NBA Slam Dunk Contest: 2025 date, start time, how to watch, participants, format

The Slam Dunk Contest is arguably the highlight of the NBA’s All-Star Weekend, as the league's most gravity-defying athletes take flight and unleash their creativity in the air.

We've covered all you need to know about the Slam Dunk Contest, including event schedule, participants, scoring, and more.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2025 date 

The 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest will be held on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2025 start time

The Slam Dunk Contest typically starts around 10 PM ET on All-Star Saturday. It is the final event of All-Star Saturday, taking place after the Skills Challenge and 3-Point Contest. 

How to watch NBA Slam Dunk Contest, TV channel and streaming

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest will be broadcast on TNT as part of the network's All-Star Saturday Night broadcast. TNT is accessible via cable TV and live TV streaming apps such as YouTubeTV or SlingTV.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest 2025 participants

• Mac McClung
• Matas Buzelis
• Stephon Castle
• Andre Jackson Jr.

View the latest odds to win the 2025 Slam Dunk Contest on site.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest format and scoring

The Dunk Contest itself sees each of the contestants attempt two dunks, which are scored out of 10 by a panel of judges. Each dunker has 90 seconds to pull off their attempted dunk, with a limit of three attempts. 

The top two scoring players move on to the final round. They attempt two more dunks and the player with the highest score from the judges is named the Dunk Contest champion.

Players go to great lengths to add some flourish to their dunk attempts. They can use props, such as Blake Griffin leaping over a car on his way to the basket in 2011. Players can also jump people, as Aaron Gordon did when he leaped over the 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall in 2020.

The Dunk Contest has five judges, who range from former NBA and WNBA players to celebrities. 

Each judge scores each dunk out of 10. The scores are combined to give the player’s total score, which can range anywhere from 0 to 50. The two scores are then combined and the highest-scoring players progress to the final.

The previous scores are wiped for the final, with the finalists attempting two more dunks, with their scores then combined to determine the winner. If the players are level, tie-breaking rounds decide the winner. That happened in a classic 2016 showdown, where Zach LaVine beat Aaron Gordon after two tie-breakers.

Read a full list of NBA Slam Dunk Contest past winners and records.

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