Dream Slam Dunk Contest lineup for 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend
02/18/2025 01:00 PM
Mac McClung has single-handedly revived the Slam Dunk Contest. The once prestigious NBA All-Star Weekend event used to be filled with star players, and it was must-watch TV because of the high-flying action. The event has faded in recent years because of underwhelming performances and a lack of recognizable names in the event.
G-League star Mac McClung just won the Slam Dunk Contest for the third straight year, though, and he did it with some of the best dunks in recent memory. McClung might not be an NBA superstar, but he has seemingly inspired some of the best players in the NBA to partake in next year’s iteration of the event. For example, Ja Morant – arguably the best dunker in the NBA and a two-time All-Star – already confirmed he wants to participate in the 2026 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, as did Giannis Antetokounmpo. With those players in mind, we wanted to create the dream lineup for the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest.
Ja Morant
Ja Morant is willing to dunk on any and everybody, and fans have long wanted to see him in the Dunk Contest. Only a few months removed from claiming he is done dunking overall, Morant is now seemingly ready to participate in a dunking-only event. Morant soars through the air and combines power with finesse as a dunker unlike anybody else in the NBA.
He’d be perfect for the event, especially considering he is only 6-foot-2 (short players have long been more appealing in the Slam Dunk Contest). If Morant is serious about participating, other stars will follow suit. While Morant is a part of our dream Dunk Contest lineup, we actually don’t think Giannis Antetokounmpo would be great in the event, so we are leaving him off of the lineup. While certainly a great dunker and one of the biggest stars in the NBA, Antetokounmpo doesn’t have much of a “bag” as a dunker, making us think he is more of an in-game slammer than a great candidate for the Dunk Contest itself. Anthony Edwards has referred to himself in this manner as well.
Zach LaVine
After Ja Morant tweeted that he would be interested in joining the Slam Dunk Contest, he recruited Zach LaVine and Aaron Gordon to partake as well, and the former seemed interested. LaVine won the Dunk Contest in both 2015 and 2016, just edging out Gordon in the latter of those two events. The 2016 version of the event is widely considered one of the greatest Slam Dunk Contests ever.
While LaVine’s victories came about a decade ago, he is still one of the most explosive dunkers in the NBA. Fans would love to see both LaVine and Gordon in the contest, considering the Denver Nuggets power forward has arguably been robbed of victories in the event before, but we think there might only be room for one of the two. The two-time winner gets the edge over the three-time runner-up.
Zion Williamson
Zion Williamson is widely regarded to have had one of the best high school mixtapes ever, largely because of his dunk package. While he has had an up-and-down NBA career, the intrigue with him as a dunker is still there. Williamson weighs (approximately) 280 pounds, so you wouldn’t think he’d be able to elevate like he does.
He certainly explodes unlike anybody else, though, and he can dunk with a variety of twists, turns, and moves. Participating in the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest could help Williamson revive his NBA career from a marketing standpoint. He was once viewed as one of the best NBA prospects ever, but missed time has diminished his star power.
Mac McClung
While Mac McClung might not be an NBA star, you can’t have the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest without the reining back-to-back-to-back champion in it. McClung has become must-watch TV while he has revitalized the once prestigious event. He is seemingly only getting better as a dunker, too, as his 2025 performance was arguably his best yet.
In that event, his reverse dunk over the top of a car (and a person holding the ball) stole the show. It outdid Blake Griffin’s version of a car dunk that is widely considered one of the best Slam Dunk Contest moments ever. McClung’s other three dunks were impressive, too, and he doesn’t seem to be running out of ideas.
McClung is tied with Nate Robinson for the most Dunk Contest victories. A 2026 win would put him in sole possession of fourth place. At that point, some team might have to consider making him a full-time NBA player just because of the butts he could put in seats due to his aerial arsenal.
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