The 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest came and went on Saturday, with Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson — who is averaging 7.6 minutes per game this season — winning the event with four dunks ranging from acceptable dunk to good dunk.

Like in many years previous, the dunk contest field was an array of relatively anonymous players: Johnson, San Antonio Spurs forward Carter Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and Orlando Magic rookie Jase Richardson.

A notable absence from the field (in addition to every All-Star of the past five years) was Mac McClung, the G League veteran who has won the last three contests and could have made history with an unprecedented fourth. He announced last month he was sitting this one out for “a bunch of reasons.”

However, McClung did decide to show off the four dunks he would have brought to the contest had he participated. Here they are:

By comparison, here are all the dunks Johnson landed in the actual competition.

At the risk of stating the obvious, the McClung dunks are both more interesting and more impressive, though we should also note we are only watching the video McClung’s camp decided to record. Half the difficulty of the dunk contest is being able to pull off acrobatic moves on command, with a panel of NBA veterans to somberly shake their heads at you if you fail.

That said, McClung certainly has the benefit of the doubt given that he has landed 12 such dunks in the actual competition.

What does this all mean for the dunk contest? It’s certainly not the best look that its three-time champion responded to the actual competition with a superior group of dunks, but it’s hardly the contest’s biggest problem.

The contest has alternated from dying to watchable for the last decade and a half or so. When there’s a McClung, an Aaron Gordon or Zach LaVine, the audience has something to grab onto. When there isn’t, you certainly start to wonder why all this pageantry is put into what is essentially four lesser-known players trying to cosplay as stars. It’s been a long time since LaVine and Gordon faced off in 2016, and even longer since Dwight Howard, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins were doing it.

Maybe that’s harsh, but we saw how full that arena was on Saturday.

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Two minutes before NBA commissioner Adam Silver was scheduled to address the media in an upstairs room at Intuit Dome, his deputy, Mark Tatum, cheerfully shook hands with reporters before taking his seat in the front row. 

That the league’s second-in-command was eagerly anticipating Silver’s words, much like the other occupants in the room, was poignant. Given the most prominent talking points that have dominated league discourse lately — the tanking epidemic, sports betting issues and alleged cap circumvention — have become so prevalent, the build-up to Silver’s news conference was seismic. 

However, following the duration of Silver’s availability — he spoke for around 30 minutes — there were far more questions as a result of his answers (or lack thereof). 

The first question posed to the commissioner, and the most detailed response Silver gave, was about the issue of tanking. This makes sense, given how quickly the league office acted in response to recent misbehavior from the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. Both organizations were fined; $500,000 to the Jazz and $100,000 to the Pacers for actions detrimental to the core values of the NBA. Utah’s modus operandi was far more egregious than Indiana’s — sitting its two best players for entire fourth quarters in separate close games is worse than holding someone out under the guise of rest, but neither should be tolerated. 

“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory?” Silver asked Saturday. “Yes, it is my view. Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”

Now, the real problem with tanking, at least from the vantage point of one writer, is it’s the lone arena where 29 other teams can’t share in the winnings. At least not initially. (Lottery picks don’t always pan out, and sometimes the late firsts and early seconds become the mainstays.) But don’t worry, there’s no proposal of a quick fix to what’s going on, although I’m sure you’ve read or heard a plethora of ideas this week alone. All I’m suggesting is Silver had to do something. For what it’s worth, he honestly didn’t even want to dignify the mere word of “tanking,” but it’s reached a point of no return. 

There’s an answer that lies somewhere in the middle of the ongoing epidemic; not completely punishing teams for losing, but not rewarding the seemingly cunning ones that try to game the system. Sometimes, you’re the Sacramento Kings, which goes hand in hand with parity and purgatory. How much better are the Chicago Bulls set up for their future than, say, the Brooklyn Nets? The Clippers and Hornets are both 26-29 heading into the All-Star break — would you consider them to be on equal footing? 

