NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2016: Odds and Predictions for Entire Field
Welcome to the Zach LaVine Experience 2.0
Last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves rookie took home the NBA Dunk Contest hardware in convincing fashion. Victor Oladipo held his own, but LaVine was just too good.
Brooklyn was absolutely buzzing that night. Everyone had seen footage of the former UCLA stud’s aerial prowess, and he was widely expected to win.
But LaVine lived up to the hype—maybe even exceeded it. And that’s nearly impossible to do in the modern age of social media, YouTube and immediacy.
This year, he will once again be the favorite, likely by a huge margin.
Odds
| Zach LaVine | -100 |
| Aaron Gordon | +300 |
| Will Barton | +650 |
| Andre Drummond | +800 |
Predictions
Aaron Gordon will impress
Remember Aaron Gordon?
He was a superstar at Arizona and then got taken No. 4 by the Orlando Magic in the 2014 draft. Then he started slow, missed 31 straight games and finished poorly. This year has been more of the same, minus the injury.
“I’m tired of potential,” Gordon told FanSided’s Brett David Roberts over the summer. “I’m sick of potential. Obviously I appreciate that very much. I’m done waiting.”
Now, in the later part of winter, everyone else is still waiting.
Still, despite his struggles in real-time action, Gordon is still a super-freak of an athlete. He measured a 39-inch max-vert at the combine, per DraftExpress, and has thrown down his fair share or impressive slams.
Gordon is a Blake Griffin-type dunker—big, but still athletic. He won’t knock LaVine off his throne, but the 6’9” forward will remind fans why the Magic spent a lottery pick on him.
Allow Will Barton to introduce himself
Will Barton isn't just the second-string guard you used to use on the NBA 2K version of the Portland Trail Blazers.
No, he’s much more than that.
After getting traded to the Denver Nuggets at the deadline last year, the former Memphis standout has come into his own in 2015-16.
Barton has already set career-highs in minutes, rebounds, assists, blocks, free throws and field goals. He’s 67 points away from a season-total that would surpass his previous three years combined.
He has emerged as Denver’s second-leading scorer behind Danilo Gallinari with 15.5 points a night.
Still, how many people are talking about Barton? Not as many as there should be.
“The People’s Champ” will use his 6’5” frame to his advantage and garner some long-overdue national attention.
(Side note: You have to love the nicknames you find on Basketball-Refernce.com.)
Don’t get your hopes up for Andre Drummond
Andre Drummond might be the most impressive in-game dunker of all involved. That includes LaVine.
The Detroit Pistons’ big fella has made a habit of testing out the strength of rims around the Association in 2015-16. He often catches defenders off-guard as he explodes underneath the basket.
Still, though, there are no defenders to posterize and nobody to physically dominate in this contest. Getting those coveted 10s and cheers are all about creating awe. How much can the 6’11”, 279-pound Drummond do?
Sure, that rim will be bruised. But as we saw with Mason Plumlee last season, power isn’t everything.
LaVine will honor Vince Carter
All-Star Weekend is in Toronto, which gives LaVine the perfect opportunity to honor a fellow legendary dunker: Vince Carter.
Last year, LaVine rocked a Michael Jordan jersey from Space Jam…and it was awesome. Fans love this type of stuff. It’s nearly impossible to win without showmanship.
Honoring Vinsanity would be fairly easy for LaVine. All he would have to do is wear a sweet throwback Raptors jersey and put his own spin on one of V.C.’s best slams.
Honoring a hometown legend would immediately win over the crowd in the arena and the ones watching at home.
Elbow-dunk, anyone?
