ERIC BLEDSOE, JEREMY EVANS, KENNETH FARIED, GERALD GREEN
JAMES WHITE AND TERRENCE ROSS SET TO COMPETE IN
2013 SPRITE® SLAM DUNK
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2013 – The 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk will feature six dunkers competing in a two-round competition as part of State Farm All-Star Saturday Night. The new format will pit the Eastern Conference against the Western Conference in an exciting night of competition that will also raise money for charity.
The Western Conference will be represented by the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz along with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe and Denver Nuggets’ Kenneth Faried. The Eastern Conference lineup will include the Indiana Pacers’ Gerald Green, Toronto Raptors’ Terrence Ross and New York Knicks’ James White.
Highlights of the six participants in this year’s Sprite Slam Dunk may be viewed by clicking on the links below:
Eric Bledsoe
Jeremy Evans
Kenneth Faried
Gerald Green
Terrence Ross
James White
The 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk contest will consist of the three Eastern Conference players competing against the three from the Western Conference in a two-round competition. The highest scoring East competitor and the highest scoring West competitor from the Team Round will compete head-to-head to determine the champion. Fan voting will open at the beginning of the Championship Round and the player with the highest percentage of combined votes from all platforms will be champion. (Complete rules for the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night attached).
Evans won the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk contest, defeating Houston's Chase Budinger and Indiana’s Paul George in a tight race that included over 4 million fan votes to decide the champion.
This year fans will be able to cast votes for the champion in one of four ways:
1.) SMS Text Message* - Text the player’s last name to 38657 (DUNKS)
2.) Twitter - Tweet #SpriteSlam with the player’s last name
3.) Vote via the official NBA All-Star App (Available on iTunes, Google Play and at https://www.nba.com/allstarapp/)
4.) Log on to NBA.com from any computer or mobile device.
Since 2008, fans have determined the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk through SMS TXT and voting on NBA.com
State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will also feature the Taco Bell Skills Challenge; the Sears Shooting Stars; and the Foot Locker Three-Point Contest. The NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17, will air live on TNT, ESPN Radio and in 215 countries and will be broadcast in 47 languages.
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—Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz
2013 EASTERN CONERENCE SPRITE SLAM DUNK COMPETITORS
Participant, Team Pos. Ht. Wt.
Gerald Green, Indiana Pacers F 6-8 210
Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors G 6-6 195
James White, New York Knicks G-F 6-7 215
2013 WESTERN CONERENCE SPRITE SLAM DUNK COMPETITORS
Participant, Team Pos. Ht. Wt.
Eric Bledsoe, Los Angeles Clippers G 6-1 195
Jeremy Evans, Utah Jazz F 6-9 194
Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets F 6-8 228
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates. For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.
# # #
2013 Sprite Slam Dunk
SIX COMPETITORS – Three players representing the Eastern Conference and three players representing the Western Conference will compete in the two-round competition.
COMPETITION RULES
- TIME LIMIT – Upon receiving the ball from the referee, players will have a 1:30 to complete their dunk. Attempts resulting in missed dunks are unlimited during the 1:30 time period. However, once a made dunk is ruled by the referee, that dunk will be scored. There is no replacing a made dunk, even if time remains.
- FINAL ATTEMPT – If a player has not begun an attempt that results in a made dunk when the 1:30 clock expires, he will have one final attempt. An attempt is defined as the ball leaving the player’s (or an assistant’s) hand in an effort to finish the dunk (in any motion other than dribbling). The referee is the final judge and will advise the dunker when they have used their attempt.
- OFFICIATING – A referee will judge whether a dunk is considered a made dunk or a missed dunk.
- PROPS – Use of any props or people to assist in any way during the slam dunk competition must be approved in advance of the competition by the NBA Basketball Operations department.
- INSTANT REPLAY – At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for rules compliance.
TEAM ROUND
- Each competitor will complete two dunks which will be scored on a scale of 6 to 10 by a panel of 5 judges.
- Each dunk has a maximum score of 50 and a minimum score of 30.
- FIRST DUNK - All three Eastern Conference players will complete their first dunk, followed by the three West players.
- SECOND DUNK - All three Eastern Conference players will complete their second dunk, followed by the three West players. The second dunk order WITHIN each conference will be determined by first dunk scores (lowest to highest).
- The three Eastern Conference players will have their scores (all six dunks) added to get a TOTAL score.
- The three Western Conference players will have their scores (all six dunks) added to get a TOTAL score.
- 50 POINTS will be awarded to the conference that has the highest TOTAL score after the Team Round.
