Jan. 21, 2008 -- Four dunkers will compete in the two-round competition.

OFFICIATING – Throughout the competition, an NBA Referee will judge whether a dunk is considered a made dunk or a missed dunk. He will also officiate as to what is an attempt.

TIME LIMIT – Upon receiving the ball from the referee, players will have a 2:00 time limit to complete their dunk. Attempts resulting in missed dunks are unlimited during the 2:00 time period. However, once a made dunk is ruled by the referee, that dunk will be scored. There is no replacing a made dunk, even if time remains.

FINAL ATTEMPTS – If a player hasn’t begun an attempt that results in a made dunk when the 2:00 clock expires, he will have two final attempts to do so. An attempt is defined as the ball leaving the player’s (or his teammate’s) hand in an effort to complete the dunk (in any motion other than dribbling). The referee will advise the dunker when they have used an attempt.

PROPS – Use of any props (including the use of any person other than a current NBA player in uniform) to assist in any way during a dunk attempt must be approved in advance of the competition by the NBA Basketball Operations department.

FIRST Round – TWO DUNKS (#1 and #2): There will be 5 judges. For each dunk, a score from six to ten will be given by each judge, resulting in a maximum score of 50 and a minimum score of 30.

• A composite total of the score for dunk #1 and the score for dunk #2 will be tallied for each dunker at the end of the First Round - maximum 100, minimum 60. The two dunkers with the highest scores advance to the Finals.
• The order for Dunk #2 of the First Round will be the inverse order of the Dunk #1 scores (lowest score first).
• During the First Round, each player MUST use another active NBA player (who is in uniform) for a MINIMUM of one of his two dunks. In addition, an active NBA player (in uniform) may be used to provide an assist for ANY dunk during the entire competition (including the Final Round).

FINAL Round – TWO DUNKS (#1 and #2): The dunker with the lowest total score from the First Round will go first in the Final Round. Dunks then alternate until each player has completed two. Time limit rules still apply.

• After all four final round dunks are completed, fan voting polls will open via SMS TXT message and on NBA.com.
• Fans can vote via SMS TXT by sending in the letter “A” or “B” to the short-code DUNKS (38657).
• The letter “A” will be assigned to the dunker who goes first, and “B” for the other finalist.
• Each judge will provide commentary on the dunkers and hold up a placard with their vote for the winner.
• The five judge’s votes will be combined with the SMS TXT and NBA.com votes to determine the champion.
• The player with a higher percentage of overall votes, rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent, will be the winner.

TIEBREAKERS – In the event of a tie in either round, a one-dunk “dunk-off” will take place. The “dunk-off” will be repeated if necessary until the tie is broken. Time limit rules will apply for any dunk-off. In the event of a tie during the Finals (exactly 50.0% of votes for each dunker), the dunk-off will be judged by the panel of five judges.

INSTANT REPLAY – At the discretion of the referee, television instant replay may be consulted for clarification of rules compliance.

SMS VOTING – Voting is available to users on all major wireless carriers in the United States, plus most secondary carriers. Voting is also available to both Rogers and Fido Wireless users in Canada. Standard SMS text message rates apply to users on all wireless carriers. Number of votes per users is unlimited. For complete details and rules regarding SMS voting, read our All-Star SMS Voting Terms of Use and All-Star Voting FAQs .