(WXYZ) — Pistons All-Star center Jalen Duren is set to participate in the 2026 NBA Slam Dunk Contest in Los Angeles, according to ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania.
Duren joins Lakers center Jaxson Hayes and Spurs rookie Carter Bryant as reported participants in this year's contest.
Duren is just the fourth Piston to compete in the Dunk Contest, and the first since fellow center Andre Drummond competed in 2016. Allan Houston participated in 1994 and Jerry Stackhouse participated in 2000, but no Detroit player has ever won the Dunk Contest.
In his fourth season in the league, all with the Pistons, Duren has averaged 18 points. 10.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 63.5 percent from the field. He's the second-leading scorer and leading rebounder on a Pistons team that entered Tuesday with a 36-12 record, 5.5 games ahead of every team for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Duren will join Cade Cunningham, who was voted as a starter in the game by the fans, media, and fellow players. The 2026 All-Star game will be the first with multiple Pistons represented since 2007-08, when Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace were all selected. Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will also coach in the All-Star game, as the head coach of the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
