The contest now features two former Huskies
The 2025 NBA Slam Dunk Contest will now feature two former UConn Huskies, with Andre Jackson Jr. having announced his commitment to participate. Jackson will Stephon Castle of the Spurs as former Huskies in this year’s upcoming contest.
ANDRE JACKSON’S HEAD WAS ABOVE THE RIM ON THIS DUNK pic.twitter.com/xQ8lyBSd3H
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 13, 2024
The field will eventually feature four contestants, but with the final unknown, Jackson, Castle and Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls will have to wait to see how the competition will round out.
Jackson played three seasons in Storrs, taking home the national championship in his final year as a junior. He was drafted in the second round to the Orlando Magic but traded on draft night to the Milwaukee Bucks, where he has since spent his first two professional seasons.
The wing averages just 3.6 points per game this season and 2.6 in his career but no doubt has the explosiveness and high-flying ability to showcase some good dunks when the competition takes place in less than a month. Jackson will be the fifth Bucks player all time to participate in the event, joining fellow Husky Ray Allen, who competed in the event in 1997. Pat Connaughton (2020), Giannis Antetokounmpo (2015) and Paul Pressley (1986) all also formerly represented the Bucks in the contest. Jackson could be the first to win the event in the franchise’s history.
No UConn alumni has ever won the Slam Dunk Contest, but with the additional of Jackson, those odds just doubled. See who will take home the crown Feb. 15 inside the Golden State Warrior’s Chase Center at 8:00 p.m. ET.