2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest picks, odds: Expert locks in NBA predictions for All-Star Saturday Night

The annual exhibition of high-flyers will be on display at the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest on Saturday night. The four-man field features two rookies in Jase Richardson and Carter Bryant, as well as two vets in Jaxson Hayes and Keshad Johnson. Mac McClung, who has won each of the last three competitions, won't be going for an unprecedented fourth victory at the Slam Dunk Contest 2026. The Intuit Dome in Los Angeles will host the NBA Slam Dunk Contest, which is the third event of NBA All-Star Saturday Night, which begins at 5 p.m. ET.

The latest NBA Slam Dunk Contest odds have Bryant as the +180 favorite, followed by Hayes at +250. Johnson comes in at +320, while Richardson -- son of two-time slam dunk champion Jason Richardson -- is the biggest longshot at +350.

Before making any 2026 Slam Dunk picks or All-Star weekend predictions, see the picks from SportsLine's NBA expert Larry Hartstein.

Hartstein is SportsLine's senior analyst and a founding member of the Early Edge podcast. He's excelled in multiple sports, and enters the All-Star break on an 8-5 run on NBA props. Anybody following him could be way up.

Now, Hartstein has analyzed the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk contest from all angles and is delivering his picks for SportsLine. We can tell you that Hartstein is fading Bryant (+180), despite him being the favorite.

Instead, Hartstein's Slam Dunk winner is a longshot he describes as someone who "explodes to the rim with authority". You ABSOLUTELY need to see who it is before locking in any picks of your own.

So who wins the 2026 Slam Dunk Contest? ... Join SportsLine right now to get Saturday's NBA Slam Dunk pick, all from the SportsLine expert who has nailed eight of his last 13 NBA prop picks!