NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest Thread: Raptors' Ross Set for Take-Off

Well, this might be it in terms of national exposure for the Toronto Raptors this season.

The Dinos, despite a strong finish post-All-Star break, are still a long ways away from a playoff berth, so Terrence Ross' performance in tonight's Slam Dunk contest might be this year's main event.

However this won't be an easy contest for the former Washington Husky.

He's up against five other stellar competitors including last year's Slam Dunk champ, a former NBA Slam Dunk contest competitor, and the man known as James "Flight" White among others.

Here's the full rundown from SB Nation's post on the subject:

East: Pure athleticism is the theme for the Eastern Conference team. New York Knicksreserve James "Flight" White had much backing in the underground of basketball culture considering his great success in dunk competitors since he left high school. He apparently already has his dunks picked out, and all of them will net him perfect scores, he said.

But it wouldn't be surprising if White gets a challenge in the first round. Gerald Green returns to the event as an Indiana Pacer after giving fans quite the show in two previous appearances in 2007 and 2008. Green competed as a member of the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves.

The darkhorse in the event could be Toronto Raptors rookie Terrence Ross, who gained attention thanks to a powerful social media backing from his team.

West: The West team consists of rangy forward Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz, the reigning Slam Dunk champion.

He is joined by Los Angeles Clippers' Eric Bledsoe, who has the advantage of being the smallest player in the group of six participants. That role has worked well for Nate Robinson, who won three dunk contests as an undersized point guard going back to 2006.

The Denver Nuggets' Kenneth Faried -- more known for his rebounding -- fills out the list of participants.

How it works

The finale to All-Star Saturday night will consist of two rounds of dunking and six participants in a new format.

The first round will pit three Western Conference dunkers against one another and three Eastern Conference dunkers against each other to be voted upon by a panel on a scale of six to 10. Each player will get two dunks apiece, and the player with the highest score on each conference team will move on to the championship round.

One winner from each group will then meet in the second round, where fan voting will dictate the final outcome based on percentage.

Will that winner be Mr. Ross?

Tune in as we discuss the event live below...