NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2019: Highlights, Odds and Predictions for Participants

The 2019 NBA Slam Dunk Contest is another opportunity for the world's best aerial artists to continue pushing the envelope.

Just when you think rim-rockers have played every card in the hand, someone brings along a new innovation. Whether it's taking flight from the free-throw line, catching a lob thrown out of a sunroof or even dunking over a self-portrait, this competition can surprise you in ways you wouldn't even imagine.

The four competitors in this year's field—Dennis Smith Jr., John Collins, Miles Bridges and Hamidou Diallo—could each a reveal a trick up their sleeve come Saturday night.

Below, we'll examine the odds on this event, check out the frequent fliers' highlight reels and predict how this will play out.

2019 AT&T Slam Dunk

Time: Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. ET (third event)

Place: Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

TV: TNT

Odds

Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets

Buzz City's adopted son has every tool needed to dazzle his home crowd and earn high marks with the judges.

He doesn't need a runway to take flight, and he seems to almost float along at cruising altitude. While his in-game flushes are largely built around ferocity, he's also flashed the finesse needed for the maximum-difficulty dunks that can determine the outcome of this contest.

At 6'7", Bridges is almost the perfect height for a dunk-contest participant—not so tall that he's lacking flight time, not so short that he's stretching to finish. Add in his potential involvement of North Carolina's most prominent hoops figures—Kemba Walker? Michael Jordan?—and Bridges just might bring his own house down.

John Collins, Atlanta Hawks

Collins can be seen as the basketball equivalent of a nightmare-matchup receiver in the red zone. If the rock even enters the same zip code as an airborne Collins, he's probably snatching it and slamming it with authority.

It shouldn't be fair for someone to have his combination of size and explosive athleticism. What that's done for the Hawks is made every possession an alley-oop waiting to happen and turned every errant shot into a punishing put-back opportunity.

The challenge for Collins will be having enough variety in his dunks to not lose the judges' interest. As nasty as his lob finishes are, there's only so many times he can go to that well. 

Hamidou Diallo, Oklahoma City Thunder

Diallo will start this event as the (relatively) anonymous face in the field. While hoop heads have been familiar for a while now—he was a top-10 recruit coming out of high school—casual fans might need an introduction to OKC's second-round rookie reserve.

But curiosity can be a good thing, if Diallo can demand everyone's attention right away. A clean, creative attempt to open his night would generate momentum that he could ride for the rest of the night.

Considering how much hang time he gets in games, he'll have chances to bend our imaginations once he lifts off. There's power-plus-grace potential here, and when put together, that's been a winning combination more often than not.

Dennis Smith Jr., New York Knicks

Smith is the only returning member from the 2018 contest, where he was axed in the first round—but not before throwing down the best dunk of the night. He's seemingly been slamming out his frustrations ever since and perhaps plotting his way to a trophy he probably feels he should own already.

At 6'3", he's the shortest dunker in this field, but that just gives him the most distance between launch and landing. He showcased an absurd 48-inch vertical ahead of the 2017 draft, and he'll use every inch to put on the best possible performance.

With a year to revise his contest blueprint, everyone will be watching to see what he's come up with.

Prediction: Smith Edges Bridges in Final Round

Maybe it feels this way every year, but this doesn't look like a field that will disappoint.

All four rim-rockers are young, explosive and looking to put themselves on the map. That should lend itself to a performance defined by big dreams and bigger dunks.

But Smith, the seasoned veteran, and Bridges, the "hometown" participant, have enough in their arsenals to survive a tightly contested opening round. As the trophy inches closer, that's when Smith will make his move to finally capture the crown.

What's not to like about his chances? The hops are cartoonish. The self-lobs are coming from a floor general. The finishes feature a year's worth of frustrations. The chip on his shoulder is actually a concrete chunk.

Oh yeah, he's a North Carolina native, too, so a Smith-Bridges final round might split the local fan base in half.

The oddsmakers have spoken, and this assessment agrees—Smith is the slam-dunker to beat come Saturday night.