Rockets KJ Martin and Jabari Smith Jr. to Compete in NBA All-Star Saturday Night Events

Posted: February 14, 2023 -- 6:31 p.m.

Tuesday evening, the NBA announced participants for All-Star Saturday Night held on February 18 during All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. Houston Rockets third-year forward KJ Martin will compete in the Slam Dunk event while rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. was selected for the Skills Challenge. The full list of participants along with rules for both competitions are available at NBA.com.

Martin is the sixth different Rocket to have participated in an NBA dunk contest, joining Ralph Sampson (1984), Kenny Smith (1991 and 1993), Steve Francis (2000, 2002), Chase Budinger (2012) and Jalen Green (2022). Francis was runner-up as a rookie to Vince Carter in 2000 while Budinger finished second to Jeremy Evans in 2012.

In 57 games with 24 starts this season, Martin is averaging 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He ranks 16th in the NBA in field goal percentage (.569) and seventh in dunks (122). At 6’7”, Martin is the shortest listed player among the top-18 dunkers.

Smith has started all 54 of his games played this season while averaging 11.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.94 blocks and 1.6 3-pointers made. he 19-year-old is the first player in NBA history to have his totals of points, rebounds, blocks and three-point field goals made through the first 54 games of a career.

Only two Rockets previously participated in the Skills Challenge since its inception in 2003. Jeremy Lin competed in 2013 while Patrick Beverley won the event in 2015. Beverley was set to defend his title in 2016 but had to withdraw due to injury.

Smith is also playing in the Jordan Rising Stars event on Friday, February 17, along with Rockets guard Jalen Green and center Alperen Sengun. Both Green and Sengun are making their second straight appearance in the Rookie/Sophomore showcase. Houston is the only team with three representatives in this year's game after having a league-high tying three participants in 2022.

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