“Part of the problem is if you step back,” Silver said, “the fundamental theory behind a draft is to help your worst-performing teams restock and be able to compete, and by the way, yes, we want parity, but parity of opportunity. … My sense is, talking to GMs and coaches around the league, that there’s probably even more parity than is reflected in our records. That goes to the incentive issue. It’s not clear to me, for example, that the 30th performing team is that much measurably worse than the 22nd performing team, particularly if you have incentive to perform poorly to get a better draft pick. It’s a bit of a conundrum.”

So where does it end? The Jazz aren’t going to suddenly turn over a new leaf and be competitive the rest of the way. Half a million isn’t enough to deter or prevent future behavior — Utah has clearly shown it’s fine with throwing away money. Vince Williams Jr., who arrived at the deadline, played seven minutes in a 135-119 loss to Portland this week — he’s owed $2.3 million. (The Jazz are only on the hook for a prorated amount, but you get the point.) How do you also govern the other teams that could potentially fall under the same umbrella? Silver needs to move quickly before tanking takes on a life of its own, especially considering the talent of incoming players in a few months. 

On the topic of expansion, Silver essentially confirmed, then tried to reverse his words about the possibilities of Las Vegas and Seattle being the NBA’s next destinations. 

“My sense is at the March Board of Governors meetings, we’ll be having further discussions around an expansion process,” Silver said. “We won’t be voting at the March meeting, but we will likely come out of those meetings ready, prepared to take a next step in terms of potentially talking to interested parties. No, it doesn’t have to be a two-team expansion. Frankly, it doesn’t have to be any number of teams.”

Hmm, sure? There are a number of hoops to jump through before arriving at City X and/or Y as expansion teams, but kicking the can down the road by saying you’ll make a decision on making a decision in a few months is not as clear as one may think. 

In the case of Kawhi Leonard, Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and alleged cap circumvention, Silver conceded judiciary control to the Wachtell Lipton firm, the NBA’s go-to litigation arm. Ballmer and the Clippers are alleged to have orchestrated a $28 million endorsement deal — an absurd amount of money, enough to seriously threaten the integrity of the league. Maybe it’s not as outlandish as former referee Tim Donaghy’s scandal (Wachtell Lipton took around a year to finalize its investigation in that matter, according to The Athletic), but the league doesn’t need this to drag on for nearly the same length of time. The backlash, not only from fans and media, but the other 29 owners could be seismic. 

“I’m not involved day-to-day in the investigation,” Silver said. “I think, as I’ve said before, it’s enormously complex. You have a company in bankruptcy. You have thousands of documents, multiple witnesses that have been needed to be interviewed. Our charge to the Wachtell law firm is to do the work and then come back and make recommendations to the league office, and that’s where things now stand.”

All-Star Weekend, in its purest form, is supposed to be a celebration of the good parts of the NBA — the inclusivity, the opportunity and the excellence. An uplifting view of the state of the league. Instead, we’re reminded of the economic and moral perils of basketball at the highest level, and head into the break with a slew of unsolved problems. 

Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game is under a new format in which an international team is featured against two teams consisting of American players. 

The very fact that the league has evolved to the point where an international team can be justified, and even favored at BetMGM, is the result of decades worth of global investment and marketing to turn basketball into a sport with immensely broad appeal. 

International talent is here to stay 

The shift in global power isn’t lost on NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum. 

“There has never been more talent in the NBA than there is today, which is in large part due to the fact that basketball is more global than ever,” Tatum told Yahoo Sports. 

With the All-Star Game now featuring a whole team of non-American players, questions do linger in regard to how American observers will receive international stars such as Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić and Victor Wembanyama. 

But Tatum doesn’t waver. 

“At the end of the day, our fans are drawn to elite talent and compelling stories, no matter where a player is from,” Tatum said. “A great example is Victor Wembanyama, who is the fastest player in NBA history to reach more than 1 billion views on social media.” 

Historically speaking, Tatum’s point is sound. The league has been littered with international stars before, even if the sheer volume of current stars is unparalleled.

Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol and Manu Ginobili spearheaded the early-to-mid-2000s and laid the foundation within the league to embrace talent that wasn’t developed within the confines of the United States. 

