The Step Back’s Official Guide to All-Star Weekend prop bets
By Adam McGee
Slam Dunk Contest
In many ways the jewel in the crown that is the All-Star Weekend, the Slam Dunk Contest regained some of its luster last year as Aaron Gordon and Zach LaVine went head-to-head in what will go down in history as one of the event’s great battles.
Unfortunately there’ll be no repeat matchup this year as LaVine nurses a torn ACL rather than looking to win his third straight Dunk Contest, but Gordon returns as a headliner in need of a new rival to emerge.
That makes it no real surprise that the consensus places the Magic forward as a heavy favorite to achieve the victory that he may have deserved 12 months ago. Still, there’s certainly cause for intrigue as the unheralded rookie Derrick Jones Jr. seems to have something special in the works.
Glenn Robinson III has the necessary athleticism and explosiveness to shock the field too, while if DeAndre Jordan was to prevail, he’d be the first center to do so since Dwight Howard‘s prop-heavy routine in 2008.
(All odds for this market are accurate as of 2/15, and can be found listed at bet365, Bovada, and Paddy Power)
Aaron Gordon
Odds: -170 (bet365), -175 (Bovada), -225 (Paddy Power)
Derrick Jones Jr.
Odds: +160 (bet365), +175 (Bovada), +150 (Paddy Power)
Glenn Robinson III
Odds: +850 (bet365), +700 (Bovada), +850 (Paddy Power)
DeAndre Jordan
Odds: +1200 (bet365), +700 (Bovada), +2000 (Paddy Power)