HoopsHype.com Rumors

Frank Isola: James White is standing near the Knicks huddle with a look on his face that says "who the hell has to get hurt for me to play?" Twitter @FisolaNYDN

New York Knicks, James White 

Alan Hahn: Mike Woodson makes a change in the starting lineup for tonight: Jason Kidd out. James White in. Interesting. #Knicks Twitter @alanhahn

New York Knicks, Mike Woodson, Jason Kidd, James White 

It turns out, there were some pretty good ones left on the shelf. “I had between the legs from the free throw line [ready], and I was going to try to dunk from the top of the key,” James White said, and did so rather nonchalantly given the athleticism that would be required to pull either of those feats off. NBCSports.com

New York Knicks, James White, All-Star 

Nate Taylor: James White: “I’ve never missed that many dunks before. The basketballs were hard to grip.” Twitter @ByNateTaylor

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

Update: The Tallahassee Democrat's Corey Clark notes that since there were 36 missed dunks and only 15 successful ones the competitors managed to shoot less than 30 percent from the field in a slam dunk contest. Deadspin.com

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

JR Smith: Man for all this I shoulda did the #Dunkcontest Twitter @TheRealJRSmith

New York Knicks, JR Smith, James White, All Star Game 

He was considered by many All-Stars as the favorite in the event. Kobe Bryant said on Twitter that White was his pick to win. Dwight Howard, who won the dunk contest in 2008, said he hoped White and the Indiana Pacers’ Green, who also participated in Saturday’s event, would have another entertaining battle. “I’ve been wanting to see him in the dunk contest for a long time,” Howard said of White. White said he had not practiced his dunks all week. “We had a practice yesterday and I didn’t do it,” he said Friday. “I just came in and shook hands. I have to save my energy.” New York Times

Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Dwight Howard, James White, All-Star 

Ask any NBA player and he'll gush over White's dunks, including All-Star A-listers such as Dwight Howard. "James is one of the best dunkers of all time, if not off one foot," said David Lee, who teamed with White at Florida and also beat him in the McDonald's All American contest. "He's possibly the best leaper I've ever seen." But outside of the basketball community, his prolific dunk career has largely gone unnoticed. "People haven't seen the stuff I do," he said. "You've seen stuff on YouTube, but seeing it in person, seeing it on this scale, it's totally different." ESPN.com

Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, David Lee, James White, All Star Game 

Ben Golliver: "I have six top 10 dunks of all time." -- James White Twitter @blazersedge

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

Trey Kerby: Just talked to James White's agent. He said that no only has Flight not practiced for the contest, but that he refuses to practice. Twitter @treykerby

New York Knicks, James White, All-Star 

James White won't jump over a car, a couch or even Iman Shumpert's flat top in the slam dunk contest. But he said this will be one of the best contests ever, despite everyone being skeptical with the underwhelming field of dunkers. "I think it's going to be real good because it's going to be a battle," White said. "You just have to have people who actually want to do it. They're excited to do it. I think that's what we have this year." Sulia

New York Knicks, James White, Iman Shumpert, All Star Game 

And while the 30-year-old swingman's far from a household name, he's planning on changing that by bringing a loaded arsenal to Houston, as he told SLAM's Kicks blog: K1X: Did you prepare for it? Or do you know which dunks you’re going to do? James White: To be honest, I never practice dunks. I just do whatever comes to my mind. K1X: But when do you decide what you want to do? Do you decide in mid-air? Granted, you do have a little bit of time up there. JW: [Laughs] I have a general idea of what I want to do when I take the ball and get ready to jump. Everybody knows that I have the dunks from the free throw line and all that stuff in my back pocket. I can always pull those out. I watch what my competition does in the dunk contest and then decide which of my dunks I will do. I have about five dunks where I’m absolutely certain that I will get a 50 on those. So it’s just a matter of when to use which of those dunks. SLAM

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

While White respects Green, he doesn't believe anyone can bring to the table what he can. "Whatever I do is going to be new. It's not going to be seen in the NBA dunk contest," he said. "You've seen it maybe on YouTube, but you haven't seen it on the NBA stage. You've seen windmills. Everything they do has to be with gimmicks, which is what's making it corny." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

James White: All I know is Me , T Ross and G Green ate going bring the dunk contest back. This year will be classic. Twitter

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

Jody Genessy: Jeremy Evans will get a chance to defend his Slam Dunk crown per @jphanned. Participants: Bledsoe, Faried, White, Green, Ross, Evans. Twitter @DJJazzyJody

Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Green, Jeremy Evans, James White, Kenneth Faried, Terrence Ross, All Star Game 

Evan Dunlap: Gerald Green, Terrence Ross, James White, Eric Bledsoe, Jeremy Evans, and Kenneth Faried in the dunk contest. Twitter @BQRMagic

Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz, Eric Bledsoe, Gerald Green, Jeremy Evans, James White, Kenneth Faried, Terrence Ross, All Star Game 

Jared Zwerling: Leagues sources have confirmed with ESPN New York that James White will be in the All-Star dunk contest. #Knicks #JamesWhite Twitter @JaredZwerling

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

Marc Berman: League source says #Knicks swingman James White already has been informed he's in the Slam-Dunk competition. Won't be official until 7 p.m. Twitter @NYPost_Berman

New York Knicks, James White, All Star Game 

But here's the thing: White is not just a dunker; he's arguably the best dunker on the planet. You may have never heard of the 30-year-old because he averages 1.8 points per game for the Knicks, in his third season in the league since 2006. During the other years, he played mostly overseas in Russia and Italy. "A lot of people haven't seen James," his Knicks teammate Carmelo Anthony said. "He's the best-kept secret." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, James White 

Will James White participate in the dunk contest this year? Ultimately, that's up to the NBA. The league decides who will compete for the crown. But if Iman Shumpert had a say in it, White would make the cut. "They should put him in, definitely," Shumpert said of his Knicks teammate. "He'd win it." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, James White, Iman Shumpert, All Star Game