What time does the NBA Dunk Contest start today? TV channel, schedule, live streams, format for 2026 All-Star event originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend events are approaching rapidly. This year, the All-Star Game will feature a new format.
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Prior to the main event, though, All-Star Saturday Night will feature entertainment that fans will enjoy as well. As is customary, Saturday night will be headlined by the highly popular NBA Slam Dunk Contest.
The Slam Dunk Contest will cap off Saturday night’s events, following the Skills Challenge and 3-point Contest.
Who will walk away as the winner? Here is everything you need to know about the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, including TV and streaming options.
What time does the NBA Dunk Contest start today?
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Date: Saturday, Feb. 14
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Time: 8 p.m. ET
The NBA Slam Dunk contest will start around 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Feb. 14 and will also be held at Intuit Dome.
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How to watch the NBA Dunk Contest
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TV channels: NBC
Events throughout NBA All-Star Weekend will air live on NBC and can also be streamed on Peacock.
Peacock’s sports programming features live coverage of NFL Sunday Night Football, the NBA, Olympic and Paralympic Games, Big Ten football and basketball, Notre Dame football, Big East and Big 12 basketball, Premier League soccer, golf and more.
NBA Dunk Contest participants, format
This year’s Slam Dunk Contest features the following players:
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Carter Bryant, Spurs
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Jaxson Hayes, Lakers
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Keshad Johnson, Heat
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Jase Richardson, Magic
Each player will perform two dunks in the first round. The two players with the highest combined score will advance to the final round. The two finalists will perform an additional two dunks. The player with the highest total score will be crowned the winner.
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A panel of four judges will grade each dunk on a scale of 40 to 50. Fans with an NBA ID can submit their vote through the NBA app. All fan votes will be aggregated into one number, which will count as the fifth judge.
The average score of the five judges’ scores will count as the individual dunk score for the contestant.
2026 NBA All-Star schedule
|
Date |
Event |
Time (EST) |
Channel/Streaming |
|
Fri. Feb. 13 |
NBA All-Star Celebrity Game |
7 p.m. |
ESPN, ESPN app |
|
– |
NBA Rising Stars Game |
9 p.m. |
Peacock |
|
– |
NBA HBCU Classic |
11 p.m. |
Peacock |
|
Sat. Feb. 15 |
All-Star Media Day |
1:30 p.m. |
NBA TV |
|
– |
All-Star Saturday Night |
8 p.m. |
NBC, Peacock |
|
Sun. Feb. 16 |
NBA All-Star Game |
5 p.m. |
NBC, Peacock |