The fact that all four players won championships allowed for an easier transition, especially for front offices, to look overseas and open their minds to new ideologies and development patterns. 

This approach has been rewarded with Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Giannis Antetokounmpo winning titles.

Tatum notes that “roughly 30%” of players in the NBA are international, which the league believes makes for adequate representation with the three All-Star-team format.

International expansion 

The next step for the NBA in embracing basketball globalism is, of course, a new league based in Europe, which has been widely discussed for years and is in the early stages of development. 

There has been some concern from people within European basketball communities in regard to how the NBA will implement a league and whether it’ll respect the history of European basketball. 

Tatum believes the NBA is indeed taking those considerations seriously. 

“We are being very intentional to ensure that our plans in Europe are built on the strong foundations that already exist on the continent. Celebrating, fostering, and elevating the rich traditions and history that make European basketball so special is fundamental to everything we want to create,” Tatum said. “Working closely with FIBA, we’re confident we can design a league that is authentically European — built by Europeans, played by Europeans and designed for European fans — while bringing that experience to more fans across the continent and creating new traditions.

“Our proposed league would give every team in a FIBA-affiliated domestic league in Europe a merit-based pathway to qualify on an annual basis, which we think will benefit players, domestic leagues, the broader ecosystem and, most importantly, fans.”

It’s crucial that Tatum and NBA commissioner Adam Silver stay true to their planned approach, as that is unquestionably the biggest challenge in front of them in regard to developing an “NBA Europe.” 

If European fans feel their history being pushed away, they likely will reject and protest the presence of an American league taking over their traditions and basketball habits. 

But getting a taste of international competition through this All-Star format could be a small step for the NBA to appeal to an international and particularly European audience. 

Global NBA tournament? 

The NBA founded a league in Africa in 2019 called the BAL, which had its inaugural season in 2021.

With another league presumably being developed in Europe and the presence of the NBA in North America, could the league be looking at making a huge intercontinental tournament with teams from each league? 

Tatum isn’t closing the door on that idea, even looping the concept into the fabric of the NBA Cup. 

“That’s something we’re still looking at, but in general we think there is a tremendous opportunity to reach even more fans by creating a new tournament or competition between NBA teams and teams from other leagues around the world, including the BAL and our potential league in Europe,” Tatum said. “And further down the line, I think we could potentially see teams from Europe and around the world participating in competitions like the NBA Cup. While there is nothing imminent, conceptually we’re open to anything that helps continue to elevate the sport worldwide.”

The NBA is thinking big, and looking at ways to activate more fan bases. 

Adding international teams into the NBA Cup makes a lot of sense and could be a streamlined way of introducing different teams to a global audience. 

We’ll see how it all materializes, but there’s no question that the NBA is thinking outside the box and beyond borders. 

Each week during the 2025-26 NBA season, we will take a deeper dive into some of the league’s biggest storylines in an attempt to determine whether trends are based more in fact or fiction moving forward.

Last week: The Thunder won the trade deadline

Fact or Fiction: The NBA’s response is enough to curb its tanking epidemic

The NBA’s tanking problem, it seems, creeps earlier and earlier into the season, to the point that two teams were fined on Thursday for violating the league’s tanking policies.

“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory?” NBA commissioner Adam Silver asked himself during a media availability on Saturday. “Yes.”

In consecutive games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, the Utah Jazz removed Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. prior to fourth quarters that were still in doubt and never reinserted either former All-Star into the contests. The Jazz blew a 17-point lead in the final 13:49 of a 120-117 loss to the Magic and actually held on to defeat the Heat 115-111.

Asked how close he came to subbing Markkanen and Jackson back in, Jazz coach Will Hardy said plainly, “I wasn’t,” blatantly baiting the league into taking action against them.

As Miami’s Bam Adebayo, whose Heat are vying for a play-in berth, conceded afterward, “We’ve got to find a way to win against teams that are, I guess you can say, trying to lose.”

So, there you had it: The Jazz were clearly undermining the integrity of the game, and an opposing player called them on it, which resulted in a $500,000 fine for Utah’s franchise.

