OFFICIAL DUNK CONTEST PARTICIPANTS

[Lascar78]

2006 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Participants

NBA News | Jan. 31, 2006

Josh Smith in 2006 nba slam dunk contest

The 2005 Slam Dunk champion, Josh Smith of the Atlanta Hawks, will return to defend his crown in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by AOL, Feb. 18 at the Toyota Center in Houston. In addition to the reigning champion, the 21st Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition will feature Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers, and rookies Nate Robinson of the New York Knicks and Hakim Warrick of the Memphis Grizzlies.

The contestants in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk will be competing for $60,000 in prize money, with $35,000 going to the winner. Second place is worth $22,500, third place and fourth place will receive $16,125 each.

The judges of this year’s Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk competition will include Hall of Famer and former Rockets star Clyde “The Glide” Drexler, who helped lead his hometown team to the NBA title in 1995; Hall of Famer and former Rockets and University of Houston star Elvin Hayes; Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets star Moses Malone, the third-leading rebounder and fifth-leading scorer in NBA history; former Rockets star and current TNT analyst Kenny Smith; and former Houston Rockets head coach Rudy Tomjanovich, who led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA titles in 1993-94 and 1994-95.

The Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk will be broadcast live nationally as part of the NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by AOL, which will also feature the Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout, RadioShack Shooting Stars and PlayStation® Skills Challenge. NBA All-Star Saturday Night will be televised live nationally on TNT in the United States and on Rogers Sportsnet in Canada at 8 p.m. ET.

The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 19, will air live on TNT, Rogers Sportsnet and ESPN Radio at 8 p.m. EST. The game will also be telecast in 215 countries and broadcast on NBA.com.

NBA All-Star brings together the top NBA players and performers for a week of competition, community service and world-class entertainment. Among the many events that reach more than 3.1 billion people in over 200 countries are the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge; Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk; Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout; PlayStation Skills Challenge; RadioShack Shooting Stars; NBA All-Star Jam Session presented by Nokia, the league's interactive event that attracts more than 100,000 fans each year; and, the 55th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 19.

NBA SLAM DUNK YEAR-BY-YEAR 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 SLAM DUNK COMPETITORS

Andre Iguodala, Philadelphia F 6’6” 207

Nate Robinson, New York G 5’9” 180

Josh Smith, Atlanta F 6’9” 225

Hakim Warrick, Memphis F 6’9” 219

InsideHoops.com

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I don't like Warrick, but the other 3 should be awesome

[shock]

i think smoove will get robbed. 20 years ago spud webb won it, so i think they will give it to nate robinson unless he pulls a birdman and misses every dunk.

[Plastic Man]

yeah i agree with you about warrick. i would like to see someone like tony allen, mo evans, ricky davis, deshawn stevenson or travis outlaw. i hope smoove wins but it won't be easy. i think nate rob will be the fan favorite and iggy will definitely make some noise.

[TheDude]

don't count out warrick...he has unbeleivable hops..

honestly, this is one of the best dunk lineups in awhile...jsmith has his work cut out.

[greg__7]

I was hoping to have a bit more "star studded" field. But it will still be fun to watch.

I hope Smoove does his thing.

[mudderfudder77]

Does anybody even watch the Slam Dunk Contest anymore?

[SmooveTheFuture]

It will be a fun competiton with alot of talented guys who can flat out jump one of the best lineups in recent memory. Hopefully J Smoove can take it home to ATL once again something thats only been done about 4 times. GO SMOOVE!

[shock]

Quote:

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Does anybody even watch the Slam Dunk Contest anymore?

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I will only because of smoove. But if a Hawk isnt in it, Im not watching.

[Lascar78]

Quote:

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Does anybody even watch the Slam Dunk Contest anymore?

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I know it's been the "cool" thing for some time now to act like you don't give a sh!t about the dunk contest, I never got that.

I am as big a fan of fundamental basketball as they come, but the dunk contest gets me as geeked up as any other event all year long. I don't see what's not to love. How can you not love creative dunking?

[DominiqueWilkins]

I’m excited about this years Dunk contest.

I think Iggy wins it over Josh Smith……..but ofcourse I’m pulling for Josh Smith.

[Dnice]

Since they use players for props, I wonder who Josh will use this time? Maybe Salim will be in Houston too.

[Popeye]

It will be fun watching all these young guys. They will play against each other in Rookie-Sophomore game and then dunk against each other.

Hakim Warrick is like Amare Stoudomire

Andre Iguodala is like J.R Smith

Both guys who Josh beat last year, but i dont know how Nate Robinson will be like.

It will be fun, it will be fun