NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2019: Participants, Format, TV Schedule and Predictions

Michael Jordan was one of the most prolific dunkers in NBA history, so it is only fitting that All-Star Weekend and the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest heads to his home state of North Carolina. It will be played in Spectrum Arena in Charlotte, the home stadium of the team he owns, the Charlotte Hornets. 

Jordan was a two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion, winning in 1987 and 1988, mesmerizing fans in a classic battle with Dominique Wilkins. 

This year's contest may not have the kind of star-power as Jordan vs. Wilkins, but it still consists of four talented, young, rising players in the league, with three of them participating in the event for the first time. 

Participants (Odds via Action Network)

John Collins, Atlanta Hawks: +120

Miles Bridges, Charlotte Hornets: +200

Dennis Smith Jr., New York Knicks: +300

Hamidou Diallo, Oklahoma City Thunder: +500

Format

The Slam Dunk Contest will consist of two rounds, with players having a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in the first and final rounds. 

There will be five judges who will score each dunk on a scale of 6-10, with 50 being the highest possible score on a single dunk and 30 being the lowest. 

In the first round, all four competitors will get to do two dunks. After combining the scores of each player's two attempts, the top two participants will advance to the final round in a head-to-head matchup.

Those two competitors will get to do two more dunks in the final round, and the player with the highest combined score of the final round will be the champion. 

TV Schedule

While there is no precise time for when the Slam Dunk Contest starts, the festivities on Saturday, which include the Skills Competition and Three-Point Contest, begin at 8 p.m. ET on TNT. The Slam Dunk Contest will be the final event. 

Prediction

Three of the participants are new to the Slam Dunk Contest, with only Dennis Smith Jr. having done it before. 

Smith, the smallest of the three contestants at 6'3", was ousted in the first round of last year's contest. He managed to complete a nifty dunk through the legs, but it took him three tries to succeed, which may have hurt him. Perhaps he has other tricks up his sleeve or can stick the dunks on the first attempts. 

Collins is the favorite, which is unique because at 6'10", he is the tallest participant—the Slam Dunk Contest usually does not usually bode well for taller players. Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin are the only big men who have won the contest in the last 10 years. 

Yet there is a reason Collins is the favorite. The Hawks forward-center has thrown down some of the most powerful, authoritative dunks this season and could be well on his way to becoming the fourth Hawks player to win the contest. 

Bridges will have the advantage of the home crowd behind him, as the 6'7" forward has been building his reputation as a thunderous dunker since his days at Michigan State. The 20-year-old has had some pretty big dunks in game action this season and could carry that over to the contest. 

The long-shot in this all is rookie Hamidou Diallo, but there is no reason to sleep on him. The 6'5" Thunder guard can get plenty of air, and that typically leaves a lasting mark on the judges. 

Diallo registered a 44.5-inch vertical at the NBA Draft Combine over the summer—the second-highest mark in the event's history. He also went toe-to-toe with Duke star Zion Williamson in the 2016 Under Armour Elite 24 Dunk Contest. 

So how does this all play out?

Diallo dazzles the judges with his vertical and reaches the final round, but it will be Miles Bridges on his home court to be crowned the new dunk king.