While the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has featured the likes of Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins, the league has been looking to its younger stars to fill spots in the NBA All-Star Weekend’s big event. Well, the NBA has sent invitations to two of the league’s high-flying players to take their shots at joining other legendary winners of the competition.
NBA Slam Dunk Contest Gets Two Additions
ESPN Senior NBA Insider Shams Charania reported on Thursday that the NBA is adding the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jaxson Hayes and the San Antonio Spurs’ Carter Bryant to the contest.
“Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant have accepted invitations to the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in L.A., sources tell ESPN,” Charania posted on X.
Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and San Antonio Spurs rookie Carter Bryant have accepted invitations to the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in L.A., sources tell ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 29, 2026
Hayes was a first-round draft choice (No. 8 overall) out of Texas by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft. This season with the Lakers, Hayes is averaging 6.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game and shooting 77.3% from the floor.
Bryant was a first-round draft choice (No. 14 overall) by the Spurs in the 2025 NBA Draft out of Arizona. This season, Bryant is averaging 2.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, and shooting 35.1% from the floor.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will take place at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles, home to the Los Angeles Clippers, on Sunday, February 15. That means the NBA Slam Dunk Contest will take place on NBA All-Star Saturday, which is on February 14. Other participants in the contest will probably be revealed in the coming days.
NBA fans can tune into NBC and Peacock for coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday, which is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. ET. The NBA All-Star Game will also be shown on NBC and Peacock.
On Friday, February 13, NBA All-Star Weekend kicks off with the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game at the Kia Forum at 7 p.m. ET. That event will be shown on ESPN.
Then, the Castrol Rising Stars game happens at 9 p.m. ET at the Intuit Dome and will be shown on Peacock. Finally, the NBA HCBU Classic will air from the Kia Forum at 11 p.m. ET on Peacock, rounding out Friday night’s activities.
On Saturday, before NBA All-Star Saturday kicks off, NBA fans can tune into NBA TV for NBA All-Star Media Day at 1:30 p.m. ET from the Intuit Dome.