“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” Silver said in Thursday’s press release. “Additionally, we are working with our competition committee and board of governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”

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The league’s board of governors plans to meet in March, when tanking will be a hot topic.

“We’re all in this together,” Silver added on Saturday, urging the NBA’s teams to follow its rules. “We want to have fair competition, we want to have fair systems and to keep an eye on the fans, most importantly, and their expectation that we’re going to be putting the best product forward.”

Exactly. And faith in what is a broken system is no solution. Nor are fines.

Jazz governor Ryan Smith is worth an estimated $2.6 billion, which means that $500,000 is about the same as $1 to someone who has $5,000 in his savings account. This is hardly a disincentive when the prize on the other end of their tank job — a high-end pick in what is considered a loaded draft — could increase the franchise’s value by hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars. Consider what Stephen Curry did for the Golden State Warriors.

As long as losing is the way to get the most ping-pong balls in the NBA’s annual draft lottery, teams that have no hope for the playoffs are going to intentionally lose games.

Alex Goodlett via Getty Images

This is an epidemic. As much as a third of the league has every incentive to lose from here on out, especially the Jazz and Washington Wizards, who each owe their first-round picks to other teams if they do not fall in the bottom eight. The playoff fields in each conference are all but set — with two months to go in the regular season. There is little left to play for.

The season is too long, and there are financial reasons why team owners would not want to give up regular-season games — for the gate receipts. But what are they selling to fans? Stars are resting for all or parts of these games, and the product is, at best, watered down. At worst? Some of the product is essentially rigged, with one or both teams trying to lose.

Think a $100,00 fine against the Indiana Pacers for resting a healthy Pascal Siakam is going to dissuade Indiana from trying everything in its power to secure a top-three pick — and the rights to AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer — in the draft? Think again.

The Pacers are hoping and praying that Dybantsa, Peterson or Boozer, or whomever they get, eventually commands half a billion dollars in salary and is worth every penny to them.

If the NBA must fine teams, it must fine them ping-pong balls, hitting them where it counts in the lottery and removing the incentive to lose. Teams will learn real quick not to tank.

“There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior,” conceded Silver.

Maybe it is time to scrap the lottery entirely. Make it a wheel. Drastic measures are required to root out a serious problem. What the NBA does about gambling, salary cap circumvention and its All-Star Game are other matters, but this issue seems fixable.

“We’ve got to look at some fresh thinking,” Silver added on Saturday. “What we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now is not working; there’s no question about it. Yes, is there more I can do? Have I attempted not only to respond to behavior we’ve seen but send a clear message that we’re going to be scrutinizing everything we see going forward? Absolutely.”

As is, the Jazz assigned season-ending surgery to Jackson for a non-cancerous growth in his knee. Even though the procedure is necessary, Utah’s actions leave us to wonder if the team might have elected to postpone Jackson’s surgery if it had any incentive to win.

Likewise, the Wizards apparently traded for both Trae Young and Anthony Davis with the reported intention of resting both stars for the remainder of the season. What is the NBA going to do — convince Young that a lingering quad injury is no longer a concern? Tell Davis not to worry about the hand and groin injuries that he sustained on the Dallas Mavericks?

It is too easy for teams to find reasons to rest their stars in pursuit of losses. Anyone can have some sore soft tissue, and no amount of NBA investigation may discover otherwise.

As Silver conceded, “It’s so clear that the incentives are misaligned.”

So, what to do if you are the NBA? Incentivize winning, maybe. Give the No. 1 pick to the non-playoff team that wins the most games after the All-Star break, or something like that. This is hardly a revolutionary idea, and it would surely lead to more problems (for example, would not teams try to duck out of the play-in tournament?), but it is at least something.

And something is better than what we have now, which is a gamble — accepting the league’s fines in hopes of landing a franchise savior — that billionaires are willing to take.

Otherwise, fans will have to take the issue into their own hands and stop going to or tuning in to these games. Paying $1,000 for a family of four to see a game that may or may not feature its star players is, on the other hand, a gamble most fans may no longer make.

Determination: Fiction. Obviously.

