Former Slam Dunk champion Dwight Howard (bit.ly/2UsTTbA) of the Los Angeles Lakers returns to the competition for the first time in 11 years as he headlines the field of four players who will take flight in the 2020 AT&T Slam Dunk on Saturday, Feb. 15 at the United Center in Chicago.

Howard is joined by two previous second-place finishers, Aaron Gordon (bit.ly/39cDRGW) of the Orlando Magic and Derrick Jones Jr. (bit.ly/31rReQz) of the Miami Heat, as well as first-time participant Pat Connaughton (bit.ly/2vJpECD) of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 35^th AT&T Slam Dunk is part of State Farm^® All-Star Saturday Night, which also features the Taco Bell^® Skills Challenge and the MTN DEW^® 3-Point Contest. All-Star Saturday Night will air live on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States at 8 p.m. ET. NBA All-Star 2020 will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.

Howard, the 2008 Slam Dunk champion, will compete in the event for the first time since 2009, when he made the last of three consecutive appearances. Gordon’s dazzling runner-up performance in 2016 included three straight perfect scores of 50. Jones Jr., who turns 23 on the same day as AT&T Slam Dunk, finished second in 2017. Connaughton is seeking to become the first Milwaukee player to win Slam Dunk. 

AT&T Slam Dunk takes in place Chicago for the first time since 1988, when the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan (bit.ly/2ShRrSw) memorably outdueled the Atlanta Hawks’ Dominique Wilkins to win his second consecutive Slam Dunk title.

Here is a closer look at the 2020 AT&T Slam Dunk participants:

• Pat Connaughton, Bucks (1^st appearance): The 6-5 guard is in his second season with Milwaukee after spending his first three NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Connaughton (CONN-uh-ton) recorded a max vertical leap of 44 inches at the 2015 NBA Draft Combine, tied for the third-highest mark in event history. He was selected as a pitcher by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.

• Aaron Gordon, Magic (3^rd appearance): Gordon returns to AT&T Slam Dunk for the first time since 2017. The 6-9 forward ranks third on the Magic in scoring (13.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (7.2 rpg) in his sixth NBA season.

• Dwight Howard, Lakers (4^th appearance): Howard is an eight-time NBA All-Star selection, eight-time All-NBA Team selection and three-time Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. The 6-10 center ranks 14^th in NBA history in both rebounds (13,553) and blocked shots (2,120).

• Derrick Jones Jr., Heat (2^nd appearance): As a rookie in the 2016-17 season, Jones became the first player to compete in AT&T Slam Dunk and play in the NBA G League in the same season. Since then, the undrafted Jones has earned a full-time role in the NBA. Nicknamed “Airplane Mode” for his leaping ability, the 6-7 Jones won a national dunk contest for high school players in 2015. 

2020 AT&T Slam Dunk Rules
In the two-round event, participants can perform any dunk they choose. The players have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. The judges will be announced at a later date.

All four competitors get two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score for their two dunks advance to the head-to-head final round. Both players get two dunks in the final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the 2020 AT&T Slam Dunk champion. Click here (on.nba.com/2Urwsiw) for a complete explanation of the rules.

See below for the 2020 AT&T Slam Dunk field and a list of previous winners.

2020 AT&T Slam Dunk Participants
Player	Team	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.
Pat Connaughton	Milwaukee Bucks	G	6-4	214
Aaron Gordon	Orlando Magic	F	6-9	235
Dwight Howard	Los Angeles Lakers	C	6-10	265
Derrick Jones Jr.	Miami Heat	F	6-6	210

 

AT&T SLAM DUNK WINNERS
1984 – Larry Nance, Phoenix	1996 – Brent Barry, LA Clippers	2010 – Nate Robinson, New York
1985 – Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta	1997 – Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers	2011 – Blake Griffin, LA Clippers
1986 – Spud Webb, Atlanta	2000 – Vince Carter, Toronto	2012 – Jeremy Evans, Utah
1987 – Michael Jordan, Chicago	2001 – Desmond Mason, Seattle	2013 – Terrence Ross, Toronto
1988 – Michael Jordan, Chicago	2002 – Jason Richardson, Golden State	2014 – East (Paul George, Terrence Ross, John Wall)
1989 – Kenny Walker, New York	2003 – Jason Richardson, Golden State	2015 – Zach LaVine, Minnesota
1990 – Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta	2004 – Fred Jones, Indiana	2016 – Zach LaVine, Minnesota
1991 – Dee Brown, Boston	2005 – Josh Smith, Atlanta	2017 – Glenn Robinson III, Indiana
1992 – Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix	2006 – Nate Robinson, New York	2018 – Donovan Mitchell, Utah
1993 – Harold Miner, Miami	2007 – Gerald Green, Boston	2019 – Hamidou Diallo, Oklahoma City
1994 – Isaiah Rider, Minnesota	2008 – Dwight Howard, Orlando
1995 – Harold Miner, Miami	2009 – Nate Robinson, New York