Fields set for NBA-League All-Star competitions
NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2016 – Jimmer Fredette of the Westchester Knicks headlines the six-man field for the NBA Development League Three-Point Contest, which tips off NBA D-League All-Star festivities on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 1:30 p.m. ET from Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum. Defending NBA D-League Slam Dunk Champion Jarvis Threatt of the Rio Grande Valley Vipers returns to the All-Star stage along with five top leapers in NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon, a competition taking place at halftime of the 2016 NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire, which begins at 2 p.m. ET.
The NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon will air live on NBA TV and NBA TV Canada during halftime of the NBA D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire, while the Three-Point Contest will be streamed on YouTube.
Joining Fredette behind the arc in Toronto are Reggie Hearn (Reno), Andre Ingram (Los Angeles), Orlando Johnson (Austin), Nick Minnerath (Canton) and Scott Suggs (Raptors). All six contestants are shooting better than 40 percent from three-point territory, with Ingram connecting on an NBA D-League-best 51 percent.
Threatt will defend his Slam Dunk title against John Jordan (Raptors), Walter Lemon, Jr. (Fort Wayne), D.J. Stephens (Canton), Keifer Sykes (Austin) and J.P. Tokoto (Oklahoma City). Lemon, Jr. and Sykes are no strangers to competitive dunking as they each competed at the NCAA level in the 2014 and 2015 College Slam Dunk Contest, respectively.
NBA players Jordan Clarkson (L.A. Lakers), Seth Curry (Sacramento) and Patrick Patterson (Toronto), all of whom played in the NBA D-League during their careers, are three of the five judges for NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon. The trio will be joined by two additional judges, one of whom will be a sweepstakes-winning fan.
The two-round NBA D-League Slam Dunk allows for each competitor to complete two dunks in Round One, with each judge awarding between six and 10 points for each dunk. Dunkers will have 40 seconds to complete each dunk. The two players with the highest composite scores after Round One move on to Round Two, where the time limits and scoring system remain the same. The player with the highest composite score of the possible two dunks in Round Two is crowned the 2016 NBA D-League Slam Dunk champion.
Each of the six competitors in the two-round NBA D-League Three-Point Contest will have 60 seconds to sink up to 25 three-pointers from five shooting stations assembled 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. The fifth station consists of five two-point “money balls,” which each competitor can position in any of the five shooting stations. 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) 6-4 210 Northwestern 8/14/1991
Andre Ingram (Los Angeles) 6-3 195 American 11/19/1985
Orlando Johnson (Austin) 6-5 220 UC-Santa Barbara 3/11/1989
Nick Minnerath (Canton) 6-9 215 Detroit 8/11/1988
Scott Suggs (Raptors) 6-6 195 Washington 11/10/1989
Jimmer Fredette (Westchester) 6-2 195 BYU 2/25/1989
NBA D-League Slam Dunk presented by Verizon:
Player (Team) Ht. Wt. College Birthdate
John Jordan (Raptors) 5-10 180 Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 10/7/1992
Walter Lemon, Jr. (Fort Wayne) 6-3 180 Bradley 7/26/1992
D.J. Stephens (Canton) 6-5 188 Memphis 12/19/1990
Keifer Sykes (Austin) 5-11 167 Wisconsin-Green Bay 12/30/1993
J.P. Tokoto (Oklahoma City) 6-6 200 North Carolina 9/15/1993
Jarvis Threatt (Rio Grande Valley) 6-2 170 Delaware 4/3/1993
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 19 teams with direct affiliations with NBA franchises for the 2015-16 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 2014-15 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. Fans can watch all NBA D-League games on nbadleague.com.