Three of the four participants in tonight's 2018 NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest will be newcomers to the event. Only one has competed before; indeed, two are rookies to the league altogether. 

Gone is the role of the token big man that once plagued dunk competitions - the man who would have been the tallest entrant, 6'10 Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic, has had to withdraw due to injury and will not get a chance to win the title so cruelly stole from him back in 2016. Instead, smaller guards dominate the line-up, with plenty of flair to boot.

All bring pedigree to the event, but one in particular stands out, the son of the first-ever winner now back playing with the same team his father has his jersey retired in.

Between the four of them, there have been plenty of in-season examples of their dunking pedigree.

Let's meet them.

Larry Nance Jr, Cleveland Cavaliers

Total dunks this season: 59 (first amongst the participants)
Total shots made this season: 152 (fourth)
Percentage of made shots that are dunks: 38.8% (first)
Dunk attempts: 68 (first)
Dunk shooting percentage: 86.8% (second)

Recent Cavaliers acquisition Nance's signature play is the steal-and-breakaway dunk. An athlete with long arms and high defensive awareness, Nance steps up to defend the wing spots on switches quite often, and when he does, he is very good at poking the ball away. If he can do so, it's game on - with only a few long gangly strides, Nance is already at the basket. And when he gets there, he has no intentions of laying the ball up if he doesn't have to.

Nance brings some pedigree to the contest, too. His father, Larry Nance Jr, was the winner of the 1984 Slam Dunk Contest, the first edition of the annual Slam Dunk contest at the All-Star game. Nance Sr won in 1984 with a series of one-armed dunks, the first one of which he did while still in his pyjamas, all the while exhibiting plenty of flair.

It seems that these are hereditary traits. 

Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Total dunks this season: 25 (fourth)
Total shots made this season: 363 (second)
Percentage of made shots that are dunks: 6.9% (fourth)
Dunk attempts: 28 (fourth)
Dunk shooting percentage: 89.3% (first)

The late replacement for Gordon, Mitchell is certainly not purely a dunker, one of the best rookies in the league this year and well on his way to stardom already. Mitchell is a phenomenally skilled player overall, even moreso away from the basket, where his ability to both fit within and dominate an offence makes him quite the scoring combo guard even so early into his career.

His athleticism, however, is still a defining feature of his game. Slightly too small for ideal NBA wing size, Mitchell makes up for this by being more explosive than most of them. Notwithstanding his quickly improving outside game, Mitchell prefers knifing the basket, using his body control and explosion to get right up to the rim. Once there, he is fully prepared to challenge any shot blockers ahead of it.

And, of course, crush it over them.

Victor Oladipo, Indiana Pacers

Total dunks this season: 41 (second)
Total shots made this season: 428 (first)
Percentage of made shots that are dunks: 9.6% (third)
Dunk attempts: 48 (second)
Dunk shooting percentage: 85.4% (third)

Even more of a scoring wizard this year than Mitchell, Oladipo - who is also competing in the actual All-Star game this year, so good has he been as the Pacers' front man - can still get up and throw down when a late presents itself. With both flair and power in his finishes, Oladipo's strong frame and agility combination lend itself well to a competition where combining both will generaly get you a 50.

Oladipo is a former Slam Dunk participant, making the final of the 2015 edition, losing only to Slam Dunk contest legend Zach LaVine. Along the way, he scored a 50 of his own with a genuinely inventive first dunk. Here's to more of the same.

Dennis Smith Jr, Dallas Mavericks

Total dunks this season: 27 (third)
Total shots made this season: 266 (third)
Percentage of made shots that are dunks: 10.2% (second)
Dunk attempts: 35 (third)
Dunk shooting percentage: 77.1% (fourth)

The smallest player in this year's dunk contest, Smith is nevertheless as explosive as any smaller player in the league today. When he is attacking downwind, Smith can get up as well as anybody, with a reported 48 inch vertical leap. Considering that two-time dunk contest winner Zach LaVine has reportedly only a 46 inch vertical leap, Smith's CV is strong.

Thoroughly unafraid despite his rookie status, Smith has also had his fair share of spectacular in-game dunks thus far this year. Between he and Mitchell, the future of the Slam Dunk contest is in good hands.