The Slam Dunk Contest is often one of the most-discussed parts of NBA All-Star Weekend, with plenty of debate over which dunks were the best. At this year’s event next Saturday, fans will again have a say in that, this time through the league’s NBAID program.
For most of the history of the Slam Dunk Contest (which started as an ABA standalone event in 1976, became a NBA season-long event later that year, and has been a NBA All-Star Weekend event since 1984), the victor has been picked by judges. But from 2008-14, judges picked who advanced to the final round, while fan voting via text message determined the outcome of the final.
The NBA isn’t going fully back to that, but they’re giving fans one of five votes, with the others held by four former NBA players serving as judges (judging has determined the outcomes here for most of the event’s history, including since 2015).
This time around, voting won’t be done by text. Instead, fans will be able to vote in real time through the league’s free NBA ID membership program (which was launched in 2022), either via the NBA app or online at slamdunkvote.nba.com. Content creator Jesser (who has done a lot of past things with the league, including playing in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in 2023) will be on the judges’ panel alongside famed former players Baron Davis, Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady and Jason Richardson, and will serve as the inaugural NBA ID Member representative there. He’ll relay the average score from that fan vote, and that will count as one of the five judges’ votes.
Fan voting is always a tricky element for leagues to include. It certainly boosts engagement, but it can lead to some odd decisions, and some specifically trolling decisions (even if they’ve sometimes worked out). But, of course, voting can produce odd results even without a fan vote.
And linking voting here to the NBA ID program means there’s at least some level of effort needed to vote here. That should reduce trolling potential, and should also help boost awareness of that program. And making this one out of five votes seems smart; that means the fans have a voice, but not the only say. But it’s certainly notable to see a fan element return to this voting after more than a decade without that.
This year’s Slam Dunk Contest will take place as part of All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 15, broadcast on TNT and truTV. Two-time reigning champion Mac McClung will face off against Matas Buzelis, Andre Jackson Jr., and Stephon Castle, with fans will getting to help determine who wins.
