While NBA All-Star Weekend will feature some format changes in 2025, many proceedings will remain the same. Among the consistencies is NBA All-Star Saturday Night, an annual guarantee to garner widespread interest across the basketball world.
A large part of All-Star Saturday night’s allure is that it closes with the Slam Dunk Contest. Over the years, the competition has pitted some of the game’s most athletic players against one another in a showcase of dunking prowess.
25 years after Vince Carter delivered a legendary performance in Oakland, the dunk contest returns to the Bay Area. This time, a new crop of four players will look to turn in their version of an all-time performance at San Francisco’s Chase Center, which plays host to All-Star Saturday Night and the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
Who will participate in this year’s dunk contest? Here is a look at the latest reporting and rumors on participants in the 2025 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest.
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NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest participants updates & rumors
All times Eastern.
Jan. 20
9:53 p.m.: Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis commits to the Slam Dunk Contest, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Chicago Bulls rookie Matas Buzelis has committed to be in the Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star Weekend, sources tell ESPN. Dunk contest will feature two high-flying, first-year players in Buzelis and San Antonio’s Stephon Castle. pic.twitter.com/CZkflXDq1C
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 21, 2025
Buzelis, 20, was the 11th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He joins Castle as the second rookie to pledge to compete in this year’s competition.
11:38 a.m.: Spurs rookie Stephon Castle is the first confirmed participant in the 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
Castle was selected fourth overall in the 2024 NBA Draft after winning a national championship during his lone season at Connecticut. The 20-year-old’s athleticism has been on full display during his rookie campaign.
KING OF THE CASTLE 🏰 pic.twitter.com/oJdQBTYeNo
— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) January 9, 2025
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When is the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest?
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 15
- Time: 8 p.m. ET | 5 p.m. PT
The NBA Dunk Contest is the final event of All-Star Saturday Night, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 15.
All-Star Saturday Night will be held at the Chase Center, home of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.
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2025 NBA All-Star schedule
Friday, Feb. 14
- NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, 7 p.m. ET
- NBA Rising Stars Game, 9 p.m. ET
Saturday, Feb. 15
- NBA HBCU Classic (Morehouse College vs. Tuskegee University), 5 p.m. ET
- NBA All-Star Saturday Night, 8 p.m. ET
Sunday, Feb. 16
- NBA All-Star Game, 8 p.m. ET
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