NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2016: Participants, Format, TV Schedule and Predictions

Without question, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest is the centerpiece of All-Star Saturday Night.

It's the one event with real star-making potential, and it's the most easily accessible event. The difficulty and spectacle of a slam dunk needs no explanation. The athleticism and skill on display is self-evident. 

This isn't to say the event always lives up to the hype. Novelty can be hard to come by after decades of the NBA's best athletes taking part in the competition. Sometimes, the players the people really want to see don't participate. Plus, now dynamic dunks of derring-do are available 24/7 thanks to YouTube, social media and various other digital sources, athletic transcendence isn't so hard to come by. 

That said, the 2016 Slam Dunk Contest appears to be in good hands. Here's a rundown of the need-to-know event info.

Participants, TV Schedule

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Zach LaVine will look to defend his dunk title on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET from the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The event will be televised live on TNT and live streamed on Watch TNT.

Three players will be vying to dethrone LaVine. They are Detroit Pistons center and 2016 All-Star Andre Drummond, Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton and Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon. 

The 20-year-old LaVine will be looking to become the first back-to-back Slam Dunk Contest champion since Nate Robinson pulled off the feat in 2009 and 2010.

Format

Thankfully, the NBA has no plans to return to the abomination that was the team-focused 2014 Slam Dunk Contest format. This year's competition will adhere to a traditional structure familiar to most fans of the event. Sports Illustrated's Ben Golliver has the details:

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Like last year, the contest will feature two rounds without time limits. Each player has up to three attempts to complete each dunk. A panel of five judges will grade each dunk on a scale from 6 to 10, making for a perfect score of 50. Each player will get two dunks in the first round and the two dunkers with the highest combined total will advance to the final round, where they will go head-to-head for two more dunks. The player with the highest combined score in the final round will be deemed champion.

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Keeping the number of attempts allowed to just three puts a considerable amount of pressure on the dunkers, but it's arguably for the best. Giving the participants too many attempts or too much time to complete a dunk can rob the contest of surprise and momentum 

Contest Preview, Prediction

Based on the eyeball test alone, Drummond perhaps earns the most skepticism heading into the contest. At 6'11" and 279 pounds, he doesn't fit the profile of the lithe aerial acrobats who tend to rule the competition.

However, teammate Stanley Johnson has revealed the 22-year-old is capable of at least one truly eye-popping slam, per MLive.com's David Mayo: "Drummond is keeping his dunk plans under wraps but...Johnson said a side-of-backboard, between-the-legs reverse dunk is a particularly dynamic one he has seen the 6-foot-10 center do before."

If the big-bodied Drummond can indeed pull that off, he won't need to resort to the kind of gimmicks and stunts fellow center Dwight Howard utilized to win the 2008 Slam Dunk Contest.

As for newcomer Barton, well, they don't call him Will the Thrill for nothing. The Nuggets guard is well-known for his in-game dunking prowess. Check him out powering to the hoop on the fast break in a game against the Indiana Pacers, per the Nuggets' official Twitter account:

Barton is clearly excited about competing on Saturday, taking to Twitter to reveal his pick for the greatest dunker of all time:

Homages have become an important part of the dunk contest in recent years, from Gerald Green covering his face a la Dee Brown to LaVine wearing Michael Jordan's Space Jam jersey in last year's competition. Might Barton be hinting he will emulate Vince Carter? That would be one way to win over the Toronto crowd. 

Fernando Medina/Getty Images

Gordon could prove a viable threat to LaVine on Sunday. The 6'9", 220-pound power forward has the size to generate plenty of power on his dunks while still being limber and athletic enough to contort his body for some extra style points.

Russell Peddle of NumberFire noted Gordon's measurables stack up well against the competition: 

That extra reach could make all the difference in a contest of one-upmanship. Gordon has the length and hops to start his dunks a good distance from the basket. He might also have a bit more room for error should he go for dunk that starts with some sort of toss or bounce.

Getting it right on the first or second try will be crucial on Saturday, and that's not just to keep the crowd happy. As LaVine proved in last year's competition, not only can he make the sublime look effortless, but he can get it done seemingly on demand. Here's a look at his dunks from the 2015 contest: 

There's a high degree of difficulty involved, yet he makes it look easy. That's pretty much all you can ask from a Slam Dunk Contest champion.

LaVine generated all the hype he needed for any and all future appearances with last year's scintillating performance, but he couldn't help teasing everyone with a preview of what's to come on Saturday: 

The reaction from Timberwolves teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said it all: 

In terms of size and athleticism, Gordon might be LaVine's greatest threat in this competition. Barton and Drummond have the potential to wow the crowd, but it should come down to the second-year players. 

Look for LaVine to edge out Gordon in a thrilling final round and assert his claim as one of the competition's all-time greats.

Prediction: 1. Lavine; 2. Gordon; 3. Drummond; 4. Barton.