- Each time a player scores a perfect 50 for a dunk during the Team Round, his conference will have 10 BONUS POINTS added to its overall All-Star Saturday Night score.
- The East player with the highest combined score for his two dunks advances to the Championship Round.
- The West player with the highest combined score for his two dunks advances to the Championship Round.
CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
- The highest scoring East competitor and the highest scoring West competitor from the Team Round will compete head-to-head to determine the competition champion.
- The competitor with the lower combined score for his two Team Round dunks will go first.
- The players will alternate, each completing two dunks in the Championship Round.
- At the beginning of the Championship Round, fan voting polls will open with four voting options: 1) SMS Text Message* - Text the player’s last name to 38657(DUNKS) 2) Twitter** - Tweet #SpriteSlam with the player’s last name 3) Vote via the NBA All-Star App
4) Log on to NBA.com from any computer or mobile device
- The player who has the highest percentage of combined votes from all platforms will be crowned champion.
- 55 POINTS will be awarded to the conference of the competition champion.
TIEBREAKERS
- TEAM ROUND – In the event both conferences achieve the same TOTAL score, the 50 points for the Team Round will be split evenly (25 points awarded to each conference).
- To Advance from Team Round – A tie amongst conference players after the Team Round will result in a one dunk “dunk-off” to determine the Championship Round participant.
- To Determine Champion – If each dunker receives 50.00% of the votes, a one-dunk “dunk-off” will take place to determine the champion. All “dunk-offs” will be judged by the panel of judges and the time limit rule will apply.
*SMS Text Message Voting – Number of votes per user is unlimited. Voting is available to users on all major wireless carriers in the United States, plus most 2nd tier carriers. Voting is also available to wireless users in Canada. Message and data rates may apply.
**Twitter Voting - Number of votes is limited to 100 votes per user. Voting is available to users with a valid Twitter account. If accessed from a mobile device, message and data rates may apply.
State Farm All-Star Saturday Night
WESTERN CONFERENCE VS. EASTERN CONFERENCE
State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will be an event pitting West vs. East in four competitions: Sears Shooting Stars, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest and Sprite Slam Dunk.
CHARITIES
Each conference will be competing for two charities, with $350,000 going to the winning conference’s charities and $150,000 to the runner-up’s charities.
TEAMS
- Each conference has an All-Star captain and an equal number of competitors, as follows:
- Eleven NBA players (Shooting Stars=2; Skills Challenge=3; Three-Point=3, Slam Dunk=3)*
- Two WNBA players and two NBA legends (conference aligned) for participation in the Shooting Stars competition.
*Any player announced as an All-Star Saturday Night participant when the "conference team" is named (February 7th), who is then traded by his NBA team to the opposing conference, will continue to compete for the conference to which he was originally assigned.
COMPETITION STRUCTURE
- Each competition will have two rounds.
- TEAM ROUND – All competitors within each conference will have their scores added together to get a TOTL time/score.
- Points will be awarded to the conference that wins the Team Round (best TOTAL time/score).
- The highest scoring competitor from each conference will advance to the Championship Round.
- CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND – A head-to-head competition between the highest scoring West and highest scoring East competitor from the Team Round, to decide each competition champion.
- Points will be awarded to the conference whose competitor wins the Championship Round.
- The conference with the most points at the end of the night will be crowned State Farm All-Star Saturday Night Champions.
ALL-STAR SATURDAY NIGHT SCORING
- Sears Shooting Stars
- TEAM Round – 20 POINTS awarded to the conference with the fastest TOTAL time.
- CHAMPIONSHIP Round – 10 POINTS awarded to the conference of the champion.
- Taco Bell Skills Challenge
- TEAM Round – 30 POINTS awarded to the conference with the fastest TOTAL time.
- CHAMPIONSHIP Round – 10 POINTS awarded to the conference of the champion.
- Foot Locker Three-Point Contest
- TEAM Round – 40 POINTS awarded to the conference with the highest TOTAL score.
- CHAMPIONSHIP Round – 10 POINTS awarded to the conference of the champion.
- Sprite Slam Dunk
- TEAM Round – 50 POINTS awarded to the conference with the highest TOTAL score.
- CHAMPIONSHIP Round – 55 POINTS awarded to the conference of the champion.
- In addition, each time a player scores a perfect 50 for a dunk during the TEAM Round, his conference will have 10 BONUS POINTS added to its overall All-Star Saturday Night score.
*Please see the four individual competition rules documents for details regarding their specific scoring, timing and order of competition.