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Official: Mason Plumlee invited to Slam Dunk contest

By Net Income
Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

What's the over/under on Mason Plumlee trying to dunk three balls at once, as he tried to do in the McDonalds All-American Dunk contest while in high school? How many reverse two-handers, "Drano's" as Ian Eagle calls them, will we see in the preliminaries and will he really try to dunk over Jerome Jordan, as he was seen doing in practice a few days ago.

As Adrian Wojnarowski first reported last week, Plumlee has been selected to compete in the 2015 Sprite Slam Dunk at NBA All-Star in New York City, held on Saturday, February 14 at Barclays Center, the NBA announced tonight.

The second-year pro becomes the third Nets’ player to take part in Sprite Slam Dunk, joining Richard Jefferson in 2003 and Chris Morris in 1989.

Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesota guard Zach LaVine and Orlando guard Victor Oladipo will compete alongside Plumlee in this year’s competition. In 44 games this season, Plumlee is averaging 10.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 22.7 minutes per game and is third in the league in field goal percentage (59.4 percent). Plumlee’s averages have increased to 13.9 points and 8.0 rebounds in 27 starts this season.

Returning to a classic format, the Sprite Slam Dunk will be a two-round event in which the four participants can perform any dunk they choose without time limits. The players will have a maximum of three attempts to complete each dunk in both the first round and the final round. Five judges will score every dunk on a scale of 6 to 10, resulting in a high score of 50 and a low score of 30. All four competitors will get two dunks in the first round. The two dunkers with the highest combined score for their two dunks will advance to the head-to-head final round. The player with the highest combined score for his two dunks in the final round will be the champion.

Plumlee will attempt to become the first Nets’ player to win the Sprite Slam Dunk and the fourth player to claim the title at his home arena, an exclusive club comprised of the Chicago Bulls’ Michael Jordan (1988), Minnesota Timberwolves’ Isaiah Rider (1994) and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (2011).

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