Giannis Antetokounmpo to participate in NBA Slam Dunk contest

The NBA officially announced four participants for this year's NBA Slam Dunk contest on Tuesday, and as expected Milwaukee Bucks second-year swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo is among the youngsters headlining the All-Star Saturday Night event on February 14 at the Barclays Center. Joining Antetokounmpo will be two other players from his draft class: Orlando's Victor Oladipo and Brooklyn's own Mason Plumlee. Minnesota high-flying rookie Zach LaVine is the fourth player to enter.

More importantly, the format of the contest itself will go back to its classic ways, replacing the unpopular "freestyle" and team-based routine implemented last year. Each player will get two dunks in the first round (three attempts), and then the players with the top two scores will proceed to the final round with the same format. There will be five judges scoring the dunks.

Barring injury, the "Greek Freak" will be the first Bucks player since Ray Allen in 1997 to participate in the dunk festivities. At the beginning of the month, he mentioned to Brew Hoop that if invited he would take the challenge. He's a man of his word.