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