The main event of 2020 NBA All-Star Saturday Night festivities will be the Dunk Contest, featuring Aaron Gordon, Derrick Jones Jr., Pat Connaughton, and Dwight Howard.
Gordon and Jones are the favorites to win the competition, but Connaughton has some tremendous bunnies and Dwight Howard is a former contest champ making his return to the stage. On Thursday, the NBA announced the five judges that will be deciding who wins the 2020 Dunk Contest, headlined by Chicago native and future Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 13, 2020
Bulls legend Scottie Pippen will also serve as a judge for the festivities, as they unsurprisingly lean on Chicago favorites for the weekend.
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 13, 2020
WNBA star and Turner analyst Candace Parker will also be on the panel of five judges, along with a pair of stars from the entertainment world as Common and Chadwick Boseman will round out the group.
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 13, 2020
Presenting 2020 #ATTSlamDunk Judge… @common! pic.twitter.com/5AjVSKgMjk
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 13, 2020
Presenting 2020 #ATTSlamDunk Judge… @chadwickboseman! pic.twitter.com/EVgTtjPNX0
— 2020 NBA All-Star (@NBAAllStar) February 13, 2020
It’s an interesting group of judges and we’ll learn on Saturday night how they will adjudicate the contest. The mix of players and entertainers might yield some different scores than when they load up the panel with former legends — particularly those that have won dunk contests of their own. It’ll be on the four contestants to showcase their creativity and bounce to win over these five judges.