Los Angeles Lakers center Jaxson Hayes confused NBA fans around the country following his opening dunk in the 2026 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest. Hayes, who was the final dunker in the First Round, took flight from near the free-throw line for a basic one-handed dunk.

The NBA announced Tuesday that former players Dwight Howard, Dominique Wilkins, Nate Robinson and Brent Barry will be the judges for this year's Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend.

Hall of Famers Dominique Wilkins (who won the Slam Dunk contest in 1985 and ’90) and Dwight Howard (2008) lead the way, while three-time Slam Dunk contest winner Nate Robinson (’06, ’09, ’10) and Brent Barry (1996) round out the former NBA players who will serve as judges.

In the past 30 years, only four players from the Los Angeles Lakers roster have participated in the All-Star Dunk Contest. Jaxson Hayes was the first player in the last six years, since Dwight Howard in 2019-20,

The NBA is in a positive space after a resoundingly successful All-Star Weekend, the first one in a long time. The new format put forth by commissioner Adam Silver, which pitted All-Stars from around the world against two American teams composed of the young guns and the old heads,