NEW YORK – Defending champion John Jordan of Raptors 905 returns to the All-Star stage to compete against five top leapers in the 2017 NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon on Saturday, Feb. 18 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.  Also on Saturday, NBA D-League All-Star Pierre Jackson of the Texas Legends headlines the six-man field for the NBA D-League Three-Point Contest.

Both two-round competitions tip off during NBA All-Star Practice and culminate during halftime of the 2017 NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire, which begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.  The final round of both the Slam Dunk and the Three-Point Contest will air live on NBA TV during halftime of the NBA D-League All-Star Game.  The first round of each event will be streamed live on the NBA D-League’s Facebook page, beginning with the Slam Dunk preliminary at 12:30 p.m. ET and continuing with the Three-Point Contest preliminary at 2 p.m. ET.

Jordan will defend his Slam Dunk title against NBA D-League All-Star Alex Poythress (Fort Wayne Mad Ants), Troy Williams (Iowa Energy), Derek Cooke Jr. (Northern Arizona Suns), Alfonzo McKinnie (Windy City Bulls) and Trahson Burrell (Long Island Nets).  Burrell, who attended the NBA D-League’s National Tryout, is averaging 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds this season.

Joining Jackson behind the arc in New Orleans are Reggie Hearn (Reno Bighorns), Scott Wood (Santa Cruz Warriors), Devondrick Walker (Delaware 87ers), Gabe York (Erie BayHawks) and Kevin Murphy (Grand Rapids Drive).  Hearn returns to the contest for the second straight season.  Wood and York are two of three players to have connected on an NBA D-League season high of 10 three-point field goals made.

NBA players Langston Galloway (New Orleans Pelicans), Tim Frazier (Pelicans) and Jonathon Simmons (San Antonio Spurs), all of whom have played in the NBA D-League, are three of the five judges for the final round of NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon.  The trio will be joined by Tas Melas and J.E. Skeets of NBA TV’s The Starters.  The first round of the dunk competition will be judged by NBA players Marquese Chriss (Phoenix Suns), Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and Frank Kaminsky (Charlotte Hornets) as well as Melas and Skeets.

The NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon has all four competitors completing two dunks in the first round, with each judge awarding six to 10 points for each dunk.  Dunkers will have 60 seconds to complete each dunk.  The two players with the highest composite scores after the first round move on to the second round, where the time limits and scoring system remain the same.  The player with the highest composite score for his two dunks in the final round is crowned the 2017 NBA D-League Slam Dunk champion.

In the NBA D-League Three-Point Contest, each competitor will have 60 seconds to sink up to 25 shots from five shooting stations around the three-point line.  Four stations will have four orange balls (worth one point each) and one multi-colored “money ball” (worth two points each).  The fifth station consists of five two-point “money balls,” which each competitor can position at any of the five shooting locations.  The top two scorers from the first round advance to the final round, and the competitor with the highest score in the final round wins the contest.

The full roster of participants is below.  All players must be on an active NBA D-League roster at the time of the event to compete.

NBA D-League Three-Point Contest

Player (Team)                                              Ht.          Wt.          College                                                 Birthdate

Reggie Hearn (Reno)                                    6-5         210        Northwestern                8/14/1991

Scott Wood (Santa Cruz)                               6-5         175        NC State                      6/21/1990

Pierre Jackson (Texas)                                  5-11       176        Baylor                          8/29/1991

Devondrick Walker (Delaware)                     6-5         205        Texas A&M Commerce   7/11/1992

Gabe York (Erie)                                          6-3         190        Arizona                        8/2/1993

Kevin Murphy (Grand Rapids)                      6-6         185        Tennessee Tech            3/6/1990

NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon

Player (Team)                                              Ht.          Wt.          College                                                 Birthdate

John Jordan (Raptors 905)                             5-10       180        Texas A&M Corpus Christi  10/7/1992

Alex Poythress (Fort Wayne)                         6-7         235        Kentucky                     9/6/1993

Troy Williams (Iowa)                                    6-5         218        Indiana                         12/30/1994

Derek Cooke Jr. (Northern Arizona)  6-9       220        Wyoming                                   8/23/1991

Alfonzo McKinnie (Windy City)                   6-8         215        Wisc-Green Bay            9/17/1992

Trahson Burrell (Long Island)                       6-7         190        Memphis                      11/16/1992

About the NBA Development League

The NBA Development League is the NBA’s official minor league, preparing players, coaches, officials, trainers, and front-office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory.  Featuring 22 teams with direct affiliations with NBA franchises for the 2016-17 season, the league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere.  An all-time high 38 percent of all NBA players at the end of the 2015-16 season boasted NBA D-League experience.  In fostering the league’s connection to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and wellness, support local needs and interests, and assist in educational development through NBA D-League Cares programs.  NBA D-League games are available on ESPN’s family of networks, Facebook Live and NBA TV.

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