Who Will Win the 2014 NBA Slam Dunk Contest and Why: Damian Lillard, Terrence Ross, Paul George Among Six to Take Flight in New Orleans [VIDEOS]

The NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest during the league’s midseason mania called the NBA All-Star Weekend will have six participants including Toronto Raptors high-flyer Terrence Rose, who is the defending slam dunk champion.

Who will take the crown from Ross this year? Or will the high-flying Raptor defend it and earn back-to-back titles?

Five others will challenge him for the crown: John Wall of the Washington Wizards; Paul George of the Indiana Pacers; Ben McLemore of the Sacramento Kings; Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors.

Every year, the NBA Slam Dunk Contest has failed to live up to expectations. The contest’s critics opine that the players participating are not creative or original enough; that the players use too many props and that the fan votes always decide the wrong winner.

Time for these six gentlemen to prove that this year’s affair is going to be, indeed, a slam dunk.

Below are the highlights of each player and their memorable dunk/s recently (ranked from first to last on who we think will win the slam dunk title):

Here's Little Lillard taking his act high above and over the Toronto Raptors:

The defending champ Ross eating The Manimal alive:

Here’s Wall attempting and making the 360 slam:

Not to be outdone, George unleashing his own 360-windmill dunk:

Here’s Barnes over some center from Minnesota:

And here’s Ben McLemore poster with LeBron James:

Kidding, that was him on the shorter end of the stick. Here are real McLemore highlights and yes the rookie got hops:

(Video courtesy of the owners of the respective YouTube accounts)

Who do you think will win the slam dunk contest this year? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section.