year’s first-round exit after back-to-back wins in 2023 and 2024.
The nine-time NBA All-Star (+410) was the initial FanDuel Sportsbook favorite to win the 3-point contest until Charlotte Hornets rookie Kon Knueppel (+270) pushed past the former champion.
Although Knueppel is second in made 3s on the season (183), no rookie has won the 3-point contest before. Knueppel is gaining momentum on FanDuel, improving from +480 odds earlier in the week.
Phoenix Suns all-star Devin Booker (+550) makes his fifth appearance in the 3-point contest, with a previous win coming in 2018. Competing in his first 3-point event since 2020, Booker is shooting a career-low 31 percent from distance this season. Despite the half-season shooting slump, Booker, like Knueppel, is gaining traction on Lillard in the FanDuel market, elevating from +700 odds earlier in the week.
Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray and Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey are both next at +650 each. In the midst of a huge season, Murray is 15th in the league at 42.5 percent from 3-point range. Maxey is fourth in overall made 3s (174) while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point territory this season. Both Murray and Maxey are 3-point contest newcomers who have seen their odds dip slightly from +490 and +550, respectively, to +650 during the week.
The NBA’s leader in made 3s this season, Donovan Mitchell (+750), is making his third 3-point contest appearance after competing in 2021 and 2024. Uninspiring in his previous two appearances, the Cleveland Cavaliers star was second-to-last in both outings and failed to advance past the first round.
Returning after last year’s last-place finish, Miami Heat guard Norman Powell (+950) is hoping for a stronger showing. The first-time All-Star is more familiar with shooting in the Intuit Dome than the rest of the field after playing for the Clippers last season.
Leading the field in 3-point percentage is Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis (+1600). The 12-year veteran is making his first 3-point contest appearance and is the heavy underdog despite sustained success as a perimeter shooter.
Shooting Stars odds: Team Knicks leads the returning contest
For the first time since 2015, the Shooting Stars competition is back in All-Star Weekend. According to the NBA’s official release, the timed shooting competition gives each team one minute and 10 seconds to score points while rotating through seven designated shooting spots. After the first round, the lowest two teams are cut, with the advancing finalists facing off in the final round for the championship.
Team Knicks (+190) is the favorite, thanks in part to the All-Star duo of Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Former Knicks sniper and two-time all-star Allan Houston, a career 40-percent 3-point shooter, rounds out the trio. Houston is also the only two-time competitor in the event, having previously played in 2012 with Landry Fields and Cappie Pondexter. Team Knicks having three-plus perimeter shooters definitely gives them an advantage in this contest.
The Duke-filled Team Cameron (+240) brings emerging Atlanta Hawks star Jalen Johnson, Knueppel and NBA veteran Corey Maggette together. Assuming Knueppel provides perimeter shooting fresh off the 3-point contest, a lot will fall on Johnson and Maggette to consistently hit mid-range jumpers.
Team All-Star (+290) puts Toronto Raptors wing Scottie Barnes with Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and three-time All-Star Richard Hamilton. Barnes and Holmgren would make for a menacing defensive duo in a real basketball scenario. They also provide real question marks as a spot-shooting duo. It’s also uncertain if Hamilton will wear the trademark mask he donned for the final 10 years of his NBA career.
Closing out the Shooting Stars is Team Harper (+330). Five-time NBA champion Ron Harper Sr. is joined by his sons, Ron Harper Jr. from the Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs rookie Dylan Harper. Team Harper is a big underdog as the only team without an All-Star on its roster, while the elder Harper is also the oldest competitor in the event by eight years.