NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Betting Favorites, Odds & Lines

By Henry Palattella
Editor

Expert Reviewed

Brian Pempus Editor
Forbes Advisor receives compensation from partner links on this page. Online bets are not legal in all locations, and this content is meant for those 21+. Winnings are not guaranteed, and you may lose all of your wagered funds. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER
NBA Slam Dunk Contest: Betting Favorites, Odds & Lines

Table of Contents

{{ tocState.toggleTocShowMore ? 'Show more' : 'Show less' }}

While the focus of NBA All-Star Weekend is the All-Star Game, the Slam Dunk Contest is one of the more exciting showcases of the weekend.

In 2023, G-Leaguer Mac McClung became a basketball household name when he recorded perfect scores on three of his four dunks to take home the NBA Dunk Contest crown.

The 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17, during NBA All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis.

Who Is In The Slam Dunk Contest?

There will be four players competing in the 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest

Jaylen Brown (Celtics), Jaime Jaquez Jr. (Heat), Mac McClung (G League, Osceola Magic) and Jacob Toppin (Knicks) will throw down.

McClung, the defending champion, is favored to win the contest.

Mac McClung

Last year’s champion is looking to become the first repeat winner since Zach LaVine in 2015 and 2016. The 25-year-old is currently signed to the Osceola Magic of the G League, where he’s averaging 24.5 points per game.

He’s appeared in only four NBA games, with his best performance coming last April when he scored 20 points against the Brooklyn Nets while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers.

He’s the odds-on favorite to win this year’s contest at multiple NBA betting sites, including BetMGM (-225), FanDuel (-190) and DraftKings (-170).

Jaylen Brown

The first All-Star to compete in the Dunk Contest since Victor Oladipo in 2018, Brown hopes to make his mark in an event lacking star power in recent years.

A three-time All-Star and 2022-23 All-NBA Second Team selection, he’s averaging 22 points a game this season for the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics.

Most sportsbooks have him with the second-best odds to win the contest, with DraftKings giving him the best odds at +350.

Jacob Toppin

The younger brother of Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin, Jacob’s another G-Leaguer currently playing for the Westchester Knicks.

The former Kentucky Wildcat has appeared in three games for the New York Knicks this season, scoring two points. That said, he’s dropped 30-plus points multiple times this season for Westchester. He also comes from a long lineage of dunkers, as Obi won the contest in 2022 when he was with the Knicks.

Toppin’s odds are scattered, as BetMGM has him at +500 to win the contest (the second-best odds among the contestants), while DraftKings has him at +425 and FanDuel has him at +600.

Jaime Jaquez Jr.

The newest beneficiary of “Heat Culture,” Jaquez has been a revelation for the Miami Heat this season and now gets a chance to showcase his dunking ability on the national stage.

A two-time Rookie of the Month winner, Jaquez would be a favorite to win Rookie of the Year if not for Victor Wembanyama. He’s averaging 13.0 points and 3.8 rebounds on the season and is participating in the Rising Stars game on Friday night.

He has the longest odds of the candidates, with BetMGM putting him at +800 to win.

How Does The Dunk Contest Work?

The event is divided into two rounds. In the first two rounds, each dunker has 90 seconds to try a dunk and a limit of three dunk attempts.

They get one dunk window in the first round and another in the second round.

Each dunk is scored on a scale of 40-50.

The two dunkers with the highest combined scores during the first two rounds advance to the final. The dunker with the highest score in the final round wins the crown.

Slam Dunk Contest Best Bets

While McClung has yet to get his foot in the NBA door, there’s no denying he has bounce (as he proved to the world last year).

We’d suggest waiting until we get closer to the event to see how lines shift, but McClung has a legitimate chance to repeat. He’s our favorite bet of the competition.

Brown’s an amazing scorer and a good finisher in traffic, but he hasn’t displayed the craftiness needed to win the Dunk Contest. His odds seem too short.

Of Toppin and Jaquez, we like Jaquez more because of his track record.

He once won a high school dunk contest against fellow NBA player KJ Martin and Atlanta Falcons receiver Drake London, so it’s clear he has some tricks up his sleeve.

He holds some good value at +800 on BetMGM.

Also, remember that you can create parlays out of NBA All-Star Weekend events if you want to combine wagers from different competitions.

Regardless of how you bet, this year should be another exciting entry in the event’s history.

NBA Slam Dunk Contest Winners

There have been 40 dunk contests since it first took place in 1976. There was a six-year hiatus from 1978 to 1984 and a two-year break from 1998 to 1999.

Thirty-three players have won the dunk contest, with six of them winning it multiple times.

Nate Robinson is the only player to win it three times (2006, 2009 and 2010). Zach LaVine, Jason Richardson, Harold Miner, Dominique Wilkins and Michael Jordan are the only two-time winners.

McClung looks to become the fifth player to win consecutive titles, joining LaVine, Robinson, Richardson and Jordan. 

Toppin seeks to become the fifth New York Knicks player to win – the most of any franchise.

Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Basketball
Best Ofs
Sportsbook Reviews
Sportsbook Promos
Sports Betting Guides

More from   Betting

Information provided on Forbes Advisor is for educational purposes only. Your financial situation is unique and the products and services we review may not be right for your circumstances. We do not offer financial advice, advisory or brokerage services, nor do we recommend or advise individuals or to buy or sell particular stocks or securities. Performance information may have changed since the time of publication. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Forbes Advisor adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. To the best of our knowledge, all content is accurate as of the date posted, though offers contained herein may no longer be available. The opinions expressed are the author’s alone and have not been provided, approved, or otherwise endorsed by our partners.

Henry Palattella
Henry Palattella Editor

Henry Palattella is a writer and editor based in Cleveland, Ohio, where he can usually be found ranting to his cat about how injuries robbed Grady Sizemore of a Hall of Fame career. He also works as a writer for MLB.com along with freelancing for numerous publications in Northeast Ohio. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, he is a graduate of Kent State University, where he graduated the same year that Julian Edelman completed his degree.

Brian Pempus
Brian Pempus Editor

Brian Pempus is the managing editor of Forbes Betting. A Penn State journalism graduate, Brian has covered the U.S. gambling industry since 2009, starting as a staff writer and later online content manager with Card Player Magazine in Las Vegas. In 2018, he became deputy editor of sports betting at Better Collective and later managing editor at The Game Day. He joined Forbes in 2022. His work has been cited by Fortune Magazine, Wisconsin Law Review, The Tennessean, ESPN, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Journal of Corporation Law, University of Cincinnati Law Review, UC Law San Francisco, The Congressional Research Service, The Tennessee Bar Association, The University of Nevada Las Vegas and The Ohio State Law Journal.