Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
The 2012 dunk contest participants will be Paul George of the Pacers, Derrick Williams of the Timberwolves, Iman Shumpert of the Knicks and Chase Budinger of the Rockets, the NBA announced Thursday.
In an effort to spice up the field as well as find a way to work Linsanity into All-Star Weekend, Jeremy Lin will also be playing a part. According to ESPN.com, Lin will be “assisting” Shumpert in some way, much in the same way Baron Davis helped out Blake Griffin at last year’s contest.
The New York Daily News also reported that Lin would be part of the “Shooting Stars” competition, meaning he’d already be in the arena for All-Star Saturday night. David Stern has already said that Lin would not be a late addition to the Rising Stars game.
Last year featured Blake Griffin, JaVale McGee, Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan, four fairly well known players. This year has two rookies and two role players.
(Story Continues…)
WRITTEN BYÂ Royce Young & FULL STORY HERE
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ONÂ NEW FORMAT:
The NBA is leaving it up to the fans to determine the winner of the All-Star slam dunk contest.
The league announced Thursday that there no longer will be judges in the event, which also will be reduced to one round. Each contestant will execute three dunks. Fans will determine the champion by voting on NBA.com, Twitter or through text messaging.
The format in recent years was two rounds, with a panel of judges voting on the first round before fan voting in the second.
-AP
