Reigning dunk champ LaVine: ‘I’ve got tricks up my sleeve’

In 2015, he finished third with 167. He’ll be tested next weekend by Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets, Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic.

The dunk contest will take place at halftime of the D-League All-Star Game, scheduled for February 13 at Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum.

NBA All-Star 2016 is just around the corner, and one of the most anticipated events during this weekend spectacle is the Verizon Slam Dunk contest. Again, LaVine is a marvel, and Barton is one of the most exhilarating open-court players in the National Basketball Association. That’s not to say he isn’t an incredible athlete and dunker, but his creativity may be limited due to his size and handling ability, plus the fact that he doesn’t have to jump as high will make it harder to impress. “That’s the main thing”.

LaVine blew away the competition past year while winning the event as a rookie.

“I go with a knockout punch in the first round”, he said. Michael Jordan, Jason Richardson and Nate Robinson are the others. Andrew Wiggins supported his teammate Zach LaVine during the contest. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 assists while shooting 59.3 percent from the field in 19.7 minutes per game in Erie. “But that’s totally up to him”. You have to do a lot of jumping. “So if the fans want to see it, I’m going to go out there and do the best I can”.