Stacy Revere via Getty Images

NBA All-Star Weekend is always one of the most fun sports events of the year, and 2026 is sure to be as lively as ever. While we love to watch the All-Star Game itself (which will debut a new round-robin competition format this year), there’s nothing like watching the pros face off during exhibitions like the slam dunk contest and the 3-point contest. This year, the 3-point contest will feature players like Donovan Mitchell, Tyrese Maxey and Bobby Portis Jr., as well as one somewhat surprising competitor, Damian Lillard, who has spent the entire season on the bench with an Achilles injury. Lillard is a two-time 3-point contest winner. 

The 3-point contest will kick off the All-Star Saturday broadcast on NBC and streaming on Peacock. Find out more about who else is competing, when to tune in, and get the full NBA All-Star Weekend schedule below.

How to watch the 2026 3-point contest at NBA All-Star Weekend:

Date: Feb. 14

Time: 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT

Location: Intuit Dome

TV channel: NBC

Streaming: Peacock

When is the 2026 3-point contest during NBA All-Star Weekend?

The State Farm 3-Point Contest will take place the day before the All-Star Game; you can tune in to the 3-point contest, the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest and the Kia Shooting Stars competition starting at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 14.

What channel is the 2026 3-point contest on?

The Majority of NBA All-Star Weekend events will air on NBC and stream live on Peacock, and that includes the 3-point contest.

Who is playing in the NBA All-Star 3-point contest?

• Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers

• Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

• Kon Kneuppel, Charlotte Hornets

• Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

• Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

• Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Bobby Portis, Milwaukee Bucks

• Norman Powell, Miami Heat

How to watch the 2026 3-point contest without cable:

More ways to watch NBA All-Star Weekend for free:

When is the 2026 NBA All-Star game?

The 2026 NBA All-Star Championship Game will be held this Sunday, Feb. 15.

NBA All-Star Weekend schedule:

Friday, Feb. 13

• Ruffles NBA All-Star Celebrity Game: 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

• Rising Stars Game 1 – Team Melo vs. Team Austin: 9 p.m. ET (Peacock)

• Rising Stars Game 2 – Team Vince vs. Team T-Mac: 9:55 p.m. ET (Peacock)

• Castrol Rising Stars Championship: 10:35 p.m. ET (Peacock)

• NBA HBCU Classic (Hampton vs. North Carolina A&T): 11 p.m. ET (Peacock)

Saturday, Feb. 14

• NBA All-Star Media Day presented by AT&T: 1:30 p.m. ET (NBA App, NBA TV)

• Commissioner Adam Silver News Conference: 4 p.m. ET (NBA App, NBA TV)

• NBA All-Star Saturday Night: 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• State Farm 3-Point Contest: 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• Kia Shooting Stars: 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• AT&T Slam Dunk Contest: 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

Sunday, Feb. 15

• NBA G League Next Up Game: 2:30 p.m. ET (NBA App)

• All-Star Game 1 – Stars vs. World: 5 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• All-Star Game 2 – Stripes vs. Game 1 Winner: 5:55 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• All-Star Game 3 – Stripes vs. Game 1 Loser: 6:25 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

• All-Star Championship: 7:10 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock)

Who is playing in the NBA All-Star Game?

USA Stars

• Head coach: J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons)

• Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

• Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

• Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons

• Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons

• Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

• Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

• Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

• Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

USA Stripes

• Head coach: Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs)

• Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics

• Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

• Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors*

• Brandon Ingram, Toronto Raptors

• Kevin Durant, Houston Rockets

• LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

• Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers

• Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Norman Powell, Miami Heat

World

• Head coach: Darko Rajaković

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

• Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers

• Luka Dončić, Los Angeles Lakers

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder*

• Nikola Jokić, Denver Nuggets

• Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets

• Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers

• Alperen Şengün, Houston Rockets

• Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks

• Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

“*” denotes unable to play because of injury

Who is participating in the NBA All-Star slam dunk contest?

• Keshad Johnson, Miami Heat

• Jase Richardson, Orlando Magic

• Carter Bryant, San Antonio Spurs

• Jaxson Hayes, Los Angeles Lakers