Donovan Mitchell will replace Aaron Gordon in the Dunk Contest

Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell looks to add to his spectacular season with his entrance into this year’s Dunk Contest.

Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell will replace injured Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon for the NBA All-Star Weekend’s dunk contest. Because Gordon has missed the Magic’s last three games due to a hip injury, Gordon elected not to participate.

This season, Mitchell has exploded onto the scene and into the NBA’s Rookie of the Year conversation. Mitchell is averaging 19.7 points, 3.5 assists, and 3.4 rebounds a game for Utah. Per ESPN, Mitchell has two 40-plus-point performances under his belt.

Fans of the dunk contest may be disappointed about the absence of Gordon, though. Gordon had competed in the past two All-Star dunk contests. In 2016, he finished as a runner-up in. In 2017 he was eliminated in the first round. Gordon would always put on a  show, even though he did not come out victorious.

Below, Mitchell shared his feelings on participating in the dunk contest.

Joining Mitchell in participating in the 2018 dunk contest will be Indiana Pacers’ guard Victor Oladipo, Los Angeles Lakers’ forward Larry Nance Jr. and the Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. The Dunk Contest has long moved away from having star NBA players participating. Amare Stoudemire, Damian Lillard, DeAndre Jordan, Paul George and Dwight Howard are the last of the notable stars participated in the contest. Star players perhaps haven’t felt compelled to enter the contest, they would rather focus on the All-Star game/entertainment instead.

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A dunk contest win for Mitchell will all but make him a household name.  Mitchell has the opportunity for casual basketball fans to find out exactly who he is.

The contest will take place on Saturday, Feb. 17 on TNT at 8:30 p.m. ET.