Portland Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons and Indiana Pacers rookie Cassius Stanley are expected to join New York Knicks rookie Obi Toppin in the slam dunk contest, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Sunday.
The NBA continues the recent trend to spotlight some of the younger players in the league, with 21-year-old Simons competing alongside two rookies. This year’s dunk competition will take place during halftime of the All-Star Game on March 7.
Toppin was selected with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft, while Stanley was a late second round of Duke. While neither rookie has made his mark as a Dunker in the NBA this season, they both have impressive highlights from their time in college.
Toppin has played a limited number of minutes with the Knicks this season. Stanley has averaged 12.4 points in nine games for the Pacers’ G League partner, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.
Simons is in his third season with the Blazers, with an average of 8.5 points in 17.5 minutes per game this season.