Kemba Walker, Miles Bridges to compete in All-Star events

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 2019 NBA All-Star starter Kemba Walker was selected to participate in the MTN Dew 3-Point Contest and Hornets rookie Miles Bridges will compete in the AT&T Slam Dunk during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night, which will be at the Spectrum Center on Feb. 16, the NBA announced Wednesday.

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The court also includes Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns, Seth Curry of the Portland Trail Blazers, Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, Danny Green of the Toronto Raptors, Joe Harris of the Brooklyn Nets, Buddy Hield of the Sacramento Kings, Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, Khris Middleton of the Milwaukee Bucks and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks.

This will be the second time taking part in the competition for Walker, who leads the Eastern Conference and ranks fifth in the NBA this season in both total three-point field goals (165) and three-point field goals per game (a career-high 3.2).  In 2017, he finished third behind Eric Gordon and Kyrie Irving after scoring 19 points in the first round and 17 points in the championship round, the Hornets said in a news release.

Walker joins Dell Curry (1992 and 1994) and Glen Rice (1996, 1997 and 1998) as the third Hornets player to compete in the 3-Point Contest multiple times. Scott Burrell also participated in 1995.

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The MTN Dew 3-Point Contest is a two-round, timed competition in which five shooting locations are positioned around the three-point arc.  Four racks contain four orange balls (each worth one point) and one multicolored “money” ball (worth two points).  The fifth rack is a special “all money ball” rack, which each participant can place at any of the five shooting locations.  Every ball on this rack is worth two points. The players have one minute to shoot as many of the 25 balls as they can.  The three competitors with the highest scores in the first round, advance to the championship round, the Hornets said.

Bridges will be joined in the AT&T Slam Dunk by John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks, Hamidou Diallo of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dennis Smith Jr. of the New York Knicks.

In his first season in the league Bridges has earned the attention of fans and media alike with his rim-rocking dunks. Through 50 games played Bridges has recorded 36 dunks, ranking fifth among all rookies this season.

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Bridges will be the seventh player to represent Charlotte in the dunk contest, along with Rex Chapman (1990 and 1991), Kendall Gill (1991), Larry Johnson (1992), Ricky Davis (2000), Baron Davis (2001) and Gerald Wallace (2010).

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The AT&T Slam Dunk is a two-round event. The first round consists of four contestants performing two dunks each. The two contestants with the highest combined scores will advance to the second round. The two finalists each complete two dunks with the highest combined scored deciding the winner.

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