As NBA All-Star Weekend rapidly approaches, lineups are starting to be released for the game and for the skills competitions during the Friday and Saturday showcases. Earlier this week, NBA legends Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, and Carmelo Anthony drafted their teams for Friday’s Rising Stars showcase, and on Thursday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported two of the four contestants in All-Star Saturday Night’s capstone, the Slam Dunk Contest.
Hayes and Bryant will both be making their first appearances in the dunk contest. The remaining two participants have yet to be announced, but three-time defending champion Mac McClung reportedly won’t compete, and neither will Bryant’s teammate Stephon Castle, who finished as the runner-up to McClung last February.
Hayes and Bryant aren’t household names like McClung and the rising star Castle, but each has thrown down plenty of ferocious dunks — and, especially in Bryant’s case, missed dunks — this season. In order to familiarize you with each contestant’s dunk package, I’ve gone through and picked out the three best slams that each has thrown down this season by the NBA’s Dunk Score metric.
Jaxson Hayes, Center, Los Angeles Lakers
November 2, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat (Dunk Score: 78.7)
Talk about sending a message early: in just Hayes’ fourth game of the season and the Lakers’ fifth possession of the game, Hayes set a screen on the Heat’s Andrew Wiggins, dove to the hoop, and went up for a vicious one-handed jam over the contest of trailing Miami center Kel’el Ware. He took off at least two feet outside the restricted area, and at its apex, the ball was nearly to the top of the square. It scored a 99.1 on the power aspect of the Dunk Score metric, making it the eighth-most powerful dunk by any player this season.
December 14, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns (Dunk Score: 80.7)
Hayes’ second-best dunk of the season came more than a month later in a road game against Phoenix, though it came on a completely different action. Early in the fourth quarter, he dove to the rim, and LeBron James found him with a perfectly-thrown lob from the left wing, which he converted with Collin Gillespie hovering nearby. It was Hayes’ second-most impressive vertical leap of the season, grading out as an 85.5 in that portion of the Dunk Score metric. It reached the third-highest apex, and he recorded his second-longest hang time.
December 14, 2025: Los Angeles Lakers at Phoenix Suns (Dunk Score: 98.1)
However, it wasn’t nearly Hayes’ best dunk of the game. That had come just five minutes of game time earlier, when Jake LaRavia recorded a steal, started the fast-break, and found Hayes at the elbow for a powerful two-handed poster on Oso Ighodaro. The play gave Los Angeles its first lead since late in the first quarter. Ighodaro fouled him in the process, and he made the free throw. It was Hayes’ fourth-most powerful dunk of the season, eighth-most stylish, and his takeoff point was his third-farthest. Ighodaro’s contest was also the second-best of any of Hayes’ dunks this season.
Honorable Mention: January 26, 2026: Los Angeles Lakers at Chicago Bulls (Dunk Score: 71.3)
The dunk that Hayes is most likely to replicate in the Dunk Contest, though, happened just a few nights ago, when he stole it from Josh Giddey, dribbled up the court, and put the ball between his legs for an Eastbay to emphatically seal the Lakers’ win. It was one of just three dunks this season to score a perfect 100 by Dunk Score’s style metric, and though his mediocre power and height caused it to fall outside of the top three, it went viral on social media.
Carter Bryant, Shooting Guard, San Antonio Spurs
November 2, 2025: San Antonio Spurs at Phoenix Suns (Dunk Score: 40.9)
With time winding down in the Spurs’ blowout defeat against the Suns, Bryant stole Jordan Goodwin’s pass at its apex, tipped it to himself, passed it to David Jones Garcia, and got it back for an understated two-handed slam. It was both the best jump and the furthest of the four graded dunks that Bryant has recorded this season.
December 8, 2025: San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans (Dunk Score: 45.5)
Just over a month later, Bryant threw down another dunk. It once again came on a fast-break lob, though this time, it was a Herbert Jones missed layup, not a Bryant steal, that started the break. The second that Kelly Olynyk came down with the rebound, Bryant was already nearly at half court, and though Keldon Johnson’s lob was a bit low, Carter made the adjustment with a slight double-pump to throw it down with authority. It was his most powerful, most stylish, and fastest dunk of the season, and it tied for his longest hang time.
January 19, 2026: San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz (Dunk Score: 46.4)
Bryant’s best dunk of the season came a week and a half ago in San Antonio’s win over the Jazz. Walter Clayton Jr. lost the ball and Dylan Harper stole it and passed it ahead to De’Aaron Fox, who dished a flashy one-handed scoop lob to Bryant, who hung in the air and slammed it with authority in front of a hyped Frost Bank Center crowd. It was Bryant’s highest recorded vertical on a dunk this season, as well as his highest ball speed overall.
Honorable Mention: January 19, 2026: San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz (Pregame Warmups)
Perhaps it’s unfair to judge Bryant’s dunk package based on what he’s produced in games, given that he’s played only 298 minutes this season and Hayes has played 671. Prior to the game against Utah, a San Antonio fan account posted a video of Bryant throwing down a windmill dunk off the lob in which his head appeared to get above the rim and the ball slammed through the rim with a resounding echo. If it were in a game, it surely would have scored more highly than any of the dunks that he has thrown down during live competition.
