James White will participate in the NBA Dunk Contest

Hell yes. The participants in All-Star Saturday night haven't been officially announced yet, but Jared Zwerling got word of a selection that had been rumored for a while and absolutely had to happen:

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

I like White a lot and think he's come a long way and could stay in the league for a while, but this still feels like one of his last and best opportunities to grace this event with his unparallelled aeronautical ability. The man has already performed brilliantly in high school, college, D-League, and foreign dunk contests, and now it's time for him to shine in the event he was born to win. And I feel pretty certain he's going to win. Because he can fly.

Thanks to the whoever made this decision for overlooking White's dearth of minutes/dunks this season and making the right move. I can't wait. Some videos to whet your Dunketite™:

There will be four six contestants-- two three from the East, two three from the West-- but I kinda wish this was just a recreation of that one-on-one battle between White and Green. As my friend Mike Prada pointed out to me today, Green is from Houston, so there's a decent chance he gets picked.

I'm excited. More announcements to come, hopefully including Steve Novak's selection to the three-point shootout.

Update: I try to credit the first reporter, so I should mention that Marc Berman revealed this bit of info first and wrote up a full story. Again, the full All-Star Saturday announcements aren't until 7.

Update again: White's competitors: Gerald Green, Terrence Ross, Eric Bledsoe, Jeremy Evans, Kenneth Faried