Jeremy Evans added to NBA's dunk contest - ABC 4

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 Sports) – The NBA announced today that Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans has been added to the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk that will be held on Feb. 25 at Amway Center in Orlando (TNT, 6 p.m. MT). Evans joins a group of three other players in the Slam Dunk that features a series of firsts, including four first-time participants, a new single-round format in which the winner will be chosen solely by fan vote, and the introduction of fan voting via Twitter.

A 2010 second-round draft pick (55th overall) out of Western Kentucky, 61 of Evans' 88 made shots over his first two years have been dunks, 30 of those on alley-oops. His dunk percentage of 69.3 percent is the highest in the NBA over the last two seasons. The 6-9, 194-pound high-riser owns career averages of 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

Evans becomes the sixth player in Jazz history selected to participate in the event, joining Darrell Griffith (1984, 1985), Blue Edwards (1990, 1991), David Benoit (1993), Jamie Watson (1995) and DeShawn Stevenson (2001).

In addition to Evans, the three other players who will vie for the Sprite Slam Dunk championship include the Houston Rockets' Chase Budinger, the Indiana Pacers' Paul George, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Derrick Williams.

A new format will be implemented for the 2012 competition. The contest will consist of only one round and each competitor will execute three dunks. Fan voting will open after all four players have completed their first dunk. Previously, the Sprite Slam Dunk contest consisted of two rounds, with the first round scored by a panel of judges which determined two finalists.

Beginning this year, only fan voting will be utilized in determining the winner and voting also will expand to social media. For the first time ever, fans will be able to cast votes on Twitter by posting a corresponding letter assigned to each dunker along with the hashtag #SpriteSlam. Since 2008, fans have determined the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk through SMS TXT and voting on NBA.com as part of the "They Dunk. You Decide" campaign.

The Sprite Slam Dunk is part of NBA All-Star 2012, which also includes the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by State Farm featuring the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, Haier Shooting Stars and Taco Bell Skills Challenge; NBA All-Star Jam Session; and the 61st NBA All-Star Game.

Sprite, the world's leading lemon-lime soft drink, has been the official soft drink of the NBA since 1994 and the title partner of the All-Star Slam Dunk competition since 2003.

Below is a list of previous Sprite Slam Dunk winners:

SPRITE SLAM DUNK YEAR-BY-YEAR WINNERS
•1984—Larry Nance, Phoenix
•1985—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
•1986—Spud Webb, Atlanta
•1987—Michael Jordan, Chicago
•1988—Michael Jordan, Chicago
•1989—Kenny Walker, New York
•1990—Dominique Wilkins, Atlanta
•1991—Dee Brown, Boston
•1992—Cedric Ceballos, Phoenix
•1993—Harold Miner, Miami
•1994—Isaiah Rider, Minnesota
•1995—Harold Miner, Miami
•1996—Brent Barry, L.A. Clippers
•1997—Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers
•2000—Vince Carter, Toronto
•2001—Desmond Mason, Seattle
•2002—Jason Richardson, Golden State
•2003—Jason Richardson, Golden State
•2004—Fred Jones, Indiana
•2005—Josh Smith, Atlanta
•2006—Nate Robinson, New York
•2007—Gerald Green, Boston
•2008—Dwight Howard, Orlando
•2009—Nate Robinson, New York
•2010—Nate Robinson, New York
•2011—Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers

2012 SPRITE SLAM DUNK COMPETITORS
Participant Team Pos. Ht. Wt.
Chase Budinger Houston Rockets F 6-7 218
Jeremy Evans Utah Jazz F 6-9 194
Paul George Indiana Pacers G 6-8 215
Derrick Williams Minnesota Timberwolves F 6-8 241

23 Feb, 2012