The NBA announced this Tuesday evening that rookie Matas Buzelis will participate in the 2025 Slam Dunk Contest at the All-Star Weekend in San Francisco this upcoming Saturday, February 15. The Bulls forward will become the fourth player to sign up to compete in this year’s competition.
The 20-year-old will join two-time defending champion Mac McClung of the Orlando Magic, rookie Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs, and Milwaukee Bucks’ guard Andre Jackson Jr., in the notorious All-Star Weekend contest.
Buzelis, who happens to be a Chicago native, will now become the fifth player in franchise history to participate in an NBA Slam Dunk Contest. The young star will join Orlando Woolridge (1984, 1985), Michael Jordan (1985, 1987, 1988), Scottie Pippen (1990) and Tyrus Thomas (2007).
Matas Buzelis has ARRIVED. pic.twitter.com/H7cRuavgcx
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) February 5, 2025
Matas is also set to become the third rookie of the group along with Jordan and Thomas to represent the Bulls in the dunk contest. So far this season, the 20-year-old has competed in 48 games as a rookie, averaging 5.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 13.6 minutes per game.
The Chicago forward has recorded a team-high 39 blocks, a stat that currently ranks first among all rookie forwards and 5th across all NBA rookies.
The competition is set to take place from February 14-16 in San Francisco, while the NBA Slam Dunk Contest starts at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, February 15 and the 74th NBA All-Star Game tips off at 7 p.m. CT on the final day, which is Sunday, February 16.
Orlando’s Mac McClung returns to NBA Slam Dunk Contest hoping to achieve historic three-peat
The reigning two-time champion is set to make another appearance at the All-Star Weekend in San Francisco next month, hoping to achieve something that no one has ever done before. Will the young star be able to claim the first dunk contest three-peat?
The 26-year-old, who back in October signed a two-way contract in Orlando, has only played on NBA game this 2024-25 campaign, but has enjoyed a constant role in their G League affiliate team.
Standing at 6-foot-2, Mac currently holds the slam dunk title for dunking over 7-foot-1 Shaquille O’Neal in last year’s competition in Indianapolis. By jumping over the Hall of Famer, he became the fifth player in NBA history to earn back-to-back dunk contests.
“Shaq was so cool to put that high school jersey on, man, it almost made me emotional that he would do that,” Mac expressed last February. “When he put it on, he said, ‘You better not miss it.’ I said, ‘OK, I won’t miss it.’”
Even though Nate Robinson is a three-time winner of this trophy, no one has ever achieved this feat consecutively. McClung, who led the G League in scoring with 25.7 points per game in the 2023-24 campaign, was recently named G League MVP for the Osceola Magic.
