DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks announced today that rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr. will compete in the 2018 Verizon Slam Dunk as part of State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night. The event will take place at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, Feb. 17, and be shown live on TNT.
Smith (6-3, 195) will become just the third player in Mavericks history to compete in the slam dunk contest, along with Tony Dumas and Michael Finley. Finley finished third at the event held in Cleveland in 1997, while Dumas failed to advance past the first round of the 1995 competition held in Phoenix.
The explosive guard out of North Carolina State, who was also selected to play in the 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars on Friday, Feb. 16, holds averages of 14.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.95 steals and 28.9 minutes per game in 44 games (all starts) for Dallas this season.
Smith ranks second on the Mavericks in scoring, assists and steals per game. He also ranks third on the team in dunks (26), behind power forwards Dwight Powell (47) and Maxi Kleber (32). Among rookie leaders, Smith ranks fifth in scoring, 11th in rebounding, fourth in assists, fifth in steals and seventh in minutes per game.
The Verizon Slam Dunk will be the third and final event held on State Farm® All-Star Saturday Night. It will be preceded by the Taco Bell Skills Challenge and the JBL Three-Point Contest. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. CT on TNT.
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