NBA announces participants for 2015 slam dunk contest

The NBA announced four second-year players and a rookie will take part in this year’s slam dunk contest.

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, a.k.a “The Greek Freak,” Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo, Brooklyn Nets center Mason Plumlee and Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Zach LaVine will participate in the contest Saturday, Feb. 14, in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

After tinkering in recent years, the format for the dunk contest will return to its roots. It will be a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players will have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round.

Five judges will score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be the champion.

Past winners:

1984—Larry Nance, Phoenix                   
1985—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta          
1986—Spud Webb, Atlanta                     
1987—Michael Jordan, Chicago               
1988—Michael Jordan, Chicago               
1989—Kenny Walker, New York             
1990—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta          
1991—Dee Brown, Boston                      
1992—Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix              
1993—Harold Miner, Miami                   
1994—Isaiah Rider, Minnesota                
1995—Harold Miner, Miami                   
1996—Brent Barry, L.A. Clippers           
1997—Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers                 
2000—Vince Carter, Toronto                                                            
2001—Desmond Mason, Seattle
2002—Jason Richardson, Golden State  
2003—Jason Richardson, Golden State 
2004—Fred Jones, Indiana         
2005—Josh Smith, Atlanta         
2006—Nate Robinson, New York
2007—Gerald Green, Boston
2008—Dwight Howard, Orlando
2009—Nate Robinson, New York
2010—Nate Robinson, New York
2011—Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers
2012—Jeremy Evans, Utah
2013—Terrence Ross, Toronto
2014—Eastern Conference (Paul George, Terrence Ross, John Wall (Wall was the “Dunker of the night”))