2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest picks, odds, field, time: Expert predictions for NBA All-Star Saturday Night

Imagn Images

The annual exhibition of high-flyers will be on display at the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest on Saturday night. The four-man field features two rookies in Jase Richardson and Carter Bryant, as well as two vets in Jaxson Hayes and Keshad Johnson. Mac McClung, who has won each of the last three competitions, won’t be going for an unprecedented fourth victory at the Slam Dunk Contest 2026. Each player will have two dunks in the first round, with those with the highest average score advancing to the finals, which will also consist of two dunks.

The Intuit Dome in Los Angeles will host the NBA Slam Dunk contest, the third event of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which begins at 5 p.m. ET. The newest 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest odds have Bryant as the +180 favorite, per FanDuel Sportsbook, followed by Hayes at +250. Johnson comes in at +320, while Richardson — son of two-time slam dunk champion Jason Richardson — is the biggest longshot at +350. Before making any 2026 Slam Dunk Contest picks or predictions, you need to see the best bets from SportsLine’s NBA expert Larry Hartstein.

New users can target the DraftKings promo code, which offers $300 in bonus bets if your $5+ bet wins:

Hartstein is SportsLine’s senior analyst and a founding member of the Early Edge podcast. He’s excelled in multiple sports, and enters the All-Star break having nailed eight of his past 13 NBA prop picks. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen strong returns.

Now, Hartstein has analyzed the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest from all angles and is delivering his picks for SportsLine. You can head to SportsLine now to see Hartstein’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest best bets.

Top 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest picks, predictions

One shocker: Hartstein is fading Bryant, despite being the +180 favorite. The Spurs rookie clearly has lots of promise as an overall player, as just three days before the dunk contest, San Antonio cut former top-10 pick Jeremy Sochan to get Bryant on the court more. But with Bryant’s youthful exuberance also comes a bit of risk, as he’s gone on record in saying one of his planned dunks will “test my limits,” which sounds like a great idea on paper. However, adding complexity to a dunk raises the probability of then missing that dunk, which would hurt his score from the judges.

Missed dunks have been an issue for the rookie in games, as he’s only connected on nine dunks across 14 dunk attempts (64.3%). Granted those came against defenses, but for comparison, those five missed dunks are more than Johnson and Richardson combined this season, while Hayes has connected on 90.4% of his dunks.

Additionally, nearly all of Bryant’s dunks have come in garbage time, so the unknown of how he’ll perform when the spotlight is on him is yet another reason to fade the favorite. You can see who to back here.

New users can check out the newest Kalshi bonus code CBSSPORTS to get a $10 bonus after making $10 in trades:

How to make NBA Slam Dunk contest 2026 picks

Hartstein’s Slam Dunk contest winner is a longshot he says “explodes to the rim.” You can find out who it is, and see the rest of Hartstein’s NBA Slam Dunk contest best bets at SportsLine.

So who wins the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest? Visit SportsLine now to see Hartstein’s picks for the Slam Dunk Contest 2026, all from the NBA expert who is on an 8-5 roll on NBA prop picks, and find out.